Exodus chapter 17 pictures two more wonderful symbols of God to believers today. The chapter begins by telling us, the community of Israel leaves the Desert of Sin and “moved from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink so they quarreled with Moses“. Here is a spiritual principal, the people are following the Lord and yet they are in a place with no water. The lesson for us; just because everything is not going perfectly in your life does not mean you are not where God desires for you to be. We cannot let our feelings or circumstance determine our standing with God. Sometimes God brings us to a dry place to teach us. What is God trying to show you where you are right now?
The Israelites reaction unfortunately is much like ours, they grumble and Moses rightly reminds them they are testing God. When Moses prays, God explains, “Walk ahead of the people… take some of the elders…and the staff… I will stand before you by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it for people to drink… so Moses did this.” Remember, Moses later in Numbers chapter 20 is commanded to “speak to the rock“, but in his anger he strikes the rock a second time. For his disobedience Moses is not allowed to enter the Promised Land, why is this so important to God? Because this is God’s picture of the salvation that is to come. Jesus Christ was struck once for our sins and now all we need to do is call on Him to receive our salvation.
Next we are told, “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites“. Moses tells Joshua to choose some men and go out and fight the Amalekites. “I will stand on top of the Hill with the Staff of God in my hands.” We read, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands the Amalekites were winning“. “When Moses’ hands grew tired they put a stone under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on either side.” As an afterthought God adds, “Joshua overcame the Amalekites with the sword“. To Joshua, he won the battle with his sword, but in reality the battle was won through Moses. We cannot underestimate the power of intercessory prayer. And notice that Mosses is sustained by the aid of others; we too need to pray regularly with others. If your prayer life is weak, find prayer partners to help lift you up. Ultimately God will get the victory.
God tells Moses to write this event down so Joshua hear of it! If it is important that Joshua not forget, it must also be important for us to remember it. Moses built an alter there and called it, “the Lord if my banner“. When God answers prayers, it is God that is lifted up. It is God’s faithfulness that answers our prayers, not the quality of our words. We are simply lifting up His banner. What wonderful victory is God going to win today because of your prayers?