Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Exodus 17:8–15 (ESV)

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

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.”

So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.

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.

And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

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.”

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner,

Exodus 18:13–18 (ESV)

The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.

When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?”

And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God;

when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.”

Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.

You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.

Exodus 17 and 18 record two scenes in the Wilderness Narrative

#1: Is an attack from the Amalekites which God uses Joshua repel.

#2: Is a visit from Moses father-in-law Jethro in which he returns Moses’ family to his care and gives him some advice about delegating leadership.

I want to preach a sermon from this portion of the narrative called: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work.

PRAYER

In Western society we tend to read and write our histories from the perspective of what has been called the “Great Man” point of view.

The "Great Man" view of history is a historical theory that suggests history is primarily shaped by the actions, decisions, and influence of a small number of highly impactful individuals, often characterized as "great men."

The “great man” view of history would say, “FDR led America out of the great depression and gave birth to our modern social safety net”. This history reads past figures like:

Frances Perkins - the first female U.S. Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet, who created the plan for Social Security

Harold Ickes who played a crucial role in developing all of the large-scale public works projects

Mary Mcloud Bethune and A. Phillip Randolph who help Roosevelt keep his own racism the racism in the country from pulling in check

Steve Early, Louis Howe, and Bill Hassett who pushed his wheelchair and helped him get around.

A healthier understanding of history recognizes the interplay between the impact of individual leaders and the structural forces, and contributions of various groups and individuals in shaping the human experience.

We must constantly work to make sure that the “Great Man” reading of history does not corrupt our ability to create a healthy society.

The arrogant megalomaniacs of history and the arrogant megalomaniacs of the present day are people trying too hard to become the “Great Man” of their generation.

And far too often, people neglect their duties and diminish their own contributions because they are looking to the supposed “Great Man” of their time.

Perhaps the only thing more damaging than a “Great Man” reading of history is a “Great Man” reading of scripture.

A “Great Man” reading of history makes it hard to develop a healthy society. But, a “Great Man” reading of scripture makes it hard to develop a healthy spirituality.

You see, if we are honest, we don’t just have self-important megalomaniacs in business and in politics. We have too many self-important megalomaniacs in pulpits and worship ministry.

And our world suffers, not only from people shrinking back from civic duty as they wait for some Great Man to save the world. Our world suffers even more from Christians who shrink back from the call of God on their lives simply because their ministry does play out on a platform or garner the applause of man.

In these two scenes in Exodus, we get reminder not take a Great Reading of what God did with Israel in the wilderness

In the wilderness, God is making Israel into his missional, covenant people.

God is making Israel into an embodied testimony of who God is.

If any of the peoples of the world want to know about Jehovah, they would be able to look at Israel and get a sense of it.

And here we are reminded that the story of such a powerful move of such an awesome God cannot be reduced to a story about Moses.

God was using Moses in powerful ways.

God used Moses to confront Pharaoh.

God used Moses to part the Red Sea.

God used Moses to pray down bread from heaven and bring forth water from the rock.

But, what these two scenes highlight is that while God was using Moses, God was using other people too.

Moses was the leader, but God used Joshua in the Fight.

The Amalekites seem to have been nomadic tribes roaming the desert wilderness where the Israelites were now crossing and camping

Resources were scarce.

This horde of escaped slaves with their herds and flocks was a threat to their own food and water supplies.

Understandably, they came to drive Israel off their land.

Moses was already over 80 years old.

17:9 - 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.”

I can pray. I’m not going to fight.

Even in his intercession, Moses needed Aaron and Hur to come and keep his hands lifted.

Moses was the leader, but God used Jethro in the Family.

The text does record the exact circumstances, but at some point in this whole liberation saga, it became clear to Moses that the field of conflict was no place for his young family.

He could not attend to this season of intense leadership and give proper care to his wife and children.

And at some point, his father-in-law, Jethro stepped up and said, “I will care for them for a season”.

Now Jethro brought them back…they were Moses’ responsibility.

But as great as Moses was, he needed somebody to provide a more stable environment for his small children while he took on Pharaoh.

Kids don’t care how much revelation you received in the mountain. They want to kick a ball around.

Moses was the leader, but God used Judges in the Fellowship

Moses somehow picked up the behavior of a 21st century American church.

He adopted a “solo pastor” model of leadership.

Moses was trying to see about everybody by himself.

Moses was going to counsel everybody.

Moses was going to settle all the disputes.

Moses was going to do all the visitation.

And his father-in-law points out, “that is insane”

You’re gonna kill yourself

And you still won’t have taken proper care of the people.

Moses, you pray and you preach and step on the most severe cases.

And let other people shoulder some of this load.

This is the model for the New Testament when the apostles appoint deacons in Acts Chapter 6.

In fact there not one shred of evidence in the entire counsel of scripture for a “solo pastor” model of fellowship (I don’t know where we got it from).

God is using Moses, but God is using other people too.

That’s why God reveals Himself in this part of the narrative as Jehovah Nissi.

Nissi literally means: Banner, flag, standard; or sign

But if we don’t have the context we miss what God is communicating when He reveals Himself as “Banner”

Ancient Near Eastern nations (like militaries throughout history and even today) carried flags in battle.

These banners served multiple purposes, including identification, rallying points, and symbols of divine or royal authority.

But, nations in the Ancient Near East did not view themselves like modern nation states.

The flags they carried in battle were not associated with the nation.

The banners used for war and ceremony bore the names or symbols of the leaders or ruling dynasties in those nations (NEW LEADER NEW FLAG).

Today we have nation states, so the flags don’t change with leaders.

If we want to get the idea of what God was saying to Israel, we have to think about the “Welcome Sign” when you arrive at a Chicago Airport and it has the name of the current mayor on it.

These were personal kingdoms.

The banner tells you who the inspirational leader is

The banner tells you who we believe can guide us to peace and prosperity, victory and success

The banner is the place we run to when there’s trouble

The banner says that we have access to this person’s wisdom, resource, and direction

Moses you’re the one who comes up into the mountain, but do not put your name on the sign!

PUT GOD’S NAME ON THE SIGN…

CHRIST IS OUR KING…

THE LORD IS OUR LEADER.

JEHOVAH NISSI…THE LORD GOD OUR BANNER

Beloved, whenever it looks God is using you in a special way, rest assured that God is using somebody else too in ways that make your usefulness possible.

And whenever it looks like God is using somebody else in a special way, remember that God just might be looking to use you in ways that make their usefulness possible.

In the final analysis, Everybody is just somebody God is using.

Beloved we are one people under God.

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all…11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Eph 4:3–6. & Eph 4:11–13.

So, I want to close with exhortation to all of us.

Whenever you are leading, recognize that you need help.

In the church.

In your home.

On your job.

In the community.

Whenever someone is else is leading, recognize that they need your help.

And whatever you do, resist the urge to put your name on the sign.