What is the Christian life? Is it like an afternoon stroll through the park? Is it like walking on the beach at sunset? Is it full of rest and refreshment and peace? Well, we do get a taste of these things, don’t we? Mainly, here is this fallen world, the Christian life is war.
In his book A Banquet in the Grave Ed Welch describes war as he says, “There is something about war that sharpens the senses . . . You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little or no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.”
Today I want to you to be sobered in the reminder that the Christian life is war. But, I also want to give you great hope in this war as well.
We’ve followed Israel these past many weeks, and we’ve seen them facing many battles and learning many lessons in the wilderness. Lessons like “God saves”, “No complaining”, “God will always provide for you, guide you, and be with you.” And yet, these struggles have all largely been internal battles, haven’t they? They have been their own enemies since the Red Sea. Today we find them in yet another battle, facing something they’ve not faced before. For the first time since they’ve come out of Egypt they now face an external enemy, and in this moment they will learn another lesson.[1]
Our text is Exodus 17:8-16, let’s take it in two parts. See first…
Israel Victorious (v8-13)
“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”
v8 jumps right into the action. Not much time has passed since the striking of the rock and the gushing out of water at Rephidim. When God provided that water, Israel’s thirst was quenched. Yet now, all of the sudden when we get to v8 we read of a new threat. Amalek came and fought with them.
Questions arise at this. First, who is Amalek? Going back to Genesis we find that Amalek is Abraham’s great-grandson. Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Esau, Esau had Eliphaz, and Eliphaz had Amalek. So Israel and Amalek are distant relatives, and yet from Genesis and even here, it seems there was tension between these two peoples. After this incident Israel will fight Amalek again later on in Numbers 13. And much later on God would command King Saul to wipe out the Amalekites completely in 1 Samuel 15. But Saul did not do this, which would eventually pave the way for the Amalekite villain Haman in the book of Esther. Haman’s ancestors are these Amalekites here in Exodus 17.
Second, why did Amalek attack? We’re not entirely sure, but guesses could be made. Perhaps they felt threatened by Israel coming into this part of the wilderness. Perhaps they heard of the water gushing out of the rock and they desired to have such an abundant resource for themselves. Or perhaps, they wickedly took delight in preying on any who pass through this region, like pirates in the wilderness.[2]
Third, how did Amalek attack? Deuteronomy 25 tells us. There Moses says, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God” (Deut. 25:17-18). So apparently Amalek did have a pirate-like posture, preying on the weak and frail who lagged behind as peoples passed through this region.
Thus, this attack in v8 was unprovoked (Israel didn’t first attack them), it was dishonorable (they didn’t attack the whole, just the weary and weak), and it was wicked (they did not fear God). So once again, Israel’s survival is in jeopardy. This was the first of many battles Israel would have to fight on their way to the Promise Land.[3] God had saved them from Egypt, and God had saved them at the Red Sea. Back then all they had to do was be still and watch God fight for them (Ex. 14:14). Here they still must trust that God is fighting for them, but now they must take up arms and fight in the battle themselves.
What did Israel do about this? Look at v9 to see the plan. Moses will do something, and Joshua will do something. Joshua (mentioned here in this verse for the first time in the Bible) is going to choose able men and go out to war. No doubt, Joshua doesn’t have the cream of the crop, as Israel has never had to fight before. And no doubt, putting an army together on such short notice would’ve been an incredibly challenging task. But there is hope because on one hand in a people as large as Israel there were no doubt some strong and sturdy men around. And on the other hand Israel had plundered the Egyptians as they came out of Egypt, so many of the men would have weapons on them.[4]
While Joshua does all this, look at Moses. Moses says he’ll go up on top of the hill overlooking the battle with the staff of God in his hand. Notice that there is no indication of Moses praying, or asking for guidance on what to do, he just moves into action. What is this? He could’ve prayed, for sure. We don’t have every detail here, so Moses very well could’ve prayed and the plan we see in v9 could be the result of that. Or he could’ve not prayed and just moved into action as he deemed best, but there is no rebuke of Moses for doing what he did here. So what do we make of this? While there are times for prayer and seeking God’s power to rescue, there are also times for taking immediate action with the power God has already given you.[5] I think we see the latter in view here.
In v10-13 we see this first battle. Joshua gets his men and goes out to fight, while Moses goes up on top of the hill with the staff, and we learn he goes up with two others, Aaron and Hur. Aaron we know, but Hur is now introduced to us for the first time. As with Joshua, Hur will be more present in the text later on but for now he and Aaron serve the role of support up on the hill. So the battle begins and we see that what Moses is doing above has great bearing on what Joshua is doing below. Whenever Moses raised up his hands and the staff Israel would begin prevailing, but whenever Moses lowered his hands and the staff Amalek would begin prevailing.
Eventually, Moses catches on to this pattern, so he keeps his arms and the staff raised high. But as you would think, he grows weary in this. So Aaron and Hur sit him down and each of them hold up one of Moses’ arms until the battle is over. Remember Moses is old at this point, this work of keeping his arms held high was hard for him, and this battle was not won in a quick minute, it took all day. In his own strength he couldn’t do it on his own. Lesson? Not even the called, equipped, and gifted Moses could be a lone ranger here.[6] He needed others beside him. He needed support. And Aaron and Hur gave him that very thing, coming alongside Moses and did what was needed with him to ensure he could last the whole battle.
Now, here’s the question. We know Joshua was fighting during the battle, we know Aaron and Hur were supporting Moses’ arms during the battle, but what exactly was Moses doing? There is more debate about this than you might imagine.[7] Some think Moses raising his hands and holding up the staff was his act of holding up the symbol of God’s presence with His people. Some think Moses raising his hands and holding up the staff was declaring God’s victory over the battle. Others believe Moses was merely seeking to encourage the troops, as if he were cheering them on. Still others believe Moses’ staff was itself the mediating instrument of God’s power, just as it had been back in the plagues. And finally some believe Moses raising his hands and holding up the staff was an act of prayer, which is to say that as Joshua was engaged in the physical fight, Moses was engaged in the spiritual fight.[8]
So what was Moses doing? It is hard to say for sure, since the text doesn’t tell us explicitly what he’s doing. But, I do think we can say this. Moses’ actions were a clear sign of dependence on God. Hands held high in the Bible is a clear act of worship and a powerful way to plead with God to come and rescue. So while we don’t hear Moses say anything with his mouth, his raised hands are speaking volumes, as if they were an appeal for God to move in power for His people. And move in power for the sake of His people He did. See it in v13? As the sun sets, we read, “Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”
This was their first battle. Amalek attacked, Joshua and the men fought, Moses appealed to God, Aaron and Hur supported, God gave the victory.
Remembering the Victory (v14-16)
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Here we see Moses is commanded to write something, say something, and build something. Moses was to write about this battle in a book. The crazy fact about this is that v14 is the first reference in the Bible to anybody writing something.[9] What book is in view here? It very well could be evidence of an early copy of the Torah, where the whole book of Exodus is recorded. Anywho, this was to be a written deposit of truth for Israel of future generations to read and remember this moment. Moses was also to build an altar and say something about it. Altar building is not new with Moses, it goes way back to Noah’s day (Gen. 8:20). The meaning of altars was always to make much of what God had done, so that anyone who walking by could observe and reflect on a moment when God had intervened to save His people. So just as Israel sang the Song of Moses on the shores of the Red Sea after God saved them from Pharaoh and his host, so too Israel praises God here at this altar for saving them from Amalek.
What do they praise God for? v15-16 shows us. The name of this altar is “The Lord is My Banner.” Perhaps in this we get a glimpse into what role the staff played in Moses raised hand.[10] A banner is a military standard, a piece of cloth with the symbol of an army on it raised on a pole. During battle soldiers could look to their banner, and be reminded of their identity, of who they are, and gain new courage and hope during the battle…because as long as their banner kept flying, they knew the battle was not lost! And specifically here for Israel, the banner would’ve pointed them to the Lord who always fights for them, against Amalek, and against all their enemies.
How wonderful to see all of this after v7 in the scene before. There they tested God asking “Is the Lord among us or not?” Now, through this battle with Amalek, God has proven that He is present with His people once again, amen!
Overall this passage shows us that once more God has provided for His people. Once more He has been present with them in their plight. Once more He has saved them from their enemies. And once more do those enemies learn who the God of Israel truly is.[11]
The Church Warring Yet Victorious (Conclusion)
This passage teaches us much about Israel and much about what they needed to learn in the wilderness. But it also points far ahead of itself and teaches us much about the Christian life. You see, the Christian life in a fallen world is life at war. So many are looking for peace and rest when war rages within us in our sinful nature and all around us in the spiritual realm.
Think of this. We’re born into this world enslaved to the enemy, to the Devil, unable to free ourselves. Into such a dreadful state, God sent His Son to wage war and fight this great enemy. Jesus fought the Devil many times in His life, but it’s on the cross where we see the greatest fight in the history of the world. In that moment, by laying down His life for us and for our sins the Devil surely thought he had won, but as Christ rose from death Jesus broke the Devil’s strong arm once and for all, disarming all the rulers and authorities of darkness, putting them to open shame, and triumphing over them (Col. 2:15). So now all who come to Christ, all who trust in Christ, all who look to Christ are saved, are freed from slavery to the Devil, freed from their sins, and are adopted as sons and daughters of the King. Is the war over then? Not at all. The battle has just begun.
Sure the great fight has been fought, but now the battle goes on. The enemy who sought to destroy Christ now seeks to destroy us. And this enemy is fierce. He attacks without warning and would easily undue us and defeat us…but for Christ our captain. As fierce as our enemy is, in Christ we have a greater warrior and general, who leads us, equips us, and supports us in the fight.
So just as Israel fought Amalek here so now the Church fights against the rulers, the authorities, and the spiritual forces of evil. And just as Israel grew weary in the fight so do we. But in this great battle we have great hope.
First, we have the great hope of fighting from victory already won. Yes we fight, and the fight is real. But we don’t fight for victory, we fight from victory already won! Christ has already defeated and disarmed the great foe, he knows his time is short, so even though he runs amuck we have great hope because we know the fatal wound has already been dealt.
Second, we have the great hope of support from one another. As Aaron and Hur were there next to Moses to support him in the fight, so too we have one another. In this we have great hope as well, for we never fight alone. If I grow weary in the fight I need only look beside me to see you. If you grow weary in the fight you need only look beside you to see me. We’re never alone in this fight. So when we stand firm and prevail we prevail together. Or if we stumble and fall we fall together. The support of the Church is a great hope in battle.
Third, we have the great hope of Christ our Captain. Moses grew weary in holding up the banner of the Lord, for he was just a man. A great man, but just a man. Hear it Church, Christ our Captain, never falters, never grows weary, never needs support, and never weakens. He ever stands to protect us, to defend us, to fight for us still. He is our banner, and it will ever fly high in the sky. Thus, we always have hope in the fight.
[1] John D. Currid, Exodus 1-18 (Grand Rapids, MI: EP Books, 2014) 353.
[2] Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011) 269.
[3] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus – PTWC (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 422.
[4] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus – NAC (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2006) 398.
[5] Hamilton, 270.
[6] Ryken, 427.
[7] Ryken, 424.
[8] Hamilton, 271.
[9] Hamilton, 272.
[10] Ryken, 430.
[11] John I. Durham, Exodus – WBC (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1987) 238.
