The Battle Belongs to the Lord - 29 November 2006

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.  Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." Exodus17: 8-9

 The Israelites were now afflicted by war.  The battle was won in the end but only because Moses stood with his hands in the air, holding up the staff God had given him.  When he held it up the Israelites won, when his arms grew tired and he had a rest the Amalekites began to win. In the end Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands up until the battle was over and much has been said about their position of support to Moses.  It has been likened to the support we ourselves give our leadership in prayer. 

 We could have done with that staff in the World Cup.

 But I wondered how the average Israelite soldier felt about this.  Hundreds of men were literally fighting for their lives with real weapons here.  Hacking and slashing and trying to dodge the enemy as well as watching each other’s backs and doing their best to be strategic.  I don’t suppose any of them were actually thinking of trusting anything but the strength of their arms and the sharpness of their sword or spear.

 I don’t know about you but often in the cut and thrust of life I have found myself erring that way.  Sometimes I think that I can trust in my own ability, and I become far too reliant on that, until suddenly I realise that the ‘Amalekite’ I am fighting gets the upper hand or I fall flat on my face.  Equally sometimes I become convinced that my own strength is never going to be good enough so I might as well give up.

 But in this instance God didn’t actually fight the battle for them, they did the fighting but God made sure they won.  And this was the next lesson in trust, that there would be battles but that God would make sure they won them.

In our own lives and the battles we ourselves fight against sin, disease and injustice (to name but three, fill in the gaps with your own if you like) God is on our side.  We fight but He makes sure that we are not defeated. 

Ask the Lord today for victory in the battles you are fighting, or ask Him which battle you should be fighting.  Trust Him to use your efforts to bring victory.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31