Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." Exodus 17:8-16
The Israelites had traveled freely through the desert in their journey to Canaan…until now. As we see in our scripture, they face their first conflict with another people, the Amalekites, who attack them Rephidim. Moses, in response to the attack, commands Joshua to "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
So "Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered" while "Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill." How did the battle go for Israel? Well, that depended on the hands of Moses for we read that "as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning." In other words, it was a battle where both sides seemed evenly matched…except for one very significant difference: Israel had God on their side. And as long as Moses had his hands raised up, Israel found victory over "the Amalekite army with the sword", even if Moses had to have some help from Aaron and Hur to keep his hands raised. Can you imagine having to hold your hands up for the duration of a battle? It would be nearly impossible for anyone to do without assistance. Good thing Moses had help.
After the victory, the Lord told Moses to "write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." And Moses then "built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner" and said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." The Lord wanted Joshua to remember the events of this special battle, where lifted hands had led to power from God to conquer the Amalekites and find victory.
Question: What about you? Do you sometimes feel defeated in this world, overcome by the enemy whether it be man or Satan or both? Do you find yourself in a war that seems to be even most of the time…with you equally winning sometimes and losing other times? Well friends, there is good news for us, just as there was good news for Israel in their desert conflict with the Amalekites. For we are not fighting through life alone…God is with us. And we find all the strength and power we need to make it through anything, if we just lift our hands to the "throne of the Lord"…high in the sky to where he abides with our Savior Jesus on His right hand. When we reach up, He reaches down to us and gives us the ability to overcome…all from the power and might of lifted hands. Praise God for His goodness and might…power, provision and providence…mercy, grace and love. Alleluia!
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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