(Part 2 of 2)
“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as
Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As
long as Moses help up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he
lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired,
they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his
hands up-one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady
till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.”
Exodus 17:10-13
Joshua went
to the battlefield. Moses went to the mountain. Moses, with his staff in hand, stood
in intercession on the hill as Joshua, with his sword in hand, battled the
Amalekites in the valley below.
Countless sermons
have been preached on this passage. Songs have been written, books published
and paintings have been drawn of Moses’ arms being held up by Aaron and Hur as
Joshua battled in the valley below.
However,
this story is not about Moses, Aaron, Hur or Joshua! It is about the worn out,
weary, and hurting people that needed someone to realize they were under attack
and come to help them. Too often we romanticize passages of scripture, focusing
on the main characters, but forgetting the context. Moses, arms lifted, with
Aaron and Hur supporting him makes for a great portrait, but in reality it was designed
by God to teach us a lesson.
Moses couldn’t
do it alone! Aaron and Hur recognized Moses’ humanity and realized that he
could not save these people alone. They had to stop and help. Imagine if there
had been no one else on the hill that day. How would the day have ended?
Joshua didn’t
go into battle alone either. He chose the strongest men to go with him. Imagine
if no one had gone to the battlefield with him. It took all these men, doing
their part, to “utterly destroy” the enemy.
Ask yourself
this…Who is missing? Who is lagging behind in our church family? Who are the
worn out; weary and vulnerable? Some people are missing out of rebellion. They
have no interest in following God any longer or are dissatisfied with the
leadership God put over them. So they have chosen to leave. Others, however, desperately
want to be connected but have lost hope and direction. They have been beat down
by the weight of this world and are just worn out.
Was Moses to
blame for this? No! Was he to blame for them getting picked off? No! There was
no way for Moses to know who was “lagging behind.” He was out in front leading.
He needed everyone to keep watch, to encourage, strengthen, and stretch forth a
hand to the worn out and weary. He
needed Aaron and Hur on the mountain and Joshua in the field.
If we are
going to be effective as a Body of Believers, we too, have to break the herd
mentality. We need people in our churches praying and interceding for each
other. We need people reaching out in practical ways- taking meals to the sick,
visiting the lonely, encouraging the distraught, helping those in need. When we
take time to turn back and fight for the worn out and weary we will see great
victory in our communities.
Pastor Scott
Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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