Hebrew Highlights 76 - CHARIOTS

 

Shalom.  This is Yuval Shomron, coming to you from Jerusalem.

 

PSA 20:1-9, “(For the choir director. A Psalm of David.) May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!  May He send you help from the sanctuary, And support you from Zion!  May He remember all your meal offerings, And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.  May He grant you your heart's desire, And fulfill all your counsel!  We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.  Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven, With the saving strength of His right hand.  Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.  They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stood upright.  Save, O Lord; May the King answer us in the day we call.”

Let’s take a look for a moment at verse 7 of this Psalm, “Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.”  The word translated here as “boast” is in Hebrew, “zochrim”, meaning really, “remember”.  Some translations of the Bible actually say remember, and others use trust.  The point is, who do we remember to call on in times of trouble?

The word for “chariots” is “rechavot”.  Today, a similar word, “rechev”, is used to mean “vehicle”.  Horses are simply horses.  The use of these words here, symbolize power.  Chariots and horses invoke pictures of a mighty army.  The question posed in the Psalm, and it’s obvious answer, is “Who will save us?  Only the Lord can do so.”  Armies often fail, but the God of Hosts is our refuge and strength.

Verse 6 tells us that the Lord saves His anointed ones.  In Hebrew, as you may already know, the word here is “meshichim” or messianics, or from a New Testament Greek standpoint, Christians.

Who do you put your trust in?  Maybe you sometimes turn for help to a powerful church, a powerful government, or a powerful person.

Remember what happened to Pharaoh’s chariots and horses, and indeed His whole army?  We need to be able to say, along with Moses and the children of Israel as they fled Egypt, “We will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.”

 

Shalom, Shalom , from Jerusalem.