Opening Prayer
Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to gather here this afternoon and learn about how you want us to live. We thank you for the many blessings that you have placed into our lives. May we honor you. AMEN.
Intro
How many of you like Math class? Who is the teacher? Is she nice?
My 5th grade Math teacher was Mr. Duke and he was mean. Or at least I thought that he was at the time. When you got in trouble in his class he gave you two choices, you could get benched for 5 minutes at recess or you could take the book challenge.
Getting benched meant you had to spend so many minutes sitting on the bench instead of playing during recess time.
The book challenge is where you had to hold your arms out for a certain length of time with books stacked on them. If you dropped the books then you got double the benched time for recess.
So it was a risk you had to be willing to take.
Now, you are probably wondering what holding some books in the air has to do with chapel. Any ideas?
Intro to Exodus 17: 8-15
Our bible passage today is about Moses and the Amalekites.
What do we know about Moses so far, that is up to Exodus 17. We know about his birth, he was placed in a basket and hidden in the reeds by the water. Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby Moses and that is how he ends up growing up in the royal household. But Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man so Moses killed the Egyptian and fled to Midian where he married his wife Zipporah and started his family.
While Moses is tending the flock he sees a bush that doesn’t burn up and he hears God call him to free the Israelites from Egypt. This is where God uses Moses’ staff as a sign by turning it into a snake.
Moses heads back to Egypt and meets up with his older brother Aaron. Moses goes to Pharaoh and tells Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh of course refuses and God brings about all of those ten plagues on the Egyptians (blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of the first borns).
This is where the passover and festival of unleavened bread were instituted. Then Moses led his people out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea so they could escape safely. God provides food and water for the Israelites. Moses strikes the rock and water comes out of it.
Let’s get into the bible here and read Exodus 17:8-15.
Exodus 17:8-15 New International Version
The Amalekites Defeated
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 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. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.
Story Summary
This story comes as Moses and the Israelites are in the desert. They have been unhappy with their situation. That sounds like us sometimes, doesn’t it. Maybe we grumble about our situation, much like the Israelites. But God has provided manna and quail for food and water from the rock and God provides for us today as well.
The staff that Moses is carrying is the staff that God turned into a snake and God said to “take this wooden staff in your hand. You will be able to do miraculous signs with it.”
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites. Amalek was the grandson of Esau, Jacob's twin brother. The Amalekites were semi-nomadic people meaning they moved around when they felt like it and were known as warriors, but not noble warriors. They never fought a fair fight.
Moses called on Joshua to choose some men to go fight. This, by the way, is the first time we see Joshua in the Bible. Moses said he would stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands.
As long as Moses held up his hands, holding the staff of God, the Israelites were winning. When he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When his hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under Moses to sit on. Aaron and Hur held his hands up.
Joshua and the Israelites overtook the Amalekites.
This is actually a fairly short story. It is easy to overlook the significance of what this story reveals to us. I believe that the Word of God has only one meaning, but many applications. Moses stood in complete surrender to the Lord. His upheld hands stood as an appeal to God for help. Without his surrender, the Israelites would not have won against the Amalekites.
Questions
Did you ever wonder why some people hold their arms in the air when singing to God? Why do you think they do that? (It is a way to show you are surrendering to God.)
Have you ever helped someone do something very important? Maybe it was as simple as holding a flashlight while they worked. Holding a flashlight for someone is not a very exciting job. In fact it is rather boring, but it is very important. Without light the person working won’t be able to see what they are doing.
Moses was a strong leader and a man of faith. In fact we read about Moses as an example of faith in Hebrews 11:24-28.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
But as we saw in our story he needed help. He got tired. Aaron and Hur helped Moses hold up his hands. Aaron, the high priest, was Moses' older brother and Hur, probably a nobleman, was a friend. Because of that help, the Israelites won an important battle.
It is important for us to remember that we all need help sometimes. We can get that help from our family and our friends.
New Testament Examples
Who can think of some examples of friendship in the New Testament.
Jesus - Peter, James, and John
Jesus - Mary, Martha and Lazarus
Jesus had a close friendship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to a point where they spoke plainly to him, and he resurrected Lazarus from the dead. True friends are able to speak their minds honestly to one another, whether right or wrong. Meanwhile, friends do what they can to tell each other the truth and help one another.
Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila
Friends introduce friends to other friends. In this case, Paul is introducing friends to one another and asking that his greetings be sent to those close to him.
Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus
Paul talks about the loyalty of friends and the willingness of those close to us to look out for one another. In this case, Timothy and Epaphroditus are the types of friends that take care of those close to them.
Comprehension Questions
Does anyone have any questions about the story?
Who led the fight against the Amalekites? (Joshua)
Who were the Amalekites descendants of? (Esau)
What did Moses do during the fight? (hold his hands up, holding the staff of God)
What do you remember about Moses' staff from a previous story? (God turned Moses' staff into a snake to prove that he sent Moses - see Exodus 4)
What happened when Moses lowered his hands? (Amalekites were winning)
Who supported Moses' hands when he got tired? (Aaron and Hur)
What did Moses do after they defeated the Amalekites? (built an altar to God)
Closing
Moses had to completely surrender himself to God’s plan for the battle. We too need to surrender ourselves to God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for giving us an example of a faithful servant in Moses. We know he wasn’t perfect as none of us are, but help us to surrender our lives to you as he did. We thank you for our friends and family who are there to help us when we are tired and weak. But most of all, we thank you for your perfect son, Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sins. It is in His name that we pray and give thanks. AMEN.
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