God continues 'At every blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains and the shouting.' This verse continues describing the horse's responsiveness to battle and its eager participation in violence. The horse's immediate response to the trumpet, its ability to smell battle, its attentiveness to sounds of warfare all suggest that the horse is naturally inclined toward violence. Divine creation has made the horse a creature for whom warfare is not an alien imposition but a natural expression of its nature. The verse establishes that warfare and violence are not aberrations imposed on a peaceful creation but natural expressions of creatures God has created. The implicit questions raised become more pointed: if violence is natural to creatures God has created, is not suffering an inevitable aspect of the world God has created?

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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