Horses and Kings

They say that these four magnificent bronze horses high above Piazza San Marco in Venice are Armenian. According to a tradition, an Armenian King Tiridates presented them as a royal gift to the Roman emperor.

After decorating Rome for more than four hundred years, they were transported to Byzantium by order of Emperor Constantine the Great, and were displayed at the great Hippodrome of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1204, when Constantinople was conquered during the Fourth Crusade, one of the famous Venetian doges Marino Zeno brought them to Venice and eventually placed above the entrance of St. Mark’s Basilica, overlooking the piazza as emblems of Venetian power.

At the zenith of imperial glory, just like Nero, Napoleon Bonaparte, upon seeing these horses in Venice, proclaimed, “Let them be mine!” and had them taken to Paris (1797). They were returned to Venice in 1815, where they have remained ever since.

These horses have outlived every ruler who tried to claim them. Emperors displayed them. Conquerors seized them. Nations used them to announce their greatness. The rulers disappeared. The empires crumbled. The horses remained.

They stand today as silent witnesses to the fading glory of human power.

The Psalmist writes: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20:7–8).

Every age has its own "horses and chariots." Today, your chariot might be your bank account. It might be your job title, your social status, or your own talent. Now, there is nothing wrong with having good things, being successful, or working hard. But those things were never meant to be your source of security.

If you put your trust in your job, what happens if the company restructures? If you put your trust in your bank account, what happens when the economy shifts?

When you shift your trust off of the "chariots" of this world and place it on the shoulders of the Almighty God, you become unshakeable. The storms of life may come, the winds may blow, but because your security is in the name of the Lord, you are going to rise up and stand firm!