Exodus 17:10-1610So 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. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But 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. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14And 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. 15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 16For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:10‑16)
“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. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”
Amalek, that proud enemy of God’s people, was the first to attack them after they came out of Egypt. Israel must fight him, but it was the Lord’s war. Moses, on the top of the hill, interceded with God for his people, by holding up his hands while he prayed for them. When he held up his hands, Israel would win; and when he let his hands down, Amalek won. But Moses’ hands got tired, so Aaron and Hur got a stone for him to sit on, and they held his hands up for him until the sun set. The battle below did not depend upon the strength of the warriors, but on the intercession of Moses. So, “Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”
The Christian must fight against Satan and the old nature, the flesh, in him, but it is neither natural strength nor human wisdom that enables him to triumph. Victory is entirely dependent upon the uplifted hands of the Lord Jesus, our Mediator on high. In this conflict we are made to feel that we must depend entirely on Him who is not in the fight, but outside it, and above it all. In Him we have a better Intercessor than Moses, for His uplifted arms never grow weary. Nevertheless, although victory is assured, the fight must be maintained to the very last. Perhaps you might think that if God made war, it would soon be over. But though He had said, “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven,” He had also sworn that “the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” This is a war that must be carried on unceasingly by His people; but the battle is His and He is our leader. He is pleading for us above. He knows all about us and our every weakness, but in His strength we can go forward counting on Him for the victory. We can be just as sure of victory as Israel was, if we go to Him for grace to help in time of need.
Aaron brings before us the Lord Jesus as our great High Priest, and Hur means “purity.” This then would tell us that the Lord Jesus intercedes for us before God according to what He is in Himself, in holiness and purity.
“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi,” which means, “The Lord is my banner.” A banner is a flag bearing the colors under which an army fights. Some regiments have magnificent banners, telling of battles they have won. Moses said that the Lord was his banner. God was showing how He cared for His people. And it is the same today, for He never forgets His own dear children.
How good it is to belong to God! When He has all His children gathered home in the glory, the conflict with Satan, the world and the flesh, will all be over. We shall be perfectly like Christ then, and shall sit down and enjoy His blessed presence, without an enemy, a cloud, or an unholy thought, to mar our joy in Him through all eternity.
ML-11/30/1969