Re: Bible Quotes of the horse

[Trishmare@aol.com]

Dear Angie and all,
     I know this is off topic, but it is in the negative degrees outside, with
a landscape of snow and ice and I'm just not going to go riding and try to
"endure" it under these conditions . . . so, to add some history to this
biblical discussion;

<< Isaiah 40:31
 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on
 wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not
be
 faint.
 
 James 1:2
 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds.
 . . . . . or is that supposed to be trials of many kinds   ;-) >>

     Great quotes, and the horsey quotes we can find in the Bible are all the
more suprising when one considers the source; the Hebrew writers of these
books come from a race which was never at ease with horses.  The Jews, hounded
and oppressed as they have been throughout the ages, getting their living
through the shepherding of flocks on hard-scrabble lands ill-suited to the
raising of horses, and with a propensity to be obdurate moralists who viewed
the accumulation of power with deep (and justifiable) suspicion, generally
viewed the horse as just another element of oppression.
     In general, the Hebrews had little inclination for engaging in
competitive sports, and thus the mounted "hunt" (which is one of the ways
besides war that a people develops an equestrian heritage) never developed as
a pastime in their culture.  The Hebrews hunted without much ritual, and their
"hunts" were primarily a defense of their flocks through snares, nets, ditches
and the skill of the shepherd with such simple but effective devices as the
slingshot.  (Anyone ever hear of King David?  He's my horse.  Oh . . . wait,
the name also belonged to a famous Jewish King who was rumored to have some
skill with a slingshot . . .<G>) Even when the horse was a military necessity,
Mosaic laws prohibited any one general or leader from owning more than a set
number.  Because of this (and also because the horse was too expensive to
maintain in their culture) the Jews never collected as booty the horses of a
defeated enemy, but rather, hamstrung them and left them for the vultures.
    Solomon was the only Jewish King of any note who seemed to have a real
love affair with equestrian pursuits, and he built up a royal stable of some
twelve thousand good riding mounts and forty thousand cart and chariot horses.
Well, Solomon was rumored to be a very wise king, after all . . . 

Trish & "A King David" (otherwise known as pretty David, occasionally known by
names we won't repeat here . . .)
Grand Blanc, Michigan