Israel faced their first battle in the desert against the Amalekites.
Apparently, at a time when the Israelites were tired and worn out from traveling in the desert, the Amalekites were killing all the weak ones who were lagging behind (Deuteronomy 25:17-18).
So God told the Israelites to go to war against them.
It’s a kind of an unusual story. Moses went to the top of a hill with his brother Aaron and another man named Hur.
As long as Moses’ arms were raised, the Israelite army had success. But when he got tired, and lowered his arms, they started to lose.
So finally, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit down. As he was sitting, they held up his arms for him, and Israel won a great victory as a result.
What was the significance of Moses’ arms being raised? I have no idea.
Perhaps it was just a psychological thing where the Israelite army took courage from seeing Moses interceding for them with his arms up.
I can’t believe God stopped helping them just because Moses’ arms went down.
But whatever the reason, I think there is an interesting parallel we can make in our own lives.
The battle with the Amalekites is very similar to our own battles with sin in our lives. It’s when we are weak and tired, that temptation often comes the hardest.
Satan doesn’t look at us when we’re tired and say, “Oh, I feel sorry for them. I’ll give them a break.”
Instead he says, “This is my chance!” And he comes all out to bring us down.
That’s what he did when he tempted Jesus. He waited until Jesus was physically tired and weak from fasting in the desert before coming to tempt him.
And even when Satan left, he only did so to wait for a more opportune time to come again. (Luke 4:13).
But God doesn’t just tell us to let sin hit us until we fall. He tells us to fight it. To go to war against sin.
But sometimes in our war against sin, we get tired. We get weary. We just feel like we can’t fight anymore, and we have no choice but to give in.
But just as Moses had Aaron and Hur to help him in his time of weakness, we have people to help us too.
In James 5:16, it says,
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
We are not meant to fight sin alone. God has given us the Christians around us to help us in that fight.
That’s why he told us to confess our sins to each other. They can help keep us accountable. And their prayers for us, James says, are powerful and effective in our fight against sin.
But not only do we have other brothers and sisters to help us. We also have the Lord on our side as well.
Moses said, “The Lord is our banner.”
In war, a banner was often used to show who the army was fighting for. It gave them a focal point for their fighting, and as long as that banner was flying, it gave them hope that the fight could still be won.
Moses was saying, “When times are tough, put your focus and God. As long as we look to him, we have hope for victory.”
It’s the same with us. When we’re feeling discouraged because of sin in our lives, we are to
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
[We are to] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that [we] will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)
Are you struggling with sin in your life? You don’t have to fight it alone. You have brothers and sisters to help you.
But also remember that just as Jesus authored your faith, he is also the one that will complete it.
So look to him. He is your banner.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 