Facing the Battle
Hugh Laybourn - 2006

Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim.
     So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us, and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
And Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
      But Moses' hands were heavy.  Then 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 one on the other.  Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.  So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
      Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial, and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."  And Moses built an altar, and named it The LORD is My Banner; and he said, "The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation." (Exodus 17:8-16, NAS)

          I don’t know if anyone else has been attacked lately by the enemy, but he has certainly been after me.  As I was reading Exodus recently I ran across the first battle that Israel fought when they came out of Egypt.  Long ago I learned that first mentions in the Bible are important.  As I began to pray about this passage I realized what an analogy it was of everyman’s spiritual struggles.
          The Israelite’s enemy, the Amalekites, initiated the attack. Instead of struggling with them in the natural sense, Moses and the men of Israel approached the Amelekite’s attack as a spiritual battle.  The children of Israel are an image of the Christian.  Jesus is our Joshua.  The Israelites decided to go to battle, but directed Joshua to choose Israelite men and go out and fight, while the team of Moses, Aaron and Hur went up onto the hill to get perspective and intercede.
          Notice that when Moses went up to the top of the hill he had the “staff of God” in his hand.  That was the plan, hold the staff of God up and seek God.  The Rod is a picture of our authority that God has given us.  The authority we have is in the promises God has given us again and again in the scripture. “Whatever you ask, believing you will receive (Matthew 21:22, NKJV).”  “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven (Matthew 18:19, NKJV).”  When we pray, lifting up God’s promises to Him, and believe that we have what we ask for, we will receive.
          Intercession is wearying.  Even a great prayer warrior like Moses became tired.  “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41, NKJV).”  Moses was part of a team.  First Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a stone (which represents Christ, our foundation that cannot be shaken), and then they lifted up his hands, one on either side of him. What a picture! “How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight? . . . For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede (Deuteronomy 32:30-31, NIV).”  As we rest on our Rock, who is Jesus, and pray together in unity, the battle is won.

          There are three important things mentioned in this passage:

· First we need to remember what God has done.  God said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial” (so you don’t forget), “and recite it to Joshua”.  Boy, we need to be reminded that the battle is the Lord’s!  Sometimes when we are in the trenches like Joshua, we can forget that there is someone in the prayer room with a heavenly perspective, standing in the gap for us.  

· Second, Moses built an altar, so they wouldn’t forget what God had done.  He called the altar, “the Lord my banner” (or flag of victory).  We must not forget that the Lord is the one who will fight and raise a standard, banner, or flag of victory if we will seek Him.  

· Third, the battle was won, because hands were lifted to the throne of heaven.  This is intercession, this is effective prayer.

When we are in a spiritual battle, it is essential that we pray and praise God.  Don’t give up, don’t lose heart, raise your hands to the throne of heaven, and God will give you the victory.

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