Tag Archives: horses

Visualizing Isaiah 31: Egypt relies on horses and chariots

Posted on April 8, 2014 | 2 comments

A woe is announced on those who go to Egypt for help in the form of horses and chariots.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD! (Isaiah 31:1 ESV)

The prophet explains that this would be a mistake for Israel.

The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together. (Isaiah 31:3 ESV)

The temple walls throughout Egypt are replete with reliefs of the Pharaohs riding in their chariots pulled by powerful horses. Their enemies are portrayed as tiny and trodden down. The photo below is on one of the large interior walls of the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor. Various conquered enemies are portrayed on the walls of the temple.

Relief from the mortuary temple of Ramses III. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Relief from the mortuary temple of Ramses III. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Solomon had made this mistake earlier, but Israel failed to learn from it (1 Kings 10:26). Moses prohibited the kings of Israel from returning to Egypt to acquire horses.

“Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’(Deuteronomy 17:16 NAU)

 

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Egypt, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Visualizing Isaiah: Trusting in horses and chariots

Posted on January 22, 2014 | Leave a comment

The prophet Isaiah describes what had happened to the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. (Isaiah 2:7 ESV)

The nation had come to depend on instruments of war rather than the LORD God.

Before the entry into the promised land, the LORD said that His people would desire a king. He laid down restrictions for that king. One of the stipulations is stated this way:

Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ (Deuteronomy 17:16 ESV)

Solomon is especially noted for his trade in horses and chariots from Egypt (1 Kings 10:28-29).

Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, had a powerful army. The Assyrian king Shalmanesser III met Ahab and 11 other kings in the Battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C. The stone monolith from Kurkh records that Ahab provided 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers to the confederacy.

Stables have been uncovered during excavations at Megiddo. The town is so clearly associated with horses and chariots that a metal sculpture has been erected at the site.

Metal sculpture of horses and chariot at Megiddo. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Metal sculpture of horses and chariot at Megiddo. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Because Megiddo was located on the main trunk road between Egypt and the empires of the north (Hittites and Syria) and those of the east (Assyria, Babylon, and Persia), we should not find this surprising.

Solomon is said to have built the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo and the Wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). The same context makes reference to chariot cities built by Solomon:

and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. (1 Kings 9:19 ESV

Isaiah was spot-on.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Egypt, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Horses in the Golan Heights

Posted on March 3, 2013 | 1 comment

Last September we stopped in the Golan Heights at the overlook east to Kuneitra, Syria. A few horses were being pastured in the area. Mount Hermon is visible to the north.

Horses in the Golan Heights. Mount Hermon in the distance. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Horses in the Golan Heights. Mount Hermon in the distance. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This area is included in the description of the victories of the Israelites.

Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward: (Joshua 12:1 ESV)

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Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Culture, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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