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Text: Exodus 17:8-16
As Israel travels through the wilderness the Amalekites pick a fight with the Israelites. This comes from an old hatred between Esau and Jacob. Amalek was one of Esau’s sons. When Jacob tricked Isaac for the inheritance, Esau became bitter toward Jacob. That bitterness passed to his children. Now, Jacob wasn’t in the right, but Jacob was the one who was supposed to carry the inheritance regardless of what he did. When the Amalekites chose to fight with Israel as they left Egypt, it was a continuation of this old hatred of Jacob. It’s a hatred that would never be corrected, so the LORD said he would continually contend with Amalek.
This is your fight (vss 8-10)
- Not all fights are fights you need to be involved in. Paul said if you can live peaceably with men, then do it. But you can’t always do that. This is a fight that isn’t going away.
- This is your fight. My question is why doesn’t God destroy Amalek like he destroyed Egypt? He just supernaturally rescued Israel out of Egypt, why wouldn’t He do the same here? The reason is simple. Redemption is God’s work. Contending for the faith is your work. In short, this is Israel’s battle.
- In your life, it’s your job to fight the flesh, to capture your thoughts, to direct your heart. Those are all things that are your battle.
- Peter and Paul say so much about mental preparation in this life’s warfare. The struggle is spiritual. It’s a battle to love other people. It’s a battle to discern without being deceived. It’s a battle to be longsuffering.
Prayer is necessary in the fight (vss 11-13)
- As Joshua leads his men into battle, Moses lifts up his hands toward the LORD and Israel advances. But his hands get tired and he drops them down. And it becomes evident that the Israelites begin to lose ground.
- Psalms 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
- Moses arms get tired, but it doesn’t change what is acceptable to God. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. God doesn’t change what it acceptable because the flesh is incapable of doing it. And if God accepts the prayers of Moses with lifted hands, then they need to supporting Moses’ arms.
- Pray that you don’t fall into temptation.
Make a record that this fight is forever (vss 14-16)
- This fight will not go away.
- This fight will not be won by compromise.
- Moses intends to make a memorial so the Israelites will have God’s perspective on this fight for generations to come.
- Crucify the flesh. Make no provision for the flesh. The flesh is a perpetual war in this life.
