Title: Let's All Win (Ex 17:8-16)
Contents The liberation movement of Israel's chosen people from slavery in Egypt is a prophetic history that eloquently informs the great salvation movement of Jesus Christ. Their march in the wilderness was advanced before them by the Lord Almighty. During the day, a pillar of cloud guided their way. At night, a pillar of fire lit up in front of them, so it was carried out day and night. The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire did not leave them. Indeed, their Exodus movement and their march in the wilderness were accomplished in a miraculous bonanza. They were immediately pursued by the Egyptian army, but because God buried them in the Red Sea, Israel sang a song of victory to the Lord (Exodus 14:-15:). They drank the bitter water of Mara as sweet water, experienced God's healing, and rested in the oasis of Elim (Exodus 15:22-27), and then they came to the Wilderness of Sin. There they were provided with special food called quail and manna (Exodus 16:), and they came to Rephidim. There, they experienced the coolness of being thirsty with the clear water that God vomited by breaking the rocks (Exodus 17:1-7).
God's grace in all these cases was completely miraculous. It was the result of suppressing the people of Israel who were complaining and complaining each time.
They were unexpectedly attacked by the enemy at Rephidim there, and they were forced to fight inseparably. this battle,
I. It was a fight with Amalek.
17:8 says that Amalek came at that time and fought with Israel at Rephidim. The word Amalek () that appears here means ‘good war’ or ‘owner of the valley’, and it was a tribe of desert valleys that moved along water and grass. This Amalek was the grandson of Esau and descended from a concubine (Gen 36:12). They departed from the other 12 tribes of Esau and were a militant tribe scattered across southern Palestine and northern Sinai (Numbers 13:29, 14:25, 24:20). They took advantage of Israel's weary time on the way from Egypt to the land of Canaan, and unexpectedly attacked those following Israel's camp. Of course, Amalek did not know how to fear God (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). In the history of Israel's chosen people, Amalek has always acted as an enemy, and God said that he would fight with Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). They told God to blot out the name of Amalek and his descendants from the earth (Deuteronomy 25:19). Then they were enemies and enemies of God. Tired of their journey in the wilderness, they attacked the rear of the Israelites who were following them from a distance.
Anyone who follows from behind this far will always be Satan's snare. Because of these people, Israel encountered the cause of war.
II. It was the war of Jehovah Nissi.
Unexpectedly attacked by Amalek, Moses was forced to start an inseparable battle. First, he orders his servant Joshua to choose a man from among Israel to go to war and fight the Amalekites. And he said that he would stand on the top of a mountain with the staff of God. He went up to the top of the mountain and said that if Moses raised his hand, Israel would prevail, and if Moses' hand came down, Amalek would prevail.
The next morning, at the command of Moses, Joshua took the warriors and went out to battle against Amalek. Moses went up to the top of the mountain and raised his hands high. Here, the top of the mountain means ‘a small hill (low mountain)’. At this time, his older brother Aaron and Caleb's son Hur (1 Chronicles 2:3, Exod 24:13-14) followed Moses up the mountain. When Moses' arm, which was raised high toward the sky, was tired, they stood up and held up Moses' arm, so Moses' arm did not come down until the sun went down.
Joshua received this signal of victory from the top of the mountain, and on that day struck Amalek with the edge of his sword to destroy it, and he was victorious. It was a really strange tactic, a tactic.
When Moses went up the mountain and raised his hand, the war was won, and when his hand was lowered, it was a defeat. This is the crucial key to, and the secret to, victory in war. So what does it mean for Moses to raise his hand at the top of the mountain?
First of all, it's a sign of a major skirmish that signals the start of a battle. The war began when Moses began to raise his hands from the top of the mountain.
Second, it can also be a signal of advancing combat. If Moses continues to raise his hands, it shows that the battle must go forward.
Third, in a greater and more essential sense, it is the sign of Moses' earnest prayer for God's help.
The fact that Moses raised his hands high toward the sky from the top of the mountain is a sign of earnest prayer, pleading for the help and power of Almighty God. Their prayers are not limited to Moses alone. As Aaron and Hur hold hands together, it is showing the cooperative system of united prayer, joint prayer, and prayer.
Fourth, it was also a symbol of one means by which God saved Israel.
When he raised his hand toward the sky in front of Pharaoh king of Egypt, thunder and hail and balls of fire fell from heaven together and struck Egypt (Exodus 9:23-25). When he raised his hand high toward the God of heaven, the plague was temporarily stopped (Exodus 8:29). When Moses, who was commanded by God, raised his hand toward Egypt, a plague of locusts appeared and caused them to slaughter vegetables in Egypt (Exodus 10:12). When Moses, who received God's command, held out the hand holding the staff, and pushed it out over the Red Sea, the waters of the Red Sea split into dry land (14:16, 21). The waters of the Red Sea that had become merged together, and Pharaoh of Egypt and his servants were judged by water (Exodus 14:26-27).
This raising of Moses' hand was a means of God's salvation movement according to God's command. It is not that there is any power in Moses' hand, but it is revealing the hand of God's power, the hand of salvation, and the hand of judgment.
Fifth, it was a symbol of wishing for blessings.
The priests and prophets of all ages who received God's command, the messengers of the gospel age, raised their hands and prayed for the blessing of the people.
If so, it shows that the content of this war victory is not in man, but in God's own protection, power, and blessing. Joshua and his mercenaries fought with faith while looking at the signal of victory that God showed them.
So, God made it possible to convey the victory in the battle against Amalek to the next generation through two contents. That's what I told them to record this war in a book and commemorate it. This is what God Himself had commanded to blot out Amalek so that there would be no memory under heaven (17:14). And he built an altar for victory and named it Jehovah Nissi. It means ‘Jehovah is my banner’.
Ⅲ. What are the New Testament lessons of Jehovah Nissi
It is the prophetic lesson of the victory of Jesus Christ Himself and the victory of the Church of Jesus Christ. Climb to the top of the mountain and watch him raise his arms high towards the sky. Doesn't it remind us of our Lord Jesus Christ, who went up to that Garden of Gethsemane and prayed to the Father with his hands high in order to atone for the sins of mankind? It reminds me of Jesus Christ who cried out (Luke 23:34). No, it reminds me of the final appearance of the Lord, who left the mark of the fulfillment of the atonement because I had accomplished it on the cross (John 19:30). It was the Lord's prayer for the victory of all Christians living today. This prayer of the Lord is still in effect.
Not only that. Look at Romans 8:34. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died and was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Hebrews 7:24-25 says that because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood does not change; therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Now Jesus is not Moses, who has gone up to the top of a low mountain in Rephidim and raised his hands. He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He is not Moses with his hands raised from the top of Mount Rephidim, looking at the battlefield of a region where Joshua and Amalek are at war. He sits on the higher and higher throne of God, raising his hands and praying for the victory of all the churches in the pre-century, cosmopolitan universe. “(Colossians 3:1) Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above. There Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:2).
We must look to him. And you must listen to the words of this victory promise, which he said, “Even though you will be over in the world, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). And you have to believe it. And you have to win.
Dear saints,
We have a new year 2005 that we have never seen before. Certainly, the time God has given this year is also the progress of the history of redemption for the salvation of God's chosen ones. We must fight the modern version of the tangible and intangible Amalek without fail. There must be no one who is particularly tired and follows you from far behind. At Rephidim, Amalek was tired and had been following Israel from a distance, taking advantage of Israel's weakness to attack. The same is true of Satan today.
The world we live in is a life on the holy battlefield. We must fight by order. You must be Joshua and his mercenaries who fight on the front line by fire. And at the top of the mountain, we have to fight the prayer of raising our hands.
We must make our life itself a living record of victory that reveals God's own victory. It should be a ‘book of God’. The life we have received should become today’s ‘Jehovah Nissi’, that is, ‘Jehovah is our banner.’
The flag is a sign of the call of the army (Isaiah 11:10). It is the mark of the march of the army (Numbers 2:34). And it is a sign of a messenger (Jeremiah 50:2). And the flag is a sign of occupation and victory (Song 2:4). The very life we have been given must be Jehovah Nissi with this function.
The “banner of Jehovah” is Jesus Christ Himself. He is the banner that the Lord has set up for all peoples (Isaiah 11:10, 12). Jesus is ‘Jehovah Nissi’. The Lord is raising his hand for our victory on the heavenly throne. Those who see it should raise their hands together and ask him for help. And you have to be sure of victory. Those who receive the sign of victory must demonstrate the courage to face-to-face battles by fire. This is Jehovah Nissi, the victory of God Himself. It is a victory for all of us.
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