Sitting on the Rock holding up the Rod

Winning the battles of life require us to rest in the immovability of our Rock, the power of the Rod (God’s word), and the support of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Sitting on a Rock and holding up a Rod‭‭Exodus‬ ‭17:8‭-‬16‬ ‭ESV‬‬[8] Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. [9] So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” [10] So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. [11] Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. [12] 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. [13] And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. [14] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” [15] And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, [16] saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”We have here a great example of what it takes to win the battles of life. Moses was confronted by Amalek and left no alternate but to fight. So what does he do? He tells Joshua to choose out men to go fight with Amalek. This battle will require their best and finest with Joshua as their captain. Often in scripture Joshua represents our lord in the OT. In fact, his name is the OT equivalent of the name Jesus. We must understand that the battle truly is the Lord’s as born again believes. We can trust that he will prevail and we cannot lose. While Joshua and the army are fighting Moses goes up to the top of the hill. He goes up as if to go up in prayer to the Lord. He goes up so the army can see him and he takes the Rod of God with him. He will hold it up for all to see. Everyone could look up and see the rod which reminded them of the power and presence of Almighty God. What great confidence we gain when we go up in prayer to the hill. What power we gain when we hold up God’s word. But, Moses became weary. Moses’ hands became heavy. So they brought him a stone to rest on. We too can rest in our rock. We can go to him when we are weary and find rest for our souls. Now Moses could not do this alone. Aaron and Hur are there to help him. One on each side to support his weary hands. To help him hold up the rod for all to see. Thank the lord he placed us in a body of believers to help us in our battles. He didn’t try to do this alone. He took help. We should always remember to engage others when the battles are raging. We do not have to do it alone.I am happy to report that the battle was win! And a written memorial is here for our remembrance. The Lord is our banner! Jehovahnissi, a new name given for us to rely own. When we hold him up, we win!