Title: Yahweh will fight (Exodus 17:8-16)
Contents
Yahweh will fight (Exodus 17:8-16)
After Moses and the Israelites left Egypt, they came to a place called Rephidim, and there they fought Amalek, a descendant of Esau.
The Amalekites were a militant, aggressive, atheist people who tormented the Israelites.
This was the battle between Amalek and Israel. Esau was the eldest son of Isaac, who fought with Jacob for the birthright. He was a solid man and a good hunter. In contrast, Jacob helped his mother and household chores, and had no interest in hunting or fighting. Eventually, the birthright belonged to Jacob. Like Esau, the Amalekites were a people of the wilderness, a people who seemed too strong and skillful in warfare. However, the exodus of the Israelites was a journey of sojourners leading women and children in the wilderness. Therefore, the outcome of the battle between Israel and Amalek was obvious. But Israel won.
We Christians are sojourners who leave Egypt, a life of sin and bondage, toward spiritual Canaan. However, in the process, he meets the spiritual Amalekites. You will engage in various spiritual wars. Today, we are going to look at the text of the text, how we can win the spiritual war that was constantly fought in the war between Amalek and Israel. It is because we believe that if we apply the secret of Israel's victory to us, we will surely be victorious too.
In conclusion, the fundamental reason that Israel was able to win was because God fought. Because it is God's war, it must have been victorious.
But God works through the faith of that community. Therefore, victory or defeat is determined by the beliefs of the community. Therefore, we must be people of faith.
So let's take a closer look.
First, Moses went up the mountain when he was fighting. Moses knew he was against the fight. So he went up on a high mountain. In the Bible, mountains are known as places of worship or meeting with God. Many ancestors of faith met God in the mountains (Mt. Sinai, Mt. Horeb, Mt. Ararat, Mt. Carmel, etc.). So, the Gentiles in the Old Testament understood God as the god of the mountains. In the New Testament, we see that Jesus went up a mountain to pray.
The ancestors of faith went up to the mountain to meet God and to dig God's treasure from that mountain. Moses was right on the mountain of God. We too must climb the mountain of prayer in our busy daily life. Like the Israeli community, the question of whether we live or die depends on us, so how can we not climb the mountain of God? We should pray wherever we are in our lives. Do we have a mountain of prayer? Is there really a prayer room to seek God when I am in trouble? The people of Israel were able to defeat the Amalekites because they had climbed the mountain of God.
Another thing is that when Moses went up the mountain of God, he went up with the staff of God. The staff that Moses held in Moses' hand from when he was shepherding sheep in the wilderness of Midian became God's staff after Moses became God's servant. He became God's after all his possessions became God's servants. So even the insignificant staff that Moses had had a different purpose. The meaning of the wand has changed. That's right. When the staff belonged to Moses, they were used as self-defense to beat sheep and protect them from wild beasts, but when Moses was caught by God and became God's staff, it became a miraculous staff.
When Moses went up the mountain with the staff of God, it means that God must seize him. The secret to winning this difficult battle is when we are caught up with God. The history of that place is different depending on who owns it, whether it is a person or a community, depending on who is holding it. Just as David the shepherd became David the holy soldier and Saul the persecutor became Paul the evangelist, aren't sinners like us being caught by God and being used as God's servants? When ownership is transferred from me to God, a miracle occurs and history changes. So David makes this confession in Psalm 23
“Your staff and staff comfort me” (verse 4).
That's right. God did not give us a custom made magic wand. When I give myself to God, I am able to produce miracles with God's instrument. In that case, I will become God's staff. I want you to depend on God. I want to give you all of yourself to God. Be caught by God! Then we will become God's staff.
Third, Moses, Aaron, Hur, and Joshua were together. What is the secret to victory? is to do it together. Aaron and Hur were with Moses. Great leaders had great co-workers. Aaron, Miriam, Hur, and Joshua and Caleb were beside Moses, and they did the work of God together, not alone. Paul also had many good co-workers around him. Jesus also had a co-worker. There were women and disciples whom he, who was God, served faithfully. In the text, Moses also had a helper. A person who helps is called a helper in English. But here it means not only a helper but also a savior. That's right. In a sense, Aaron and Hur were Moses' rescuers. However, humans have limitations. Therefore, only our Lord can truly be my helper. So, doesn't David confess, "The Lord is my help"? Truly the Lord is my helper. You truly help me and become a savior of my life.
Finally, the people of Israel were able to win because they raised their hands.
Raising your hand has two meanings. It is an urgent request to God and means surrender to God. Moses knew that even if humans fight, God must fight the reason why they can win this battle. In this unwinnable situation, he raises his hands and asks the Lord that there is only God who can give him victory. So what is prayer? It is to make God God. To pray is to ask for God's help, but it is also to ask God to fight.
Therefore, prayer is truly the root of victory. It is to shake the throne of God, to create God's miracles, and to create opportunities to fight with God.
I just want to say two things about what we should do when we have difficulties. Pray to God. Raise your hands and pray to God. And do your best in the circumstances I am given. Even if it cannot have a decisive influence on the difficult situation I am in, I do my best. So, even if it is a small thing, I believe that God will use it and make it a seed that will help you win.
Moses confesses the victory there on that day as “Jehovah Nissi.” It is the banner of Jehovah's victory. And he confesses in verse 16, "The LORD said, "I will fight with Amalek from generation to generation." That's right. God promised not to fight once, but to fight continuously from generation to generation.
Dear all!
I pray that you will become the heroes of God who truly humbly stand before God and raise their hands to God.