Looking Up

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." 

     The children of Israel were not out of Egypt very long when they faced their next enemy: The nation of Amalek. In describing the battle that took place, the Bible explains that as long as Moses had his hands up, the Israelites were winning, but when his hands came down, the battle favored the Amalekites. How can it be that the course of the battle was determined by the motions of Moses’ hands? Moses’ hands was not responsible for the tide of the battle; the people’s hearts were. And their hearts were connected to the hands of Moses. When his hands were up, they looked up, literally and figuratively, to God as their hope and savior. When his hands were down, their faith faltered. Without faith, no amount of arrows in the world could penetrate the enemy of Amalek.

    You see, Amalek was not like any other nation, and this battle was not just any other battle. Amalek represented the evil in the world. More specifically, the nation of Amalek symbolized a "godless world," where things happen randomly and there is no such thing as reward and punishment. In a godless world, anything goes and anything can happen. We would be at the mercy of the role of the dice.

    This is why the battle against Amalek had to be fought with faith: It could only be won with faith. The antidote to the evil embraced by Amalek is the faith taught and lived by Israel. Jewish Tradition teaches that Amalek and Israel will be locked in battle until the end of time. Amalek says God is nowhere; Israel says God is everywhere. The two ideas are mutually exclusive, and only one will emerge victorious.

    The battle between Amalek and Israel rages on today, only it’s a spiritual fight, fought in the deep recesses of our minds and hearts, v16. God’s Providence extends to every detail of our lives on earth and nothing happens without His knowledge. The more we integrate this message into our everyday lives, the more we will weaken the remnant of Amalek. When our faith is complete, we will have finished the battle that began with Moses and ends with each and every one of us. 
Amen!

Reading: (Ex. 17:8-16)
Ref: (HG SB)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry