The Chariot
The human heart exults in brute strength, winning battles, and having the best chariots. Here we see a warrior king with a garland of sun and moon, with a canopy of stars. The chariot is decorated with the swift wings of Mercury and maybe even racing stripes. He is outside the keep, perhaps extending the borders of the kingdom.
In older versions of this card, the chariot was pulled by winged horses.
Here the twin sphinxes may show the charioteer's control over extremes of rational and irrational impulses. Similarly, this card symbolizes the road of righteousness, the narrow way that few find.
With this sign of honor, Joseph was given to ride in Pharaoh's second chariot as men cried out, "Bow the knee." Thus Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt.
Yet the kings of Israel were told in Deuteronomy 17:16 not to multiply horses and chariots but rather to trust in the name of the LORD. Sadly, Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, according to 1Kings 10:26.
Some trust in horses and some in chariots, but we should trust in the name of the LORD our God. The war horse is a vain hope for salvation and by its great strength, it cannot rescue.
Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered, though our battle is not against flesh and blood but rather against darkness in the self or world.
God equips me with strength for battle. He has exalted my horn like a wild ox and anointed me with fresh oil. The chariots of God are two times ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, just as Elisha opened the eyes of the servant to see the chariots of fire in 2 Kings 6: 15-17.
Race and feel God's pleasure! Win the victory and sing a new song of joy!
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