Holding Up the Hands of Moses

“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. … 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.” (Exodus 17:8-12 ESV)

The Amalekites were descendants of “Esaul”, and a hatred between the descendants of Esaul and the descendants of Jacob had lasted for hundreds of years. Remember that Jacob’s descendants were in captivity for 400 years in Egypt, and that God had miraculously brought them out through the Red Sea, and was personally leading them to the promised land. So, as Israel (Jacob's descendants) made their way to the land God had promised to their forefather Abraham, they had to pass through the territory of the Amalekites, who fiercely defended it. The hatred between Esau's and Jacob's descendants was strong, and now they were going to war.

Now we find King Amalek’s army came to fight against Israel at Rephidim. Remember, this was the first battle Israel was to encounter; this group of people had not had years to prepare an army for battle; they had no training and few supplies.  I’m sure that Amalek thought this would be a quick victory for his people. But King Amalek didn’t realize that Israel had the one true God on their side. Moses and Joshua chose men to go out and fight for their people.

Now is where events really become interesting. While Joshua leads his “army” out to the battlefield, Moses, Aaron (Moses’ brother), and Hur went up on a hillside to support and observe the sons of Israel in battle. 

 From their vantage point, they could see the battle before them, and as Moses raised his hands in prayer to God, the Israelites were victorious. However, whenever Moses lowered his hands, the Israelites would lose. Then we read in  v12 that “Moses’ hands were heavy”, and he could no longer hold them up on his own. Seeing the destruction of Israel’s army, Aaron and Hur were enlisted to help hold up Moses’ hands, securing Israel's victory.

Although not on the battlefield itself, Moses, Aaron, and Hur were vital to the battle's success. You see, we as followers of God don’t have to be on the “front line” to be effective for Him. So often we think, I could never stand up there and preach to people, I could never pick up and move to a foreign country to share the love of Christ, I could never sing in a choir, lead congregational prayer, or any of the other 'front line' types of ministries. That’s just not who I am; I just couldn’t do it. And do you know God’s answer to that? No problem! Just as God used Moses, Aaron, and Hur in supporting roles in God’s victory over the Amalekites, God can and will use you to support the spread of the Gospel of Grace to a dying world.

Maybe you can’t be on the "front line", but you can pray just like Moses did. Perhaps your gift is the gift of giving, or the gift of encouragement, or hospitality. Maybe God can use you to “hold up the hands” of someone else that God is also using. All too often, we downplay our gifts and roles that God has designed for us in the body of Christ. As faithful followers of our Savior, we need to quit looking at what we can’t do and start doing what we can. Everything that God has enabled us to do can be done for His honor and glory. If you can sweep the floors, that might free someone else to pray. If you can fix a meal, maybe someone else could deliver it. We all have our part in “holding up the hands” of Moses. I think sometimes it looks like God’s church is losing the battle because there aren't enough of us willing to pray and “hold up the hands” of our brothers and sisters.

God wants to give each of us the opportunity to be a blessing; all we need to do is to “hold up the hands” of the person next to us.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"