After the amazing act of God, the splitting open of the giant rock in Horeb and pouring out water to satisfy the thirst of His people: who enters the scene, but the enemies of God's people?!! To this very day, the enemy uses the very same tactics!
Very often, after a faith growing experience, God-haters attack while we are sojourning through a valley. They see a place where they think we may be vulnerable, then, almost always, attack from the behind, as did the Amalekites! Woe to all of them: we see here how God hates that!!!
We pick up at Exodus 17: (bold lettering is my own emphasis)
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Reminder: Amalek was the grandson of Esau, who hated his brother Jacob and all his progeny. Here, he allied with other nations to attack the Israelites. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Like today's news!
A common tactic of the enemy: Amalek struck from the rear in a surprise attack, assaulting the weakest that were trailing behind. *A very good reason to guard our backsides and keep strong both spiritually and physically!
9 And Moses said unto
This is the very first mention of Joshua in the Bible!)
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Looking down on Rephidim.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
This exemplifies an important spiritual principal, which we too often forget, especially when an attack catches us by surprise. We can, and need to, call the 'Aaron' and 'Hur' in our lives and bring them up to the 'mountain' with us!
God commanded Moses to bring them! Moses' obedience was an integral part of God's plan for victory in this battle! And a very important lesson for us!
Aaron and Hur stood alongside Moses on the mountain, while Moses sat on the rock. They helped to sustain him and keep his hands steady (as he held onto the rod of God) until the battle was over!
We need never tire of lifting up our battles to the Lord, do we???!!! Our Commander and Chief will fight our battles, He already has His 'Aarons', 'Hurs', and 'Joshuas' in our camp; He has enlisted the troops, and planned the victory; before we even know that the enemy is coming! HALLELUJAH!
Oh-so-many lessons here on obedience, leadership, steadfastness, fellowship in ministry (to name just a few!) Note: dig deeper in this spot!
13 And Joshua discomfited (overthrew) Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword
The battle site, Rephidim, is thought to be today's Wadi Refayid, some miles west of Mount Sinai.
A couple of things that I had not noticed before nor been aware of: the guys brought Moses a stone to sit on; always pictured him standing (too many movies?) And that Joshua is the one who led the children of Israel to victory in this battle! This is the first instance where the Lord reveals to us that He has sanctified Joshua for a leadership role. Oooo, lots of Rock and Stone analogies!I love that God's Word is NEW every day!
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
OK, I know I am missing something good here, WHAT book??? God had Moses make sure that Joshua would remember all the details of this battle. It must have been for a very good reason! One which occurred to me; the LORD already knew that Joshua would be leading the people into the Promised Land without Moses!
Please, let me know if you have additional insight about this! Note: another good spot to dig! I just realized that Moses wrote down everything God said too! LOVE it!
15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi (The LORD our Banner) :
16 For he said, Because the LORD has sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
This altar is located about 200 yards from the "rock in Horeb" on the back side of Mt. Sinai. It could very well be the location of Moses' altar.
**If you have time, click here for great commentaries and insights from the above passages, plus much more! I found this site while looking for a depiction of the name Jehovah Nissi.
**BTW: I ended up creating my own in PowerPoint ... very fun! ;)
**I also found, Michelle's site. She has done a lot of research on the Names of God. Her site blesses me: I think she will bless and inspire you too!
Oh JEHOVAH NISSI, Your Name is high above ALL things! Thank You SO much for commanding Your victories for us, and for providing for ALL of our needs. Let us continually be looking up to You, oh LORD our Banner! Let us keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to You, that we may see, hear, and obey when You call us to rally! And please,in time of battle, REMIND us to call in the 'support team' that You have provided for us! THANK You!!! Amen!
1 comment:
wow... each time I read your words, I think... "I've gotta have a heart to heart with THIS lady!" Joshua and Hur... for Moses! something that was just last week brought to my over 50 year old attention by a barely 30 year old... he was talking about positions in the battle and seasons of our lives... Joshua and Hur were clearly from the younger generation, but they were called to help/continue what Moses was called to do. Moses needed them, but it was also clear they needed him... One of the things I believe I (and my husband) have been called to is to stand firm... in image, sorta like pillars from which those younger move about in the various battle positions and callings on their lives. Your words make this come once again to my thoughts. thank you! (also, about those Amaryllis in the bowl... I have a large wooden bowl like that which I've thought of using in this way for the holidays, BUT... I cannot take credit for the ones in the picture... they are some that I liked and had saved to my pictures for a decorator idea... then used for that post.... so I like it too. They are some of my favorite with which to decorate, and yes... VERY hardy (keep watered and anchored!or they will get top heavy and fall over) You bless me "my shiloh", carla
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