We will begin this lesson in Exodus 17:1 “And all the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after
their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched
in Rephidim: and [there was] no water for the people to drink.”
Here we see, again, a trial for these children of Israel. Rephidim
was a place in the desert. We will see, if they learned anything from
the last trial.
Exodus 17:2 “Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said,
Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide
ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?”
“Chide” means to wrangle, or have a controversy. In other words,
they were complaining again. Moses warned them that they were angering
God with all of their complaining. This was a silly thing to ask Moses.
Moses cannot manufacture water. They should pray, and ask God for
water.
Exodus 17:3 “And the people thirsted there for water; and the
people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore [is] this [that]
thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and
our cattle with thirst?”
This complaining was getting terrible, and the people blamed Moses,
because they did not have water. Not once, did they realize that they
were being tested.
Exodus 17:4 “And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I
do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.”
Moses did what the children of Israel should have done. He cried
to God for help. It was to the point, that he feared for his life.
Exodus 17:5 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the
people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod,
wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.”
God wanted the people to know that the water He provided was a
miracle from Him. God gave Moses this rod from the beginning to do
miracles with. God was saying to Moses, you have it within your hand to
remedy this situation.
Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock
in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water
out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of
the elders of Israel.”
This was the Lord speaking to Moses. The “Rock” that was struck
was the Lord. First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 4, “And did all drink
the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that
followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Jesus is the living water.
Jesus told the woman at the well, that if she would drink of the water
He gave her, she would never thirst again. This is that Water of Life.
I sing a song called “THERE IS A RIVER”. It speaks of this river
flowing from deep within. This spiritual river of water never ends, if
you are a believer in Christ. Jesus is the Water of Life. Look, one
more time, at verse 6. The Lord said He would stand before Moses on the
rock. When Moses strikes this rock, it is symbolic of the crucifixion
of Jesus, who was struck for us all. This was done in front of the
elders, so that they could relate the miracle to their people.
Exodus 17:7 “And he called the name of the place Massah, and
Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because
they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?”
“Massah” was a place in the desert. “Meribah” was the name of two
places in the desert. This was a very bad remark they had made “…Is
the Lord among us, or not?”. It was almost as if they had given the
Lord an ultimatum. We should never tempt the Lord. It is a very
dangerous thing to challenge the Lord. These Israelites were on
dangerous ground. They should be thanking Him for all the past
miracles, and praying for His help, here. Instead, they were even
questioning whether He was with them, or not. They failed this test,
too.
Exodus 17:8 “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in
Rephidim.” Exodus 17:9 “And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men,
and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the
hill with the rod of God in mine hand.”
Moses had confidence in God. Joshua was a strong young man, who
loved God. He would be the likely one for Moses to get to lead the
army. Moses and Joshua knew, with God on their side, there was no
chance of defeat. Moses, on the hill, would be praising God for their
victory. This was the same rod God had given Moses to do miracles with.
Exodus 17:10 “So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought
with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the
hill.”
This was Joshua, the stone cutter, who would take over at Moses’
death, and continue the trip into the Holy land. This Amalek was,
probably, the father of the Amalekites. This was almost certainly the
grandson of Esau. They lived and reigned in this desert area. This was
the first appearance of Hur, and I am not certain of his ancestry.
Some believe that he was the husband of Miriam, but I do not find
Biblical evidence of that. We will find the reason for these two men
God sent with Moses in the next few verses.
Exodus 17:11 “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand,
that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek
prevailed.”
There is victory in praise. Moses, in lifting his hand, evokes
God’s help. When his hand fell down, God was not helping. This was a
lesson not only to Moses, but to all of these people that God’s help
was necessary to be victorious. As long as Moses’ hands were lifted to
heaven, God was pouring down His Spirit. When Moses’ hands dropped to his
side, Moses could not receive anything from God. The only problem is that
a man or woman cannot hold their hands straight up in the air for
hours. We read in Psalms 22:3 “But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that
inhabitest the praises of Israel.” The problem was how to keep Moses’
hands elevated to receive these blessings from God.
Exodus 17:12 “But Moses’ hands [were] heavy; and they took a
stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur
stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the
other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the
sun.” Exodus 17:13 “And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with
the edge of the sword.”
If there ever was a Scripture that teaches the importance of
praise, this is it. God dwells in (inhabits) the praises of His
people. Some of the problems with churches today, is that we have
forgotten how to praise. If you have never felt the presence of God in
your life, you should try it. It is wonderful. Just lift your hands up
in the air, open your hands with your palms up, start telling God how
much you love Him, and He will make you aware of His presence. You
will begin to tingle with His presence.
Solomon, standing before the Lord, prayed with both hands lifted
high. I Kings 8:22 “And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in
the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his
hands toward heaven:” I Kings 8:23 “And he said, LORD God of Israel,
[there is] no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who
keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee
with all their heart:” This prayer goes on, and you can read it in
First Kings chapter 8, verses 22 through verse 53. This is a
beautiful prayer, that we should take heed to, also. Be sure to read
it all.
Exodus 17:14 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a
memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I
will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
We see, that God wanted Moses to be sure to tell Joshua why
the battle was won. Here, we see that God (not Joshua) puts the memory of
Amalek out as far as heaven was concerned.
Exodus 17:15 “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it
Jehovah-nissi:”
“Johovah-nissi” means Jehovah is my banner. His banner over me is
love. This is true for all of His children.
Exodus 17:16 “For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the
LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
This was saying to Moses, Joshua, the children of Israel, and the
Christians of our day, that God will fight our enemies for us. “Amalek”
symbolizes those that come against God’s people. Our enemies are God’s
enemies. We needn’t bother to fight these battles. God will take care
of it for us.