#133: Some Trust In Chariots

Published by Ben Stahl on December 28, 2020December 28, 2020

Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there and they came by night and surrounded the city.

II Kings 6:14 NKJV

What did Pharaoh (Ex. 14), Sisera (Judges 4), and Ben-Hadad all have in common? In the hour of battle and crisis, they all turned to their chariots and horses for strength and victory only to sustain terrible defeat. The Psalmist says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).

Where is your hope in times of trouble? During the current crisis, most Americans have turned to the wisdom of the government for a solution to their fears. The freedom loving people of America have sold a large measure of their constitutional and unalienable birthrights, among them Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, to elected and unelected officials in return for what no mere men can ever provide, namely health, safety, and endless life.

Trusting in the ever changing guidelines of medical experts, executive orders, and livelihood destroying economic policies, the result after ten months is a higher number of daily deaths than any prior time in the pandemic. The states and cities with the most extreme totalitarian practices seem to be having the highest number of new cases and deaths. The hopes of the world have failed, sickness and death continue, and the ramifications are likely to last far beyond the present crisis.

The way of the worldly is to put their trust in worldly strength. Whether strength is believed to come from money, armies, medical advancement, political prowess, or some other means, the world will rely on its perceptions of strength as Ben-Hadad did when he sent his great army to capture Elisha.

Dothan was not known to have Israelite armies garrisoning it, nor was it known to be strategically important to Israel or Syria in their war. Ben-Hadad cared about Dothan for one reason – Elisha was there and he wanted Elisha, dead or alive. To accomplish this goal, Ben-Hadad sent “horses and chariots, and a great army”… exactly as described by the Psalmist.

One goal is on the minds of the opponents of Christ’s church and His people today – shut them down and destroy them. Towards that end, a great host has been sent against Christ’s bride: politicians, news media, rioters, “public opinion,” fear, frivolous philosophies, and false prophets to name but a few. The horses and chariots of our day are fearsome and by the world’s standards, powerful. They think with a large enough force they can wipe out Christianity and many professed Christians have already surrendered in their advance. A great army marched against Elisha and a great army marches against the Church of God.

Will we fear the world’s strength when it comes against us? Will we put our trust in our own strength or those institutions or politicians we think to be allied with us? Or will we like Elisha and the Psalmist keep God’s commandments while abiding in the shelter of the Almighty who can deliver us even when a thousand fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand? Will we say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

As we take our hope off of the ever changing and failing institutions of strength in the world, cease all fear, and rest our hope, faith, and trust upon the Commander of the army of the Lord, then we like the Israelites at the Red Sea and Simeon at the temple shall stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord.

Copyright ©, LikeTheGreatMountains.com, 2020