Tag: Moses

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.

Lots of symbolism in this chapter. 

One of the most striking to me is the creation of a new calendar.  For the Israelites, their deliverance from Egypt was to be the start of their yearly calendar. 

It was as if God was saying, “This is when your life new begins, and I want you to remember it.”

On the 14th day of that month, a lamb was to be sacrificed. 

They were all to eat to eat the lamb, along with bitter herbs and bread without yeast. 

The lamb had to be perfect and when it was killed there could be no broken bones. 

The bread was made without yeast because it was quicker to bake, and they had to be ready to leave swiftly. 

That was also the reason that they they ate with their cloaks tucked, their sandals on, and their staffs in hand.

On top of that, they were to spread the lamb’s blood on the top and the sides of their doorposts so that the angel of death might pass over their houses and spare their first born sons.

As I said, there was a lot of symbolism in all this, not only for them but for us. 

The bitter herbs were a symbol of their bitter sufferings in the land of Egypt. 

Many of us also have suffered bitterness as we were out in the world, separated from God.  We’ve suffered the pain caused by sin of others, and even by our own sin.  And all of this left us crying out to God for help.

Yeast has commonly been used as a symbol for sin in the Bible. 

The Israelites were told to get rid of all yeast in their house, perhaps as a reminder that sin was to be done away with in their lives. 

Among other things, they were to leave behind the sinful practices of idolatry that they had picked up in Egypt. 

Just as yeast would slow them down in their escape from Egypt, so sin would slow them down in their pursuit of God.  And they had to be ready to leave both behind and do so immediately. 

Not in a day.  Or a week.  Or a year. 

Immediately. 

In the same way, we need to be ready to wave good-bye to our life of sin as we start following after Christ and leave it all behind. 

The Bible calls this repentance.

And then of course the lamb.  The symbol of Christ. 

Perfect.  No broken bones in the body as it died.  And by its death, people were spared from the angel of death. 

In the same way Christ, the perfect lamb of God died, none of his bones broken.  And by his death on the cross, we are saved from eternal death. 

Is it a coincidence that blood was placed on the top and sides of the doorframe? 

Could it be a picture of the blood that was shed on the cross?

And all of this to give us a new beginning.  A new start in life. 

So with all haste, let us leave the life of sin that was destroying us, and run to him whose death has delivered us all. 

As the writer of Hebrews says,

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us 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.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Let the games begin!

After Pharaoh threw down the gauntlet by rejecting God’s word and persecuting the Israelites even more, God started to give signs of who he really was to Pharaoh, that he is truly God above all.

First, he turned Moses’ staff in to a snake, then he turned the Nile river to blood, and then he sent a plague of frogs. 

But in each case, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate in some fashion the miracles of Moses. 

How did they do it?  It’s possible that it was through the power of Satan himself. 

When the Antichrist comes, he will come performing signs and wonders that would deceive even Christians, if that were possible. (Matthew 24:24) 

But it’s also possible that they had certain tricks that simply counterfeited what Moses had done.

But eventually their bag of tricks ran out, while God was just getting warmed up. 

By the fourth plague, they had no answers for what Moses had done. 

Unable to produce lice, they had to admit to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”  (Exodus 8:19)

By the sixth plague they couldn’t even stand because of the boils that covered their bodies. (Exodus 9:11)

By the seventh plague, some of them were even listening to the warnings of Moses, bringing in their livestock and servants into their houses before the hail hit.  (Exodus 9:20)

By the eighth plague, they were probably joining the rest of the Egyptian officials telling Pharaoh, “Get these people out of here!”  (Exodus 10:7)

What’s my point? 

Satan will use counterfeits to draw people away from God.  By believing the counterfeits, it gave Pharaoh a reason not to obey God. 

But those counterfeits are only pale imitations, and if we let ourselves be deceived by them, eventually they’ll destroy us.

For example, God gives us sex within marriage as a blessing.  It binds a man and woman together in a special way that helps make them one, not only physically, but emotionally as well. 

What does Satan offer?  Pornography.  Prostitution.  Sex anytime, anywhere, with anyone. 

What’s the result?  Broken hearts.  Ruined marriages.  Devastated children.  Abortions.  Sexually transmitted diseases.  Death.

God offers us a love based on his own love, acceptance, and forgiveness of us.  And as we know these things in our lives, it strengthens our own relationships with others. 

It leads to strong marriages and friendships, as others realize that we love and accept them no matter what. 

It leads to security, knowing that we ourselves are loved and accepted by God and by others. 

What does Satan offer?  A conditional love. 

A love that says, “As long as I get something out of this relationship, I’ll stay with you.  As soon as I don’t, I’m out of here.” 

What’s the result? 

Relationships that don’t last. 

Always wondering, “What’s wrong with me?  Why can’t I can’t make my relationships work?  Why does it always fall apart on me?” 

And in the end, it leads to loneliness and despair.

God offers us a joy based on a relationship with him.  And because he is forever, we find a joy that lasts. 

What does Satan offer?  He offers us a joy based on what’s temporary: money, cars, houses, possessions. 

But because these things are temporary, so is the joy.  And ultimately, we are left feeling empty, always seeking more, but never truly satisfied.

What are you following after?  The real or the counterfeits? 

If you follow the counterfeits, you’ll end up like Pharaoh, losing everything you had and hoped for. 

But if you follow the real, you’ll find true life. 

Jesus said this:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  (John 10:10)

Who are you following?