8 Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Pick some men for us, and go out and do battle with Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill, with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Then, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur, one on each side, supported his hands; thus his hands remained steady until the sun set. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek with the sword.
(Exodus 17:8-13 The New JPS Translation according to the Traditional Hebrew Text)
This is a great story. Israel had just been rebuked by God for complaining about the lack of water in Rephidim. God had Moses strike a rock with the rod he had used to demonstrate God’s power in Egypt. As he did so, water flowed supernaturally. Immediately thereafter, Amalek attacked, but Moses was now aware of the power in that staff. In fact, he refers to it as the “rod of God. The plan seems to have been a 2-man operation at first: Moses holding the rod and Joshua selecting and commanding the troops.
As with many of God’s projects, more help was needed. Aaron and Hur had to step in to provide support when Moses’ human strength began to fail. They also had to move rocks so that he could sit. Often overlooked are the men chosen to follow Joshua into battle. Every endeavor requires people willing to work whose names are not on the marquee. Thank God for foot soldiers. This victory required a lot of people to do their part and not become famous. That’s the way victory usually works.
As we go to the meeting of God’s church, let’s look for ways to help in the battle. It takes the power of God, so let’s pray. Some of the team may be getting tired, so let’s step up and lift them up. It may take organizing an army, so let’s make connections. It will probably require a willingness to work in anonymity, so let’s stop looking for recognition and start looking for effectiveness. If each of us does a little, we can all do a lot.
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