Exodus 17:11-13 NLT - "As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle."
We have been studying Moses and the Israelites and their adventures in the wilderness for the past few weeks at church. Last Sunday, we read this story in Exodus 17 about the battle with the Amalekites. Moses, his brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law Hur went to the top of a hill to hold up the staff of God during the battle.
The first question that struck me was, “what was so important about the staff that Moses had to hold it up?” So I did a little “digging” and found that the staff had been with Moses since day one at the burning bush. God showed His power to Moses that day by turning the staff into a snake…and from then on, God directed Moses to use the staff to show His power in many situations (the plagues in Egypt Red Sea , water from the rock, the battle with the Amalekites).
Moses was interceding (intervening on Joshua’s behalf) by holding the very POWER of God over the battle when he kept the staff elevated. As long as Moses was interceding for Joshua and his army, they were winning. But when he grew weak and couldn’t hold up the staff, the enemy was winning. How important was Moses’ intercession that day? It was the difference between victory and defeat.
But Moses could not have done it alone. He wanted to be obedient to God and hold the staff up, but in his human weakness, there was no way he could have continued to do it alone. His brothers were there to hold him up so that he could do God’s work. Without their support, Moses would have dropped the staff and the battle would have been lost.
Can you see the lesson here? Our intercession (prayer) for one another is how we hold God’s power over a battle. Joshua was too busy fighting to be able to cry out to God, so Moses had to be there for him. As long as Moses interceded, the battle was being won! But Moses grew weak, so Aaron and Hur had to be there for him.
Do you know someone that is in a battle right now? Maybe you are fighting one yourself. Are you trying to do it alone? This story shows us that none of us can fight our battles alone. We MUST have Christian brothers and sisters who are interceding on our behalf and who are willing to “hold us up” when we grow weak. This is especially true of our pastors. They have so many people that they are trying to intercede for, but who is holding them up? They grow weak just like the rest of us. We have to HOLD THEM UP!
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