Some think that Judas betrayed Jesus in an attempt to hurry him along; that he felt that Jesus was dawdling and going about the Messiah thing all wrong. So, he handed him over to his enemies in an attempt to force his hand; to make him rise up and be the Messiah Judah longed for. Since we are not told, Judah’s motives will remain a pure guess. But I have witnessed people who seem to think that their action will somehow motivate God to do his job. On the other hand, there are those who seem to have the easy chair approach. They are content to sit back and watch as God does his thing. But here’s the dealio: God chooses to work through his servants. His servants cannot manipulate him; change his time-line; or fix Him. Nah man. His servants serve trusting that God is active and sovereign. He works us. We don’t work him.
And Exodus 17:8-16 is a story that illustrates this truth. The Amalekites show up looking for a fight. Some will want to say that this passage is out of place, claiming they know where Rephididm is and where the Amalekites dwell. But we don’t know where Rephidim was and the Amalekites were Bedouin nomads. The Amalekites may have attacked because they wanted to take over the water source that seemed to just pop out of the barren waste land. Maybe they just hated their distant relatives the Israelites. The servant Moses springs into action. He tells Joshua . . . wait a minute, who? This is the first mention of Joshua and he appears in the story as if we should know who he is. This has also generated criticism. Those critics will critic. The name Joshua means “Yahweh is deliverance.” Maybe that is all the introduction we need for this story. And the original readers may have needed no explanation or introduction. Anyway, Moses tells Joshua to select fighting men and to go out and do battle with those pesky Amalekites. So, one servant commands another servant to gather up an army and to fight on the following day.
Servant Moses goes up on top of a hill overlooking the battle with the staff of God in hand. There he stands with hands raised up. And as long as his hands are raised Servant Joshua and his fighting men prevail over the Amalekites. When Moses needs to rest his arms, the Amalekites gain the upper hand. Two more servants jump into action. Aaron and Hur find a rock for Moses to sit on and then they grasp and support his arms and the arms of Moses become firm and there they remain until daybreak. And because of the service of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, the servant Joshua and his men defeat the Amalekites with the sword. What would have happened if Aaron and Hur sat on a rock themselves and never jumped in to help? What would have happened if Moses and the lot just stood there waiting on Yahweh to deliver?
After the victory against the Amalekites, Yahweh commands Moses to write in the book as a memorial that Yahweh will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Hmm, somebody woke up cranky. This may be the moment where we need to admit that God is God and he sees a much bigger and a much more detailed picture than we do. The sense of the story is that the Amalekites have defiantly challenged Yahweh in some way (see below on v. 16). It is Yahweh who will have war with them. Moses is also commanded to put this in the ear of Joshua. It is something that Yahweh wanted remembered. And there was generations of conflict between Israel and the Amalekites. The story of Esther may represent the final blow when Haman the descendent of the Amalekite king Agag is hung on his own gallows.
So, Moses builds an altar and names it “Yahweh is my banner”. The Hebrew word translated “banner” can refer to a standard that is a rallying point. I think Moses got the point. The servants of God actively served, but it is Yahweh who defeated the Amalekites. It wasn’t Moses’ upraised hands. It wasn’t Joshua and his army. It was Yahweh. Verse 16 is difficult, but what the NASB translates as “The Lord has sworn” should probably be “because a hand against the throne of Yahweh”. Yahweh will have war because the Amalekites in some way have raised their hand against God’s sovereignty.
God chooses to work through his servants. So, when he wants the good news of Jesus spread throughout the world, he gathers some followers and sends them on their way. And what does that mean for you and I? What would our day look like if we lived as servants of the Most High allowing him to work us instead of trying to work him? You see, some people approach God as if he is their personal servant, waiting on their every need. But who is working who here? Allow Yahweh to work you my friends. Walter.