What is it Amalek?

Now in our daily reading (Exodus16-18) we see Manna, water from a Rock, defeat of the Amalekites & Jethro.

Exodus 16:4 “4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; & the people shall go out & gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.”

God tells Moses that He will feed His people w/bread from Heaven.

Psalms 78:25 “25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.”

Exodus 16:15 “15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

The Hebrew word for “What is it?” is Manna.

Exodus 16:18 “18 When they measured it w/an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, & he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.”

He gives them instructions to only gather what they need each day, & in order to eat, they needed to go out every day!

This can be applied to us as CHRISTians. Too many CHRISTians live off of “old manna”. They are hanging on to experiences & things that they learned in the past & they are never trying to keep digging in the Word.         

Charles H. Spurgeon said “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the Book widens & deepens w/our years.”                                                 

A.W. Tozer said “Let us seek to know Him in the Word. It is in the Word we will find the Holy Spirit. Don't read too many other things. Some of you will say, "Look who's talking!" Well, go ahead & say it, I don't mind; but I am reading fewer & fewer things as I get older, not because I'm losing interest in this great, big, old suffering world, but because I'm gaining interest in that other world above. So I say, don't try to know everything. You can't. Find Him in the Word, for the Holy Ghost wrote this book. He inspired it, & He will be revealed in its pages."                                                         

We need to spend more time in the Word! Just because you learned stuff years ago & God used you once, don’t just keeping eating that! It gets moldy & filled w/worms (Exodus16.20)! Live on new manna!

Exodus 17.01-07 The people complain (again!) that God hasn’t provided them w/more water! So God provides water from a rock for the nation of Israel by having Moses strike the rock

Exodus 17.08-16 The Amalekites were the descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau (Genesis36.12, 16) who we are told in Hebrews12.16 that he was a profane (godless) person. He was someone who lived for the world & the flesh & despised spiritual things.

On this journey of faith that we are on, not only do we experience trials, but we also face battles.

This is the 1^st battle that the Jews fought. Interesting to note that when they left Egypt, they didn’t have to fight. When the Egyptian armies came after them, they didn’t have to fight. That is because when we have been delivered by God from the sin & the bondage of this world, He got the victory by sending His Son to die on the cross & rising again on the 3^rd day.

Now though, once we have been delivered, we are now at war w/our flesh. Amalek is a picture of our relentless & unyielding enemy…our flesh! The only way to defeat the flesh is through the strength of God.

Just as Amalek was the first enemy that the nation of Israel had to battle against, the same is true of us, the 1^st battle that we have when we get out of the world is our flesh.

Exodus 17:8-10a “8 Then Amalek came & fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us & go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill w/the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did as Moses told him, & fought against Amalek;…”

“Joshua”=Yahweh is salvation. The Hebrew form for the Greek name “Jesus”.

Moses tells Joshua to go out & fight & that he will stand on the top of the hill.

Exodus 17:10b-12 “10 …& Moses, Aaron, & Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, & when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone & put it under him, & he sat on it; & Aaron & Hur supported his hands, one on one side & one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.”

Notice that Aaron & Hur also went up w/Moses. When Moses had his arms up, they were winning. When he let down his arms, they were losing. Eventually his arms became so heavy that Aaron & Hur had to support him.

It is interesting to note as well that this is how the Jews prayed. They would lift up their hands every time they prayed. (1Kings08.22, 38, 54; Psalms28.02, 44.20, 63.04, 134.02; 1Timothy02.08)

Exodus 17:13-16 After Joshua defeated the Amalekites, what did Moses do? He didn’t build a memorial to himself, or to Joshua, but to God! Moses made sure that he gave all the glory to God.

For us, there is much that we can apply to our lives from this story.

01. To always make sure that Jesus is leading us, for…

Philippians 4:13 “13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

This involves reading the WOG & putting on the armor of God daily (Ephesians06).

02. To pray always.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “17 pray w/o ceasing;”

Moses, raising his hands was in a since saying that he had total dependence in God. Moses didn’t win the victory, neither did Joshua, but by praying & interceding for others & ourselves we are committing them to God.

03. To have those who can support you.

Galatians 6:2 “2 Bear one another’s burdens, & thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Moses, having his arms lifted up eventually got tired, & he wanted to give in to the flesh as well. Just to let down his arms for a second. Once you let down your guard for a second, the enemy will come in & you will start to be defeated. That is why it is important to keep your arms up, & to surround yourself w/those who can help.

In our journey of faith, we need to have the Bread of Life (manna), the Water of Life so that when we battle against the flesh, we can have Jesus lead, we can pray & have those who keep us accountable.

Lastly we see another name of God here in Exodus17.16 “The LORD is my banner”= Yahweh Nissi. This means that He is our assurance of victory & protection.

A banner/ensign/standard in ancient times was a flag/symbol of some sort that was carried at the head of a group in the military. It could be a flag, or even a bright ornament on top of a pole.

It showed the line of march, so it brought about order. But it was also used as a rallying point in a time of war. During the heat of the battle, soldiers would look across the confusion & all the chaos of the battlefield for a glimpse of their king’s banner. As long as that banner was held high, they would continue to fight w/courage & confidence.

As children of God, He is our banner. He is our source of strength in the battle, so that we can conquer Amalek (our flesh).

Exodus 18.01-12 Moses recounts to his father-in-law all that Yahweh has done for them. When people ask you what’s going on, do you tell them about what Yahweh is doing in your life or do you just keep it generic? Be bold; tell them what He has done for you!

Exodus 18.13-27 God then uses Moses father-in-law (Jethro) to give him wise counsel that is to delegate responsibilities.

Exodus 18:21 “21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; & you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties & of tens.”

Here we see 03 requirements for “able men” =in Hebrew “trust, honest & virtue”

1^st requirement “fear God” =have reverence/respect for God. (Ecclesiastes12.13)

2^nd requirement “men of truth” =to be faithful, true, righteous. Having nothing to hide. (Zechariah08.16)

3^rd requirement “hating covetousness” =desiring what is not yours. This happens to be the 10^th Commandment, which hasn’t been given yet. It also carries w/it the idea of taking bribes & doing favors for others. (Isaiah33.15-16)