Holding Up Weary Hands

Exodus 17:12 KJV

12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

I. Moses Hands Were Heavy

Exodus 17:12 “But Moses' hands were heavy”

Old saying is Heavy is The Head That Wears The Crown

A. The Weight of the Call

The rod of God was heavy.

1. That rod signified the SUPERNATURAL CALL of God.

Moses didn’t want it to start with.

He did not want the responsibility for all these people.

He didn’t ask for it; he didn’t take it upon himself

God came to him in Exodus 3 at the burning bush and compelled to

Exodus 4:20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

2. That rod signified the SUPERNATURAL CONFIRMATIONS of God.

God used that rod to confirm the call of God upon him.

He used that rod multiple times in performing the call of God.

Exodus 7:20 – God used it to turn the water to blood.

Exodus 8:5 – God used it to bring frogs out of the river over all of Egypt.

Exodus 8:16 – God used it to turn the dust into lice

Exodus 9:23 – God used it to bring thunder and hail and fire upon Egypt

Exodus 10:13 – God used it to bring an east wind upon Egypt

Exodus 14:16 – God used it to part the Red Sea and they walked on dry land

Exodus 17:5 – God used it to smite the rock and bring forth water

B. The Weight of the Conflict

The Bible says “…then came Amalek…”

Amalek was the grandson of Esau. Esau is a type and a picture of the flesh.

They were in a place called Rephidim. It means “resting places”

There is no rest from the flesh.

There is no vacation from the attacks and the battles of the flesh.

Not fighting is not an option.

Moses told Joshua in v9 to go out and fight with Amalek.

Moses knew that he couldn’t fight everybody’s flesh. But He could be an example. He could be a reminder.

That rod of God and inspire the people to keep fighting; keep battling; keep protecting their families.

He could stand and hold up that rod and encourage them not to stop and rest when the Amalekites were coming!

C. The Weight of the Casualties

Exodus 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

The pressure to hold his hands up only got greater when he saw what happened when he didn’t.

Every time he failed, the people of God suffered.

Every time he lowered his hands, God’s people lost ground.

Every time he lowered his hands, the people of God faced defeat.

Every time he lowered his hands, the enemy prevailed.

The weight on Moses increased by the minute as he realized that where his hands were mattered!!

He couldn’t “let down” his hand.

If he “let down” his hand, he “let down” the people of God!

I don’t know how far down his hand had to go before the momentum shifted, but it was clear that it did at some point.

The pressure for the man with the rod of God in his hand to LET DOWN is unbelievable.

The world is screaming for Christians to LET DOWN.

Lower your standards.

Lower your expectations.

Lower your guidelines.

Lower your emphasis on soulwinning.

Lower your convictions.

The pressure to “let down” is overwhelming.

Sometimes the rod of God gets heavy, but as a Pastor I keep preaching the truth.

When we let down, people suffer.

When we let down, families split apart.

When we let down, young people go into the world.

When we let down, the flesh prevails

We cannot let down! We cannot lower anything!

The casualties are too high! The cost is too great!

II. Moses Hands Stayed

A. Moses Hands Stayed Because of The Priorities Of Others

They didn’t get distracted by the blood and the cries of battle.

They were not busy debating why Joshua got to lead the army and not them.

They didn’t discuss among themselves how far Moses should lower his hands or how high he should hold them.

They didn’t get on social media to do a comparison of how high other men were holding up their rod of God.

They didn’t argue among themselves as to who would help him and which arm one would hold up.

They didn’t try to talk him in to letting one of them carry the rod of God.

They didn’t try to wrestle it away from him when he got tired.

They saw his hands were heavy and they responded immediately.

They realized the importance of what he was doing and they saw he needed help!

Bible says They took a stone and put it under him.

They didn’t want him fainting or falling

They wanted him to have a solid, firm, unyielding foundation, established and unmovable.

B. Their Position – “…on either side…”

They had to stand close to him to hold up his hands.

They were close enough to see him perspiring, panting, praying.

They were close enough to hear him praising (see vs. 14, 15) “Jehovah is my banner”

They contributed in a major way to the defeat of the Amalekites.

This wasn’t just a one-man job, wasn’t just up to Moses to get this done.

Aaron and Hur had families and children down there.

The closer they got to the man with the rod of God, the better position they were in to hold up his hand.

The closer they got to the man with the rod of God, the better off their families were.

The more they did to uphold the call of God and the confirmations of God, the more God’s people prevailed.

C. Their Persistence – “…until the going down of the sun…”

They stayed his hands because they stayed!!

They were committed to holding up Moses’ hands as long as the battle

They didn’t abandon their ministry, They didn’t convince themselves that what they were doing wasn’t important,

They stayed till the sun is going down.

Now is not the time to abandon your post, take a break.

The battle is almost over! The Lord is coming back any minute now.

III. Moses Hands Were Steady

STEADY: steadfast; faithful trusting

The heavy hands became steady because of steady men that were willing to stand close and help.

Notice what happened to the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

DISCOMFITED – to weaken; to disable

It was a group effort.

Aaron and Hur were just as instrumental in the victory that day as Joshua and his handpicked soldiers.

The secret to Moses being steady; faithful; firm; steadfast was a group of men that were willing to hold his hands up.

If you want the man of God to stay faithful, to stay firm, to stay steadfast, he needs help.

If you want the Church to stay Open, to stay firm, to stay steadfast, It needs help.

If you want The church to be steady, you have to be steady.

If you want him to be faithful, you need to be faithful.

We cannot disable the enemy if the man of God is the only one that is steady and faithful.