God will Provide and Prevail
Notes
Transcript
1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” 8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”
Introduction
At some point in our lives we come to ask ourselves, “Who is for me?” It may not come out in those words, but very often in moments of crisis and difficulty we begin looking for help. We begin by asking questions, “Why is this happening? How do I fix this? and when we can’t find an immediate solution we look outward and ask, “Who can help me?” Who is for me? Very rarely though are we alone like Robinson Crusoe on some deserted island wondering, “Who is for me?” Will anyone rescue me? We live in families and communities and our looking for help turns to people around us. “Are you for me? Will you help me? Unfortunately at times that search for help turns ugly and the question turns into, “Why weren’t you for me? Where were you?”
We’ve seen it already, but Israel has encountered crisis and returned to their accusations of Moses and God. At the heart of our text is that question, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” This isn’t a question of mere desperation like that of the Psalmist many times. Israel questions God with a spirit of testing, as if to say, “Where were you?” Aren’t you supposed to be our Provider?
Just as we saw last week, God will again provide and protect His people, but He does so in a way that speaks the deeper need of the people of Israel. More than their need for water, more than their need for victory over the Amalekites is their need to be spared from the judgement of God.
Our main point this morning is the conclusion we ought to draw from this text.
Because Christ has taken the judgement due us, we can know His provision and prevail over our enemies.
Because Christ has taken the judgement due us, we can know His provision and prevail over our enemies.
The Staff of God to Provide from the Rock
The Staff of God to Prevail over the Enemy
The Staff of God to Provide from the Rock
The Staff of God to Provide from the Rock
If you’ve been here the past few weeks this might start to feel like deja vu. Haven’t we been here before? I could just about pull out last weeks manuscript, but I won’t do that. If you weren’t here in previous weeks this is the fourth time in four chapters that Israel has grumbled against Moses on the heels of the Lord’s abundant provision.
After walking out of Egypt with all of Egypt’s wealth a free people they grumble to Moses at the Red Sea.
After crossing the Red Sea and witnessing the destruction of the army of Egypt they grumble to Moses because the water is bitter at Mara.
After God provides them sweet water they grumble against Moses in hunger.
After God provided them with manna and quail and a Sabbath, they’re found grumbling once again in thirst.
If you’ve never read this passage before, you may begin to wonder, “When will the LORD say, “That’s enough. I’m tired of the grumbling and testing...”” How long will the LORD put up with this? We’ll see a type of judgement will come, but it will not fall on Israel.
Before we get there, how has God set the stage, if you will?
Israel has not set off of their own accord as if they were searching for the mountain. God is leading them and God has commanded them to set out in verse 1 and we find the whole of Israel at Rephidim where there is no water.
In just that one verse we get a sense of the difficult position Moses is in. Moses is the one everyone is looking to for directions, he’s just trying to be obedient to the LORD’s command, but the LORD’s leading apparently doesn’t have water anywhere in sight? A bit like Moses leading Israel to the shore of the Red Sea.
If I were Moses, I might start to ask questions even before people start complaining. They don’t exactly have a track record of great contentment, so I might be wondering, “How am I going to keep them happy?” Where is the next well? When will the LORD provide? We have food, but where’s the water? What will the people do next time if we don’t find water? Moses in and of himself has no means to satisfy the people of God apart from God’s provision. All he can do is be faithful to the LORD’s commands, wait, and part of that waiting is bearing with the sin of the people.
2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
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Once again the people have forgotten God their faithful provider. They believe they bear the burden of their well-being and immediately put that burden on Moses. There’s not even a brief cry to the LORD like we saw before the Red Sea, they go straight to Moses, “Give us water that we may drink.”
They go further and once again accuse Moses of trying to kill them with thirst. Moses knows he can’t do anything. Moses knows only the LORD can provide for His people, and yet they look to him.
Moses comes before the LORD in a state of desperation he’s never been before. Notice his words:
“What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
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At one point or another we find ourselves in seasons of high expectations. Life with kids is demanding, seasons at work come with extraordinary expectations. There’s likely a time when after managing to meet everyone’s expectations for a time and keep everyone happy you finally realized, I can’t keep everyone happy anymore. Sometimes we just cant keep up. Other times the people around us have expectations we simply can’t meet. Even with everything we’ve brought to the table, our skills, resources, time, energy, patience, it still wasn’t enough to keep everyone happy. Moses finds himself in the same position we all do at some point, “With what I have to give, I can’t keep everyone happy.” Yet recognize Moses’ dilemma. He literally has nothing to give. Moses isn’t reckoning with being not enough he’s just ‘not’. There is no amount of skill, personal resources, time, energy, or patience that can make water appear in the desert much less fix the sinful hearts of Israel.
Aside from having nothing to bring to the table, He’s worried for his life. He knows there’s injustice in their anger and frustration. He knows he stands in the right. He’s only been faithful to the LORD’s commands. Perhaps now is the time for punishment. Perhaps now is the time for judgement to come. “What shall I do to this people? Some translations may have, “What shall I do with this people?” Moses isn’t asking for provision any more. He’s asking for justice. These people have committed murder in their hearts and Moses isn’t asking, “What shall I do for them? or What shall I give them?” He comes before God asking please do something with them. Address the problem of the people!
Moses really does get to the heart of the matter. The lack of material provision often reveals the true problem. The heart problem. The sin problem. At this moment, a sinful, murderous people are about to approach the holy mountain of God. That’s the problem! The water is a minor thing if we truly look at it.
What is God’s response? Is now when judgement will come? Is God going to deal with this sinful, murderous people finally?
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
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Let’s pause right there. How has Moses been using the staff throughout the book of Exodus? We’re given one explicit reference here, but there are numerous others.
With the staff Moses struck the Nile and everything in it died.
With the staff Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and all his magicians and it turned into a snake consuming all the other staffs of the magicians.
Aaron stretched out the staff over the Nile to send frogs into all the land and houses of the Egyptians
With the staff Aaron struck the dust and flies came from it which plagued the egyptians.
The staff was raised into the sky and hail and fire came from heaven.
When Moses raised his staff, the locusts came.
With the staff the sea was parted for the people of God and prepared for the judgement of Egypt....
The staff of Moses has been a very clear symbol of God’s power and judgement throughout the Exodus narrative, and it’s rarely mentioned outside that context of God’s judgement. When Moses takes his staff by the command of God and calls the elders to witness what’s about to happen, this is serious! Some kind of judgement is going to occur, that’s the only reason the staff has appeared for the last 12 chapters.
Maybe God has finally had enough? … What does God tell Moses to do?
6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
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For all that Moses has been doing with his staff for the past 12 chapters this is a bit anticlimactic isn’t it? Last time Moses wielded the staff he parted a sea. We should certainly recognize God has once again miraculously provided for His people. Water for millions of people and livestock from a single rock in the midst of a wilderness is no small thing, but there’s no visible judgement here like we might expect knowing how Moses has used the staff previously… That is unless there’s more meaning to this rock than meets the eye.
If we turn to 1 Corinthians 10, Paul has some important incite for us in interpreting this text.
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
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Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church at Corinth tells us there’s a little more to this narrative than the striking of a rock to satisfy a physical thirst in the people of Israel.. What is Paul saying though? Was the manna they ate spiritual in some way? Was it not material? Was the water they drank from the rock holy in some way? What does he mean by spiritual drink? And perhaps the most important question, what does he mean by, “...the rock was Christ”?
Firstly, we shouldn’t take away from Paul that the substance of the manna, the material of the water and the rock were in and of themselves spiritual, holy, or the person of Christ himself. Should we try to over-spiritualize the material we miss the point. In the same way we take the Lord’s Supper and realize the spiritual value is in what it points to, the spiritual value of the manna, the water, the rock is in what it points to, and Paul makes that clear to us, they point to Christ! Even before Israel came to Mount Sinai to receive the law, God was giving his people signs, and types that point their eyes to their coming Messiah. From the very beginning God gave them the Passover lamb a sign for the people of Israel which pointed to a greater sacrifice to come in the form of a Messiah.
God is doing the same thing here! Through the rock to be struck will the people of God find spiritual drink and never thirst. Through the rock bearing the full burden of the judgment of God instead of His covenant people, will they come to know the salvation of God.
Christ was stricken for us that we may never thirst.
Christ was stricken for us bearing the fullness of God’s wrath due us, that we might know His salvation.
Remember how Isaiah put it?
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
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That word Smitten has the same root as God’s words to Moses
20 “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.
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The same root as God’s words to Moses in our text
6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
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When Israel sees the rock stricken by the staff of God, they’re being given a tangible picture of the salvation they need beyond even their salvation from Egypt, beyond even their need for water in the wilderness. They’re given an image of God’s plan of redemption from the very beginning. The redemption which addresses the problem of sin man has been burdened with since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, a spiritual redemption.
Centuries down the road a Messiah will come, a suffering servant will come and stand before a guilty people. Just as Israel stands on the verge of stoning their prophet Moses, Israel demands the crucifixion of their prophet, priest, and king. In that moment as Christ carried his cross, God had every reason to bring judgement on the people of Israel. If Moses carrying his staff before the people can make us wonder if God will finally judge his people, Jesus Christ, the Son of God carrying His cross to Golgotha should make us wonder all the more, why doesn’t God judge this sinful people?
God doesn’t judge his people because in order for salvation to be accomplished the rock that is Christ must bear the burden of judgement. If Christ is not Smitten of God, if Christ doesn’t bear the wrath of God on the cross in His death there is no salvation for the people of God or any person. Every man and woman no matter their nationality, whether Jew or Greek or Egyptian bear the burden of judgment apart from Christ. Apart from faith in Christ we all stand guilty like Israel crying for the stoning of Moses, like Israel crying for the crucifixion of Christ. We are just as guilty as they are no matter what our sin looks like, and only through faith in Christ, his perfect life, his atoning death, and his bodily resurrection can we be spared the judgement due our sin.
As Jesus says to his disciples:
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
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Through the rock that is Christ are we spared the judgement that is due us, and through the rock that is Christ are we truly satisfied. Not only did Christ take our sin and judgment, he has given us life! He’s given us Himself that we would be satisfied and enjoy Him forever. The call to believe in Christ is not simply a call to be spared of judgement, it is that! It’s a call to know and love and enjoy Christ because He is satisfying! He came that we would have life and have it abundantly.
I’d like us to ask ourselves two questions this morning.
Firstly, where do we look for satisfaction?
In moments of difficulty and trial Israel immediately looks to influential men. They look to Moses! Moses is a prophet delivering the word of the LORD to the people, surely he can satisfy us... Influential men used of God are not the same as God Himself. The extraordinary thing about Israel and the church is that when the most influential men die, God continues to lead and satisfy His people with Himself. Moses will die, and Joshua will lead because Moses wasn’t essential. Moses wasn’t necessary to meet the needs of the people and satisfy them. All the apostles died, and what happened to the church? It went on, why? Because apostles were instrumental, not essential to the life of the church. God is essential, God Himself is the one who satisfies us. When we find ourselves longing for the promised land, for satisfaction, there’s a big difference between looking to men to satisfy us, and looking to men to point us to God who will ultimately satisfy. There’s no shortage of people out there offering us something. They promise joy and satisfaction in people and stuff and methods.
In contrast one of the greatest gifts God can give is friendship with people who are satisfied with God, because they know what’s truly satisfying. They’re not going to offer you people and stuff and methods like the rest of the world. They’re going to give you Christ Himself, because they’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Spend a little time with those brothers and sisters and it will benefit you greatly. Maybe invite them over for dinner sometime, and see how God might use them in your life.
Secondly, how do we hope to satisfy the needs of those around us?
Sometimes we’re in Moses’ shoes. Some days it seems everyone around us needs something and we can’t keep everyone happy. Very often we have some real responsibilities to uphold. Feeding the kids, getting the work done, helping a friend or neighbor, but even with all that responsibility we don’t bear the burden of ultimately satisfying those around us. There’s a deeper need in everyone that no one, no matter how faithful, can satisfy. If you’re married, we are not the source of ultimate satisfaction for our spouse. If you’re a parent, we are not the source of ultimate satisfaction for our children. If you’re a boss or an employee, you’re leadership or your diligence in your work cannot ultimately satisfy those who depend on you. That doesn’t mean we stop loving, stop serving, or stop working diligently, but it does mean we need to pray for the LORD to provide what only he can provide through the Rock that is Christ - living water which gives way to eternal life and true satisfaction. Pray the we ourselves would find that deep satisfaction in who Christ is for us, so we can share that enjoyment in God with our spouse, with our kids, with our coworkers. We can only meet so many needs. Christ is not limited like we are. He is the one satisfies above all else.
...
At the end of the day Israel drinks of the water from the rock, yet the place is forever remembered as the place where Israel tested God.
7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
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Israel has survived by the provision and grace of God once again, maybe now we can have some peace on our way to the mountain?… In God’s sovereignty that is not to be. One more conflict arises: For the first time since they’ve left Egypt, Israel encounters another enemy as they’re camped at Rephidim
The Staff of God to Prevail over the enemy
The Staff of God to Prevail over the enemy
8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
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For a little perspective, Israel has just been released from slavery within the past couple months. They’re over a million in number with just as many cattle, but they’re not a warring people. There isn’t a select number of men who are set apart for battle or war as they come across Amalek in the wilderness. Amalek is a nomadic people who are known through a good portion of the Old Testament as a warring nation. This is what they do. They’ve likely noticed a group of over a million people leave Egypt with over a million heads of cattle and reckon this will be an easy target. Then we’re introduced to Joshua. We don’t know why Joshua was chosen, but it’s apparent he’s recognized by the people as a leader of some kind, so he’s tasked by Moses to select a fighting force and go fight Amalek.
Then what does Moses do? I’m going up on that hill over there with the staff of God. As an outsider looking in I can’t help but wonder what Joshua is thinking. Moses has been at the fore of Israel’s journey since the very beginning. He’s been the one confronting Pharaoh. He’s been the one delivering the plagues with Aaron. He’s been the one parting the sea and closing the sea, then all of a sudden, Joshua comes out of nowhere to take the lead and do the fighting with Amalek. At first glance, it looks a bit like Moses is passing the burden to his subordinates, but he’s not doing that at all. Moses appoints a man to lead, to be instrumental in God’s plan for His people, but his primary task is to appeal to God to prevail. Moses isn’t withdrawing from battle, he’s putting himself in a position to put the LORD’s judgement on display as a banner for everyone to see.
So Moses ascends this hill with Aaron and Hur as Joshua enters into battle.
11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
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Before we look to all that Moses is doing on the hill, let’s recognize that if Moses is merely an observer, Amalek prevails at the end of the day. Joshua and all the fighting men of Israel are helpless in and of themselves. Not even their extraordinary numbers can give them victory in this battle, but they are not alone like Israel wondered! God is with them, and as Moses raises his hands, God advances their victory.
What’s the significance of Moses’ raised hands? Is this a meaningless gesture that God uses in this instance to provide victory for His people?
Again if we look back to even before the plagues this picture accompanies Moses staff of judgement very closely. As God says to Moses at the burning bush:
20 “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.
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This picture of an outstretched hand is a sign of God’s judgement.
We see it in Isaiah as well:
Three times in Isaiah 9 and again in Isaiah 10 do we see this phrase:
12 In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.
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The outstretched hand of God in the Old Testament is a frightful picture, and Moses puts that on display before Pharaoh multiple times.
If you take time to read through the plagues again, you’ll notice that sometimes Moses and Aaron uses the staff to strike the ground, or strike the water. Other times Moses merely raises his hand to the sky.
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
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When Israel has finally crossed the Red Sea, and the time has come for God to lay waste to the army of the Egyptians, Moses merely raises a hand.
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
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So when Joshua enters into battle at the head of this humble band of Israelite fighters against this experienced troop of Amalekite warriors his hope for victory isn’t about anything that’s happening on the battle field. Whether he sees Moses or not, his hope for prevailing over the enemy is Moses declaring the judgement of God, raising the banner of the LORD up on that hill. The interesting part is that victory doesn’t come in an instant like it did at the Red Sea. Moses needs to keep his hands raised through the whole of the battle for victory to be won. Moses is in his 80s at this point. He’s in pretty good shape for being in his 80s. He’s wandering the wilderness. He’s about to climb a mountain, but even still you can imagine why Moses might have a difficult time of it, keeping his hands raised through the whole battle. Aaron and Hur have to step in to hold his hands up until sunset.
I want to come back to Aaron and Hur in a moment, but it’s important we see the conclusion! The difference between Moses’ hands raised, staff in hand, declaring the judgement of the LORD and his hands lowered, is the difference between Amalek prevailing and Israel overwhelming Amalek with the edge of the sword. There is no middle ground!
God has prevailed for His people, victory is clear, and lest anyone forget, Moses writes God’s plans for Amalek in a book and builds an altar.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”
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From beginning to end the fate of the enemies of God’s people is in the hands of God. Amalek hasn’t just picked a fight with Israel they’ve picked a fight with God, and because of it they will be wiped from the memory of mankind. Of course they’ll be remembered in Scripture, but it’s only their demise that’s remembered. Furthermore, Moses builds an altar with the name The LORD is My Banner. This is crucial to this text if we’re to understand everything that Aaron, Hur, Moses, and Joshua are accomplishing and how they’re instrumental to God’s plan of redemption for Israel.
The conclusion to this brief narrative has all eyes pointed to God! As we look forward to the years ahead anticipating Joshua’s leadership, God is the victor. God is the one who prevails over the enemies of Israel. When Israel goes into battle the banner they bear, the symbol of their identity and allegiance is God. When Moses goes up onto the hill to lift his hands with his staff before the eyes of Amalek and before the eyes of all of His Israel he puts on display for all to see, The LORD is God of Israel, The LORD is the one who will judge the enemies of Israel, The LORD is the one who will deliver his people.
It’s perhaps a worthy question to ask coming away from this text, who’s your Hur? Whose the one to help you in times of crisis? In a culture of isolation and independence it’s an important question to ask, but I believe the more fundamental question to ask is, “What’s on our banner?” What flag do we fly when we enter into battle? Where is our allegiance when confronted with the world, the flesh, and the devil?”
If we get that question wrong it doesn’t matter if Aaron and Hur are there to help us.
In confronting the world and all it’s temptations, immorality, and persecutions what is our banner? Perhaps who is our banner? Is it a great leader like Joshua?
In confronting the flesh and all it’s deceitfulness what is our banner? Where is our victory found? Is it in self-help books? Is it ourselves saying, “I will overcome!”
In confronting the devil and his deception and destruction what is our banner?
If the LORD is not our banner, If Christ is not the one lifted up above everything else in the heat of battle, then Amalek will prevail. The world, the flesh, and the devil will win the battle. If however, we proclaim Christ, the one to whom every knee will bow, the one whose image we will bear in glorified bodies, the one who will finally judge the devil and cast him into the lake of fire… if we proclaim Christ then we will prevail! He’s already won the war, death and sin are defeated in His death and resurrection, the devil’s power is overcome, why would we not put our faith in him for tomorrow’s battle?
If we’re honest that’s a banner not easy to bear at times. Sometimes our faith is weak and we fail to hold fast to Christ in moments of crisis. Sometimes the fear of the world causes us to think of Egypt and it’s simple pleasures more than the victory we have in Christ. That’s why we need the church. That’s why we need Aaron and Hur to help us uphold the banner of the LORD, the banner of Christ which declares our victory and feeds our faith.
If I may add to a previous exhortation. Find brothers and sisters who are satisfied with Christ, and find brothers and sisters who believe Christ is our means of victory. Aaron and Hur clearly believed that what Moses was doing was the means of victory. They helped him hold the banner of the LORD until the sun went down. Can you imagine if Hur tried to help Moses into battle. “The people need you Moses.” Utter defeat. Find people who believe Christ is enough to address our sin problem, Christ is enough to engage the corruption of the world, and Christ is enough to overcome the devil. When you find them, and you see, “that person’s faith in Christ sustains them”, ask for help. It’s humbling, but even Moses needed help. The prophet of God who led God’s people through the Red Sea did not bear the banner of the LORD alone. Why should we? Just a simple ask for help can reap huge dividends for your own walk and the walk of those who look to you for leadership.
In conclusion,
In the wilderness, Christ took the judgement we deserved so we can be satisfied.
In the midst of warfare, Christ is our banner. There is victory in no one else.
Let’s pray.
