Verse 16
Their punishment would be talionic; their punishment would fit their crime. They would flee before their very swift enemy, because they chose to run away on swift horses rather than to rest in the Lord (cf. Matthew 26:52). When we rely on our swiftness and strength, it is only a matter of time before someone faster and stronger comes along and overtakes us.
"The film Chariots of Fire illustrates what this looks like in real life. It tells the story of two men, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Both are great athletes on the same team, but there is a difference. Abrahams competes out of an inner drivenness. He is deeply insecure. He has a point to prove. It’s all about him. Liddell also competes to win. But he runs out of a sense of God’s goodness. He’s not in bondage to himself. He runs for the glory of God. Two men, two motives, two inner lives - Eric Liddell competing in the Holy Spirit, Harold Abrahams running on sheer adrenaline. It’s the difference between spirituality, even in athletics, and self-absorption." [Note: Ortlund, p. 174.]
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