1. Solomon uses the example of preparing for battle.

a. Prepared defined: To be firm; be stable; be established; be secure; be enduring; be prepared; be arranged; be settled; made ready; built up.

b. The horse was the tank of its day. It was a major military vehicle… it was a valuable piece of military equipment.

c. It provided much safety and security for the ancient armies.

d. It enabled them to rush into a village and gave them the added element of a surprise attack.

e. If the battle was not going so well, it enabled them rush back home too!

f. A soldier with a horse stood a much better chance of survival than a foot soldier.

g. And a cavalry is by far superior to an army of foot soldiers. (Remember the old cowboy movies when the Indians were about to destroy the wagon train, and then at the last minute, the cavalry appeared on the horizon to save the day!)

h. Thus, a soldier who wanted to survive would prepare his horse for the day of battle.

2. We should prepare for battles: Whatever kind of battle we might face.

a. Soldiers should prepare for war. They should seek out the very best battle plans. They should seek out the best equipment.

b. Businessmen should prepare for the battle of the business world. Make the best plans you can. Use the best and most efficient machines to punch out your widgets. Prepare your advertisements and your promotion to the best of your ability.

c. The farmer should prepare his fields. He has to plow them, and break up the fallow ground. He has to make sure the soil is well drained, weeded, watered, fertilized, etc…

d. If you are sick, make the best preparation you can to deal with your illness. Seek good medical help. Follow the doctor’s instructions. Take the prescribed medications. Do the proper exercises.

e. Students should prepare for the battle in school too! Read the homework assignments. Do all the exercises. Study for the exams. Follow your teacher’s advice and counsel.

f. There are countless other kinds of struggles, trials, and battles that we face as believers in which preparations are required.

g. We are to put our best effort into preparing to face the battle… and to come out victoriously.

h. Like the athlete in I Cor. 9:24-27, we are to put in our best effort… lay aside anything that would hinder us from winning… keep our body under subjection… keep our eyes on the crown… and keep on running… keep on striving.

i. This proverb is NOT teaching us that we should not strive for victory. It is NOT teaching that effort on our part is unnecessary.

j. There is a common expression often used that is most misleading: Let go and let God. It is only half right. Of course, we should let God have His way, but we should NEVER let go!”

k. When we let go there is no safety and no victory.

l. Don’t ever let go of your thought life. We are (by God’s grace) to control our thought life.

m. Don’t ever let go of your emotions. Our emotions are to be under control of the Holy Spirit.

n. Don’t ever let go of the steering wheel of your life and hope that God will steer FOR you. He will not. You will wander aimlessly and may drift very far away.

o. God doesn’t work INSTEAD of us. He works IN and THROUGH us.

3. The horse SHOULD BE prepared for battle.

a. Preparations for any kind of battle are good and necessary.

b. It would be foolish indeed to face the battle WITHOUT proper preparations.

c. That is not faith, it is presumption.

d. Prov. 20:18 – “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.”
• Be prepared for war… plan ahead… think things through… make all the necessary arrangements…
• Get counsel; get advice; and act accordingly.
• Be ready, equipped, and have a battle plan.

e. FAITH prepares for battle. When God sent the Joshua and the Israelites into Canaan-land, he told them to gird up their swords and be ready for battle. Repeatedly we read that the Lord delivered the enemy into their hands, but the Jews had to slay them with their swords.

f. Faith prepares but it also TRUSTS in God for safety and victory.

g. Ps. 127:1 – “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”
• Faith labors to build the house, but acknowledges that the labor is vain apart from the Lord.

h. Jas. 4:13-15 – “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
• FAITH makes good business plans, but does not ignore the will of the Lord.

i. Whether we are facing a literal battle, a business battle, or any other kind of struggle, human effort, labor, and striving are necessary, but they must be accompanied by TRUST… because our efforts alone are vain… fruitless… futile.

4. Ecc. 9:11 – I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

a. God is sovereign over time and chance.

b. Plans, equipment, counsel, preparation are all good and necessary, but they do NOT guarantee victory or success.

c. Providence can overrule any time God sees fit… no matter how strong the army, how well trained the runner, how wise the business plan, etc.

d. Preparation is good, but it is only one side of the coin.