Encouragement
Israel had journeyed from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim. It was at this point that they began to complain and grumble against Moses. While they were about this usual trade, the Amalikites came to attack them. First we need to look at the origins of the Amalekites. Amalek was a grandson of Esau. We realize that Amalek was a type of the flesh. Esau had sold his birth right for bread and lentil soup. He was intent on satisfying the flesh at the expense of his eternal heritage.
What was it that made Rephidim a unique place that the Amalikites should attack? Rephidim was a place without natural water to drink. The water that was found had to come out of a rock. This place symbolized quarrelling and testing. It was a place of regrets and confusion, a place of thirst. At this juncture, Moses commissioned Joshua to choose some men and go out to fight the enemy. Moses would go and stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands, while Joshua was to go into the valley and fight the enemy. Joshua went as he was sent, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Moses' job was to lift up his hands. As long as he did this, Israel was winning but once he put them down, the Amalekites were winning. As the battle waged on, Moses got to a time of tiring and was set on a stone. Aaron and Hur held up his hands so that they remained steady till sunset. It was this action that caused Joshua to overcome with the sword. This event was to be recorded as a remembrance and all action had to be taken so that Joshua would hear of it because God had sworn to wipe out the Amalekites from under heaven. Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi, meaning, "The LORD is my Banner" for hands were lifted to the throne of the LORD. God was from then on going to fight a generational battle with Amalek.
Teamwork
There were assigned tasks that day- Joshua was to go into the BATTLE ZONE while Moses was to go into the PRAYER ZONE. Joshua fought a PHYSICAL WAR, Moses fought a SPIRITUAL WAR. Moses advantage was his vantage point because he could see all that was taking place in the plain. As the battle waged on, Joshua looked the man in touch and form because he was at the forefront and seen by all. Moses hid on a hill top, out of sight and seemingly out of touch and form. Joshua had the SOLDIERS while Moses had the PRIESTSS. Joshua’s army fought with SWORDS, while Moses' army fought with the WORD and PRAYER. Joshua needed backup from dedicated cadres who fought a long spiritual battle. Moses needed prayer warriors who were selfless and dedicated to a forgetting of their weariness till sundown. Even their hands were tiring but they held on for Moses' sake.
The Battle Area
Rephidim was a place of chaos, bitterness and rowdiness. The problem was water. There was a lot of regret, backsliding, faithlessness and murderous thoughts. It was a place of evil thoughts and a place of turning back. It also was a place where water would issue from a rock. As such the enemy saw the confusion and decided to take advantage of it and attack. All along the enemy had been quiet about attack and chose the perfect scene and time. Scripture records that the devil is like a roaring lion that seeks one to devour.
Moses chose a vantage/higher point to fight the hosts of wickedness while Joshua went down into the valley. The valley was a place of combat while the hill was a place of passionate pleading- a place of tiring but great battle. When Moses put his hands down the enemy overcame. The hill was a place of spiritual dispossession, the firing line, the engine room for things to change in the natural. It was a place to look to God for comfort and victory. It was a place of consistency, a place where you won or lost. The battle was fought on the feet as well as sitting down upon a stone- a type of Jesus. The hill was a place of serious watching and long battles.
The Outcome
Once the foe was vanquished, an altar had to be raised up to God, to tear down and break the spirit of Rephidim. The physical war had to be won, so too the spiritual war. An altar to God was symbolic of redemption of the land. It was a place where hands had been raised to the Throne of God. Rephidim was the bus stop to the Throne Room, a place of focus. It was a place where banners were raised, where God would say, "I Am your Banner." God made a promise to deal with the spiritual side of things from generation to generation. Team work from all sides won the day.
The Lessons
We need to beware of the place we have come into because we may lose focus of what God has prepared for us. The Israelites had seen God provide manna for the people and seen Him turn the bitter waters into sweet water, but they still complained, grumbled and quarreled- in the place leaving permanent names to the place they had passed through. Massah and Meribah would always exist and remain a reminder of their stubbornness. We too need to wary lest we leave behind a legacy that will follow our children eternally. We must learn to trust God even if He takes us to a place where no water is, because even the Rock of Ages can gush out with living waters that will never let us thirst again. Ask the woman of Samaria and she will take you what an encounter with the Living Water did to her.
Secondly we need to be alert to the fact that physical battles have a spiritual dynamic to them. We need to deal with them from a spiritual perspective and see God deal eternally with things we have struggled with. Amalek would later pitch up in the future of Israel manifesting through Haman the enemy of the Jews in the citadel of Susa. We must deal with issues of the flesh once and for all and never give them opportunity to manifest because their consequences are ruthless. The flesh will always want to take advantage of our weaknesses to bring us down. At Rephidim the flesh almost ruined the entire nation until a wise leader sought the spiritual treatment to this ailment.
There is need for unity to safeguard the land. We need to fight from a vantage point and focus on the spiritual manifestation of Amalek and destroy it completely. You are responsible for the outcome of what will manifest in the physical. If you lower your hands you hurt your men and army. Keep them upraised because the sunset for your enemy is on the way. It will not be late in coming. Combine and fight for God and see Him fight for you. Once you raise an altar for Him in Rephidim, He will do the rest of the fighting from thereon. LIFT UP YOUR HANDS TO THE THRONE OF GOD FOR THOSE YOU ARE PRAYING FOR, LEST THE ENEMY VICTORS OVER THEM. KEEP THE BANNER RAISED ON HIGH ON THE ESTABLISHED ALTAR. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we can use to win the war waged in the spiritual realm.
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