Daily Devotional 3-16-2022
Deu 17:16 CSB However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ Three things about the behavior of the king were singled out. The prohibition against acquiring great numbers of horses meant that on human terms the king’s army, composed mainly of infantry, would be significantly weaker than an enemy’s army with many chariots and cavalry. Yet this was precisely the point. An obedient Israelite king was to depend not on military strength but on the Lord alone. God had already demonstrated His ability to crush a large superior chariot army. Acquiring horses would mean the people would be going to Egypt, where many were available. Returning to the nation’s former land of slavery was unthinkable.