“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,” (Ephesians 3:16)
This Sunday we begin a series on Joshua. He started off as Moses’ main assistant and ended up taking over from Moses, when Israel entered the Promised Land. This week, we begin with the first time Joshua plays a significant role in the story, when he leads the Israelites as they defend against an attack by the Amalekites. Then from next week, we will be looking at the book of Joshua, which describes what Israel did under Joshua’s leadership.
Life is full of battles
Life is full of battles. In the last few weeks, we have been looking at the fruit of the Spirit, how as God’s people we are to take on the characteristics of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But, we all find that at least with some of those characteristics it is a battle to develop them in our lives.
Life as a Christian in our world, can feel like a battle. Sometimes, people can ridicule or belittle your faith. Others can seem uninterested or dismissive of the Christian faith. When there is so much negativity around us, it can feel like a battle to remain and shine as a Christian.
Life as a Church together can feel like a battle. Working to keep the show on the road, to deal with divisions and tensions, lack of support or grief at those we have lost. Being part of a Christian community is not easy and it can feel like a real battle to become the kind of community Jesus wants us to be.
In today’s Bible story, we heard about the first battle Israel thought as a nation after they were rescued from being slaves in Egypt. We are not told much about the actual fighting. In verse 10, we are told Joshua goes out to fight the Amalekites, in verse 11, we are told sometimes the Israelites were winning and sometimes the Amalekites, then in verse 13, we are told Joshua won against the Amalekites. Hardly, the kind of in depth analysis we are given after an England football match!
What we are told about is the real secret behind how Joshua won.
Moses’ Staff
As part of the story, Moses’ staff features. Why was this staff important?
When God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt,
he told him to take the staff and he said this:
“This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4:5)
In other words the staff became a sign that God was with Moses,
and that it was God’s help that was the secret weapon.
So, in many of the times God acted against Israel,
he told Moses to use the staff as a symbol of God’s presence.
Let’s go through them quickly…
1 child to hold rod. Strike the ground.
=>Explain the story…
Response:
Moses defeated the Egyptians
God is with us.
- Staff turns into snake. Egyptian’s do a similar trick, but Moses’s snake eats all of theirs. (7:9-10,12)
- Plague of water turning into blood. (7:17)
- Plague of frogs (8:5)
- Plague of Gnats (8:16)
- Plague of Hail (9:23)
- Plague of Locusts (10:13)
- Dividing the Red Sea (14:16)
So, 7 times the staff symbolised that God was with Moses and gave him victory over the Egyptians.
Water from the rock (17:5)
But now Israel had escaped Egypt and were travelling through the wilderness and had come to a place called Rephidim.
Was God still with them? At first it felt like he wasn’t. There was no water at Rephidim. But, God once again told Moses to use the staff. He was to strike the rock and water would come out. Moses did what God said, he struck the rock with the staff and water came flooding out.
Battle with the Amalekites:
Now, when Israel was in the wilderness they were attached by the Amalekites.
Perhaps the Amalekites wanted to take Israel’s water,
or steal their possessions.
This attack was an act of terrible bullying.
Tug of war… rope with card over it: Fighting the Amalekites…
When the rod is held up the Israelites were winning, when it was lowered they were losing. (Have ‘God’ a strong man, help the Israelites, only when the rod is held up, set it up, so that the Amalekites are a bit better than the Israelites)
But, Moses’s hands become tired. He can’t keep lifting them up.
So, they gave him a chair to sit on…
Finally, Aaron and Hur come to the rescue. They hold up Moses’s hands. So in this way Joshua is able to win the battle and God saves Israel from Amalek.
Eventually, Israel won the battle.
How did Israel win?
- Joshua needed to fight (sword)
In human terms, it was Joshua’s leadership and the men who fought with him that won the battle. As it says in verse 13,
‘So, Joshua overcame the Amalekites with the sword.’
Israel had been slaves in Egypt, they had never before fought a battle. They didn’t know how to. What is more they were in an unfamiliar place, away from the river valley of the Nile in the wilderness.
The Amalekites, on the other hand were on familiar territory and probably used to fighting battles. They saw Israel as an easy target for the Amalekites to attack, presumably hoping to defeat them and win a lot of booty.
So, Israel could not win without help.
- Moses needed to pray (rod)
Israel may have been relatively weak in the face of the Amalekites, but with God on their side, they were able to overcome.
So, Moses prayed. He called on God’s help by holding the staff up, the symbol of God’s victorious presence with them. When he prayed, the Israelites beat the Amalekites.
How did Israel win, through prayer and God’s help.
But, prayer is not easy. It can be hard work. Moses could not easily keep the rod held up. Moses could not pray without help…
- Aaron and Hur needed to support Moses
So, Aaron and Hur, helped Moses. They found him a chair or a rock to sit on, and they held up his arms, so he could hold up the rod. In this way, Moses could keep on praying and so Joshua could keep on winning the battle and Israel ultimately defeated the Amalekites?
How did Israel defeat the Amalekites?
Was it Joshua’s willingness to fight? Yes.
Was it Moses’ willingness to pray? Yes
Was it Aaron and Hur’s support of Moses? Yes
All three groups had to play their part in helping to ensure the victory. But ultimately, they won because God was with them and defended the vulnerable Israelites against the bullying Amalekites.
How do we win life’s battles today?
So, when we think of what happens in this battle, we can see that it is a useful pattern for all the battles we face.
Someone needs to act, but they need prayer and even the person praying needs support.
Fruit of the Spirit (hang on rope)
So how do we win the battle of developing the fruit of the spirit in our lives?
We need to act. We need to recognise where we need to show love, to focus on God’s blessings so we can be joyful, on his security, so we can know peace. We need to look for acts of kindness we can show, make sure we stick by our word even when it hurts and not give in to temptation.
We need to pray. In our own efforts we will keep failing, but with God’s help we can win the battle. So, pray for God to help you develop the fruit of the Spirit more and more. Perhaps reflecting on which ones you struggle with most and asking for God’s special help in those areas.
We need prayer support. But often we become tired of praying. We need the support of others to pray for and with us. You can do this with your family or perhaps set up a prayer triplet, so you can have your own Aaron and Hur to support you, people you can share your struggles with and ask for their support. Or you could join one of our Life Groups and ask for support in these areas for prayer.
Vision 2030
As we move forward with our vision for our churches, we need to work to take action. We need people applying for the grants that we need and working together to agree the best plans. We need the action.
But we also need to pray. Over the last year, we have been meeting once a month for our Dare to Pray prayer meetings. These have been a massive help to me in this process. The people who come to these prayer meetings, are like the Moses, Aaron and Hur in the battle of seeking to transform the churches for the future.
Everyone has a Part to Play
It may be that due to ill health or old age, there is little you can do in terms of action. Like Moses, you are not capable of fighting the battle, but you can sit on the hill and pray.
So, why not find ways to support others in prayer. That may be by joining us at one of our prayer meetings or being part of a life group. Or it may simple be about getting to know one or two younger people in the church and asking them how you can pray to support them in their life’s struggles.
We’re never too old to pray. And as we have seen, prayer is crucial to helping people win the Spiritual battles that we all face.
So, in life’s battles, let’s act, let’s pray and let’s offer support in prayer!
St. George's Church Ramsgate 