Exodus 17:8-16

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day you and I, we get together, we have some coffee, we get into God's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023, Lord willing, we'll make it from Genesis to Leviticus. So glad to be with you today. Why don't we have some coffee?
We'll pray and we'll wrap up Exodus chapter 17. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much that you have given us this day, that you have woken us up this morning, and that you have blessed us with your word. Father, please help us to understand it. Please teach us to live it. We need your spirit in Jesus's name. Amen. Okay, Exodus chapter 17, the second half of the chapter here, beginning at verse 8.
Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
And so it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heaven. And Moses built an altar and called its name, The Lord is My Banner. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Well, we need to ask ourselves our same three questions. A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this in? C, what are we called to do in response to these words? What's this about?
Well, Amlek comes to Rephidim and they're gonna fight it out, right? You don't want an enemy army coming up to your borders. You see them coming down the road. You don't want them to come near your land. You don't want them to take over your fields to capture your cities. So they're gonna come to fight.
But the Lord's got an idea for this, right? The Lord is the one who's the victor of the army, right? It's the Lord of hosts. It's the God of war, right? He's the one who's going to bring his people into the promised land. So they go to war. And Joshua is sent out as the commander of the army.
It seems as Moses is probably up on a hill somewhere and there his hands are up in the air. Now it's possible he, one commentary says that it's possible he even has the rod in between his hands. I'm not convinced that that's the case, but it's possible. but Moses as the battle is going on remember by this time Moses is an old man he's in his 80s and he's he's getting old right he can't hold his arms up there the whole time actually this might be a good exercise if you have children to do all right go go have them stand out in the yard And put their arms up in the air. Don't let the arms really move, just hold them up in the air. And let your children see how long they can keep their arms up in the air. It's amazing how heavy your arms get after a while.
Well, anyway, see, he needs help. And so Aaron, the priest, gets on the other side of him, and one of his other assistants gets on the other side of him, and they actually prop up his elbows after they sit him down on a rock. And as long as his arms are up, the battle's going well. But if his arms start drooping, then the battle is going against them. But they prevail. They prevail at the end of the day. God gives them the victory. And Moses makes a memorial.
And this is the commandment of the Lord. Verse 14. Then the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial in the book and recounted in the hearing of Joshua. that I will utterly plot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Now, I think this is actually an interesting point here. This is a rabbit trail. We won't spend too long, but this is the first mention of Moses writing something down. Write this for a memorial in the book.
This is why we talk about the book of Moses or the books of Moses. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Now it's possible there was an editor at some time. Maybe it was the, maybe it was Joshua who wrote or edited the books of Moses as you know, he writes about Moses's death. It's possible that that was the case, but it's clear Moses is a literate man and has to write these things down. Why?
So that way joshua can hear this is what happened So the next generation can know that the lord is their banner. This is jehovah nisi Right. This is this is god is my banner Why because god had promised? To give them the land And so when amulet came and tried to destroy them he was going against god his covenant and his promises And so he's going to take care of it What's this about though? What is this really about? It's about God caring for his people and keeping his promises. This is God who's going to love his people. He's entered into covenant with his people. And this is God being faithful to his word. And he gives his people a victory by a supernatural occurrence. What is holding up a rod or what does holding up your hands have to do? What does holding up your hands have to do with winning a battle?
Was it Moses' strength? No, it wasn't about Moses. Moses was the mediator between the Lord and his people. But it was about God winning this battle. It's about God doing his work. It's about God keeping his promises. This is the first battle of the Israelites. And they see that they're going to be able to enter into the promised land and they're going to have victory. The Lord is going to bring about victory over the nations. He's going to keep his promises. Because he's their banner. He's the one they fight under. He's the one they fight for. He's their king.
What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, I have verse 15 and 16, but especially verse 15, the second half I have double underlined. And Moses built an altar and called its name Jehovah Nissi, or the Lord is my banner. For he said, because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
How does this apply to our lives? See calling, what are we called to do? We're called to trust. Right now we're, we have a different type of battle, right? We wage battle, not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and principalities of this world. As we go and we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we know that our mediator, Jesus Christ is our King in heaven. He is our banner. He has his crown and he has given us his covenant.
And so we go out as his children, as ambassadors for his kingdom, waging war against our own hearts, against the sin that still abides within us, but also going out and doing battle against the darkness of this world as we share the good news of Jesus Christ, as we tell others about the crown rights of Jesus Christ, as we tell others about the Lord who is our banner. about our King, who has loved us enough to die for us, and who rose again from the dead, and who is sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, where the angels worship Him day and night, singing worthy is the Lamb.
Is He your hope? Do you trust in Him? Are you part of His army? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. And we pray that you indeed would be our banner, that we would go to your marching orders, that we would know that you have not called us to pick up a literal sword to go forth with your kingdom, but you have given us a sword of your spirit. And you have given us our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our mediator, who always stands as the victor and who promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against your church. Lord, please help us, Father. Help us, Lord, to storm those gates. Please save people to yourself. In Jesus's name, amen. May the Lord bless you. May you trust and love Jesus Christ. May you walk in his ways. And may you watch over your soul this day and all the days of your life. I'll see you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.