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in Exodus chapter 14 and then 
last or two weeks ago in chapter 15 we saw the song of Moses where 
they celebrate God's goodness in redemption bringing his people 
out from that land of bondage. Well at the end of chapter 15 
they complained at the place called Merah because there was 
no water. Last week we saw in chapter 16 
where they complain again because there was no bread, no food. 
So God miraculously supplies food for them according to chapter 
16. So now in chapter 17, there's 
two main points. First, the complaint again at 
Rephidim in verses 1 to 7. They once again find themselves 
without water. So instead of trusting the God 
that has provided for them so abundantly, they naturally complain 
against Moses, contend with Moses. Then the latter half of the chapter 
deals with the victory at Rephidim when they take on the Amalekites. 
We'll pick up reading in chapter 17 at verse 1. Therefore the people contended 
with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. So Moses 
said to them, Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the 
Lord? And the people thirsted there 
for water. And the people complained against Moses and said, Why is 
it you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children 
and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord, 
saying, What shall I do with this people? They are almost 
ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, go 
on before the people and take with you some of the elders of 
Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck 
the river and go. Behold, I will stand before you 
there on the rock in Horeb and you shall strike the rock and 
water will come out of it that the people may drink. And Moses 
did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name 
of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of 
the children of Israel. And because they tempted the 
Lord saying, is the Lord among us or not? Now Amalek came and 
fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, choose 
us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will 
stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. 
So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. And 
Moses, Aaron, and her went up to the top of the hill. And so 
it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed. And 
when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became 
heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat 
on it. And Aaron and her supported his hands, one on one side and 
the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until 
the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and 
his people with the edge of the sword. Then the Lord said to 
Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in 
the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance 
of Amalek from under heaven. So as I said, the two main sections, 
the complaint at Rephidim and then the victory over Amalek 
at Rephidim. So let's look first at this complaint. Again, it's a common theme running 
through the chapters. If you look specifically at chapter 
15 and verse 24, the people complained against Moses saying, what shall 
we drink? It's repeated several times in 
chapter 16 at verse 2 and then again at verses 7 and 8, and 
then 9. Also, it's referred to in verse 
12. So it shouldn't surprise us that when they come to this 
place and there is no water, that instead of expressing faith 
in God's providence or belief in God's promises, they rather 
turn their anger and enmity against Moses. Again, that's one of the 
central themes that you find throughout Israel's wilderness 
wandering. They distrust or they don't account 
for God's providence and they don't believe His promises. He 
has told them that He is going to give them this land. He has 
told them that He is going to bring them safely to this land. 
And they express such unbelief that ultimately that generation 
is destroyed and it's the second generation that ultimately ends 
up going into the land of promise. So the route is given us in verse 
1a. And then notice specifically 
who is leading them. It says, according to the commandment 
of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim, but there was no water for the 
people to drink. So it is God's direct supervision 
of the children of Israel. Rather, it is His voice that 
is audibly heard by them, or it's His appearance being symbolized 
in the pillar of cloud and fire. But it is God's direct leading 
of them, and yet they continue to whine and grumble. Notice 
that they contend with Moses specifically in verses 2 and 
3. In verse 2, the people contend with Moses. That's why he ultimately 
calls it Masa and Meribah there in Rephidim, because it reflects 
the heart disposition and the attitude of these people of God. 
And so as we read this, again, we need to understand that this 
is true for New Covenant Christians also. We're not supposed to contend 
with the servants of the Lord. We're not supposed to direct 
our anger against the Lord. That doesn't mean we can't pour 
out our complaints. The psalmist says that he does 
that. It does not mean that we don't 
cast our burdens upon him because he cares for us. It doesn't mean 
that we hold all these things in and we sort of bottle it up 
and we end up in some sort of a a facility because we can't 
cope. No, we need to express these 
things to God, but not via complaint, not via whining and grumbling 
and murmuring. And the line there, brethren, 
as I can attest to, is very thin indeed. It's not always easy 
to understand when we cross over that line. So it's a very important 
thing that as we move through passages or texts like these, 
that we check our own hearts such that we don't fall prey 
to the same sort of thing that they did in failing to trust 
God's providence or promise. So notice Moses' response in 
verse 2. They say, give us water that 
we may drink. So Moses said to them, why do 
you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord? Moses 
already learned something about this in chapter 16. Notice specifically 
at verse eight. Also, Moses said, this shall 
be seen when the Lord gives me or gives you meat to eat in the 
evening. and in the morning bread to the full. For the Lord hears 
your complaints which you make against him. And what are we? 
Your complaints are not against us, but against the Lord." So 
ultimately Moses knows this, but I think Moses expresses a 
little bit of a weak moment in verse four. Notice how he expresses 
himself to God. He cries out to the Lord saying, 
what shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone 
me. Now, when I say that, I'm not blaming Moses. I understand 
the ethic, or the ethos, rather, behind Moses at this particular 
point. It's got to be somewhat wearying 
and taxing for him already early on in the journey out of the 
land of bondage where they had been delivered powerfully by 
the hand of God, who directly intervened in their situation 
and gave a series of plagues to the nation of Egypt, culminating 
in the death of the firstborn. If ever you would think that 
there would be a people that would be steady in their God, 
that would be stable and secure in the fact that He was going 
to provide for them, it should have been this people. They had 
witnessed the direct intervention of Yahweh of Israel in time and 
time again, and yet they continue to complain and express their 
disbelief in the living and true God. So they complain against 
Moses, and Moses rebukes them. Why do you contend with me? Why 
do you tempt, or why do you test the Lord? See, that's the issue. And God Himself had said that 
He would be testing them. In other words, when we get to 
Deuteronomy 8, God underscores this whole time, in the wilderness, 
at this stage of the game, in that they were supposed to learn 
that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that 
proceeds from the mouth of God. If God has commanded, if God 
has promised, He is faithful to make good on His word. and 
yet they continue to tempt him or to test him, and Moses here 
rebukes them for that. Now notice the response in verses 
4 to 7. Again, I'm sorry, back to verse 
3, just for a moment. I actually have pink eyes, so 
I'm not wearing my contacts. Usually I have contacts and reading 
glasses. So I'm going to try to find the 
sweet spot here where I can see with my normal glasses. So if 
I misstep, I'm not trying to say I'm not stupid. I'm just 
suggesting that I may be stupid too, but I'm just not seeing 
perhaps as well as I normally do. So it's just a matter of 
finding that spot. The other day, Isaac saw me carrying 
the wood over to the pulpit. When I have my reading glasses 
on, the wood brings it just into that sweet spot. So I'm trying 
to find it here. But anyways, notice what they do with reference 
to Moses that they did in chapter 16. In chapter 16 at verses 2 
and 3, the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained 
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children 
of Israel said to them, oh, that we had died by the hand of the 
Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and 
when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into 
this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 
Again, drama queens, whiners, grumblers, complainers. The ethics 
seems to be, or the implication seems to be, it would have been 
better if Yahweh would have killed us on full stomachs when we're 
in the land of Egypt than for him to bring us out here and 
to starve us to death. Well, they engage in the same 
sort of theatrics here in verse 3. The people thirsted there 
for water and the people complained against Moses and said, Why is 
it you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children 
and our livestock with thirst? Again, overly imbalanced. They 
knew it was God Most High. They knew that Moses didn't somehow 
secretly go through the land of Egypt on that night of the 
Passover and kill all of the firstborn. That was obviously 
and conspicuously the work of Yahweh. They know that it's God 
who split the Red Sea so that they could walk through the dry 
ground, and then He caused the sea to collapse on the armies 
of Pharaoh. They know all this, and nevertheless, they're blaming 
Moses for their woes. Moses certainly had a difficult 
task in leading the children of Israel. So why is it that 
you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children 
and our livestock with thirst? So now the response of Moses, 
he cries out to God and he fears that they are almost ready to 
stone him. Again, these people were not happy with this present 
situation. And on the one hand, we can't 
blame them. When they're hungry, they need 
food. When they're thirsty, they need drink. But to just engage 
in this sort of an attack or contention against Moses is completely 
unwarranted. Now, notice what God commands 
with reference to the remedy for this situation. Verse 5, 
He commands them to take some of the elders and to take the 
rod. He commands him to take some 
of the elders so that they can verify or witness that this was 
in fact a direct intervention from God. It wasn't the case 
that there was a hidden fountain and Moses just happened to find 
it and he ascribes all praise and glory to Yahweh. No, bring 
some of the elders so that they can witness that this is in fact 
the directness of God in the provision of water. And then 
as well, take in your hand your rod with which you struck the 
river and go. I think that rod represents or 
symbolizes the presence of God. So bring the elders to witness 
God's power and bring the rod to symbolize God's presence. 
And then God makes clear his presence in the following verse, 
verse 6. Behold, I will stand before you 
there on the rock in Horeb. Now as we move through the Pentateuch, 
Horeb is Sinai. They're used interchangeably. 
It's the same region for the most part in the book of Deuteronomy. 
Sinai is referred to as Horeb, except for later, I think in 
chapter 32. So when you see Horeb, know they're right near Sinai 
at this particular time. They're on the journey, they're 
going to come to Sinai, and they're going to be there for a while. 
And there they're going to receive the law, and there they're going 
to receive the instructions concerning the building of the tabernacle. 
But at this juncture, when they're in Rephidim, on their way specifically 
to Sinai, Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock 
in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come 
out of it, that the people may drink. So the emphasis is specifically 
on God's power, God's provision, God's presence, because the nature 
of their complaint is formally given by Moses at the end of 
verse 7. Notice what they say. Is the 
Lord among us or not? So this wasn't just an expression 
of unbelief. This wasn't just an expression 
of a bit of a lack of faith. This was an insult, because God 
Most High had promised to be with them in the pillar of cloud 
and fire. God Most High promised to be 
with Him in His Word. And yet when they come to a place 
where there's a time of trial or a time of testing, they immediately 
conclude that God is absent from them. And I think this lesson 
certainly carries over in the New Covenant. The Lord God Most 
High has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. 
in Hebrews 13. Now the promise in Hebrews 13 
where God says, I will never leave you nor forsake you, comes 
in the context of not coveting. So he's not suggesting I will 
never leave you nor forsake you in the spiritual sense. The Bible 
teaches that. Romans chapter 8, what shall 
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord? He goes through just about every created thing and 
then he says, nothing can separate us from the love of God which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So in the spiritual realm, God 
promises he will never abandon us. But physically or temporally, 
God promises He will never abandon us. That's the emphasis in Hebrews 
13. And yet as soon as difficulty 
comes to the people of God, we conclude, God is absent. God's 
done with me. God has forsaken me. God has 
forgotten me. It is amazing how quick our default 
setting is to run to the same place that Israel did. God's 
abandoned us. God is absent from us. God doesn't 
care. God doesn't hear my prayer. You 
meet with that often with people. They don't get the answer that 
they're looking for from God. So the conclusion? God left me. God's absent. The conclusion 
of God didn't want me to have it never seems to arise in their 
mind. The conclusion that no is as 
much an answer never seems to arise in their mind. It's easier 
to impugn the dignity and the majesty and the glory of God 
and suggest that somehow He is faulty in this equation and not 
us. That's the problem with the children 
of Israel here in Exodus 17. And that's the problem with the 
children of Israel in our New Covenant setting, when we think 
for a moment that in terms of our spiritual relationship to 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there is actually something 
that can separate us from Him. No, it never will happen. But 
in the same regard, in the temporal world, God doesn't leave us or 
abandon us. Now, if it is the case that we 
end up in the gulags, if it is the case that we end up with 
the bullet in the head, if it is the case that we get whatever 
nasty eventuality could be down the road, then we go to be in 
the presence of God. We enact what Paul enacted in 
Philippians chapter 1, when he says, For to me to live is Christ, 
and to die is gain. Now brethren, that is our reality, 
and we aren't to question it. We're not to conclude that God 
is absent, that God has somehow checked out, or that God has 
somehow finished in His dealings with us. So when we look at the 
nature of their complaint, is the Lord among us or not? That's 
a manipulative cry as well. If you don't give us what we 
want, then we're going to conclude that you've abandoned us. If 
you don't deliver the things that we say that you should, 
we're going to impugn your majesty and your dignity and your faithfulness. Notice, Moses names the site 
according to verse 7. Well, verse 6, The last part 
of verse 6, Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 
So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, and 
then he gives the reason, because of the contention of the children 
of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord 
among us or not? And so Massah means just that, 
temptation, trial, or testing. And the name Meribah means contention, 
protest, quarrel, or strife. Now there's a similar situation 
that happens in the book of Numbers, in Numbers chapter 20, at verses 
1 to 13. Moses refers to that incident 
as well as Meribah, the same sort of idea. Contention, protest, 
quarrel, or strife. The children of Israel disbelieved 
God, and they whined, therefore, at Moses, which was ultimately 
directed to God. And as a result, these places 
are referred to as Massa and Meribah. Not in a noble sense. It's not like that was a good 
name, like Ebenezer, for instance. But it reflects the heart disposition 
of the children of Israel as they encountered a particular 
trial. So as God is leading the children of Israel, as God is 
testing the children of Israel, they're failing. But notice what 
the God of Israel never does. He doesn't stop. He doesn't leave 
them off. He doesn't abandon them. He doesn't 
forsake them. I mean, one could read this in 
a perverse sort of way and say, hey, the more they complain, 
the more God actually gives them what they want. It's quite a 
manifestation of His graciousness. Now, I'm not actually saying 
that. Please, don't go complain to 
God just so you'll get stuff. But an uninitiated reader might 
conclude that. Boy, every time these children 
of Israel whine or complain, God just gives them what they're 
after. Why don't we just whine and complain then? No, let's 
not do that. Let's pray and worship and adore 
and glorify, but let us understand the magnificent grace of God 
Most High. Because how many of us, if we 
were God for a day, would continue to bear up with these people? 
We might be pulling out our hair with Moses, saying, they are 
almost ready to stone me. Let's just finish this charade 
and let's go off together, God. I mean, that would be a temptation 
that would present itself to a man in a similar situation. 
So the reason for the names given specifically is found there at 
the end of verse 7. Now the gravity of the complaint 
is underscored by virtue of the fact that we're in Exodus 17. So remember, the plague narrative 
starts in Exodus chapter 7. Prior to that, you've got the 
children of Israel in the land of Egypt, chapter 1. You see 
the oppression of Egypt over Israel, to the point where they're 
slaughtering the babies, the firstborn males in Israel. They 
were taking them, and they were casting them into the Nile River. 
They were trying to liquidate, trying to sin the herd, as it 
were. Chapter 2, the birth of the Deliverer. 
Moses is born. Chapters 3 and 4, God prepares 
Moses for this particular calling. Chapter 7, He inflicts the plagues 
upon the children of Israel. He gives that 10th plague in 
chapter 12. He brings the nation out. Chapter 14, he destroys 
Pharaoh's army. Chapter 15, they sing praise 
to God. Chapter 16, now they're nurtured 
on direct bread from heaven that is there every single day, except 
on the Sabbath day, the Friday, there's a double portion. So 
in light of all that, In light of every spiritual blessing in 
the heavenly places in Christ, they actually have the gall to 
say, is the Lord among us or not? Brethren, let us not make 
that mistake. If God has given us the best 
in terms of not sparing His only begotten Son, if He has delivered 
Him up for us, how shall He not with Him also freely give us 
all things? That's Paul's logic in Romans 
8.32. It's an argument from the greater 
to the lesser. If He's not shrank back from 
giving up His Son in death, how's He not going to deal with us 
on a Thursday or on a Friday? So let us not fall prey to insulting 
God by questioning whether He is among us or not. Now brethren, 
I've been in this for a little while, not just as a pastor, 
but as a Christian, and I have to say, one of the most offensive 
things that a Christian can ever voice is not, you know, struggles, 
it's not, you know, sins even, it is this kind of an attitude 
that God has forsaken them. That is untenable. That's not 
a negotiable item. You just don't go there. You 
don't do that. You don't even for a moment begin 
to entertain the thought that somehow God has abandoned you. 
That is the devil's logic. This is why Romans 8 is in the 
Bible. This is why John 10 is in the 
Bible. This is why the Bible is in the 
Bible. It is to testify to us that the 
God who began this good work in us will complete it unto the 
day of Christ. He's not going to start this 
in you and then leave you on your own. So this idea that is 
God among us or not. Listen, if we have not committed 
the unpardonable sin, if we have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit, 
if we have a confession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we 
have great confidence that the Lord is with us and that there 
is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The devil will get in there and 
the devil will say, oh, you're having a miserable time of it, 
aren't you? Well, that must mean that God has forgotten about 
you. That is miserable counsel, and 
if people in your life tell you that, or you're listening to 
the devil, come back to Rephidim and see what an insult it was 
when the children of Israel, having received all these benefits, 
have the gall to say, is the Lord among us or not? Turn to 
the prophet Malachi. They say the same thing. Later 
in redemptive history, even in light of all the blessed things 
that the children of Israel had seen, Malachi chapter three. God, through the prophet, indicts 
the children of Israel. This is post-exile. This is the 
last writing prophet. This is the prophet that ends 
the canon, as it were, and then there's a 400-year period of 
silence. But notice how God upbraids the 
people in chapter 3 at verse 13. Your words have been harsh 
against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, that's the pattern 
in the prophet Malachi. God indicts, and they say, who, 
us? Who us? He says you've been careless 
in your worship. Who us? You've been horrible 
in terms of your personal relationship. Who us? They can't even imagine 
for a moment that they're the guilty ones in the relationship. 
Again, if you're not reading the Old Testament, please read 
the Old Testament and think with a New Testament mindset that 
God wants you to learn the lessons that these people went through. 
So verse 13, your words have been harsh against me, says the 
Lord, yet you say, what have we spoken against you? You have 
said it is useless to serve God. What prophet is it that we have 
kept his ordinance and that we have walked as mourners before 
the Lord of hosts? So now we call the proud blessed 
for those who do wickedness are raised up. They even tempt God 
and go free. So essentially they say it's 
useless to serve God, it is unprofitable to serve God, and it's unfair 
to serve God. Brethren, you may look at that 
and recoil in horror, and well you should. But the moment the 
trial and tribulations and difficulties come upon some of God's servants, 
they go to this default position, and they immediately conclude, 
well, the problem's with God. It's not with me. It is God who's 
abandoned. It is God who has reneged. It 
is God who is not being faithful in this situation. Well, brethren, 
if it were the case that God was silent, not absent, but silent, 
what does that mean? Does that mitigate our responsibility 
to be faithful to Him? No, never. Read the Psalms of 
Asaph. Asaph was a melancholic soul 
that took pen to paper and lamented over the condition of Israel. 
And as far as we can tell in the Psalms of Asaph, there was 
no immediate deliverance. There was no immediate sort of 
recovery. Asaph says to God, when the pagans 
are in the sanctuary destroying it, Asaph calls out to God and 
says, take your hand from your bosom and destroy them. That's 
the kind of praying that Asaph engaged in. But as far as we 
know, we don't know or have any idea whatsoever that God did 
take the hand from his bosom and that he destroyed the enemies 
of Yahweh. So we have this man Asaph who is experiencing, not 
again absence from God, but for that time, for that season, for 
that purpose, God didn't mitigate the effects of the pagans upon 
the sanctuary of the Lord. But do you think Asaph abandoned 
faith? Do you think Asaph said, well forget it then? No, guess 
what Asaph would do? He'd go back to the Exodus and 
he would encourage his heart with the powerful work of God 
in the redemption of Israel back in that setting. Asaph didn't 
say, well, forget it. I'm just going to go whine and 
complain and cry and say, is the Lord among us or not? No, 
he had confidence in his God, even if his God wasn't taking 
his hand from his bosom and destroying the heathen that were destroying 
the sanctuary. We need to guard our hearts. 
And a lot of times the people of God won't voice that. In Malachi's 
day, they did. And here they did because Moses 
upbraids them for it. But just because we don't verbalize 
it doesn't mean it isn't the expression of our hearts. So 
we need to guard ourselves in this idea that somehow what Paul 
says in Hebrews 13 and Hebrews 8 is a lie. That God temporally 
does leave us and forsake us, and that God spiritually does 
leave us or forsake us. So do not make the same sort 
of sins that these people did. Now notice the victory at Rephidim, 
verses 8 to 16. Verse 8 tells us about a man 
named Amalek. Excuse me, Amalek was the grandson 
of Esau, Genesis 36 at verse 12. So we can understand why 
there'd be an enmity between Amalek and the children of Israel. Because there was enmity between 
Esau and Jacob, right? They didn't, I mean, they did 
sort of mend the bridges or mend the you know, the wounds after 
a time, but there was enmity between them. So Esau has as 
a grandson this Amalek. And Amalek, the Amalekites, are 
sort of a committed enemy against Israel. Stuart made this observation 
in his commentary. It's good to read the moderns 
sometimes because you get information you didn't normally have. He 
says the Amalekites had domesticated the camel and used its swiftness 
effectively in surprise attacks. I didn't know that, that the 
Amalekites were them. And then he had a footnote that 
said, over short distances, camels can run 45 miles per hour. Again, I never knew that. Now, 
I don't know how short distance that is. Cheetahs can run quick 
too, but not for very long. So over short distances, camels 
can run 45 miles per hour, considerably faster than a horse, and they 
were suited for transporting Amalekite raiding parties across 
desert and wilderness expanses to the outskirts of settlements, 
from which attacks on the settlements could be quickly accomplished. 
Turn to Judges for just a moment, just to see the Amalekites later 
on in redemptive history. Because as we see at the end 
of chapter 17, they're going to be a perennial enemy to the 
children of Israel. But God nevertheless will subdue 
them. In Judges 7, I'm sorry, Judges 
3, they team up, or later they'll team up, but in Judges 3 they're 
introduced. Judges 3, let's see here, verse 
13. Then he gathered to himself the 
people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took 
possession of the city of Palms." Now turn over to Judges 6 at 
verses 3 to 5. They would go scorched earth 
on the children of Israel to basically destroy the children 
of Israel in terms of being able to eat. Here they team up with 
the Midianites. 6.3, and the new King James has 
always kind of amused me. Notice it says, So it was, whenever 
Israel had sown, Midianites would come up. I have this idea that 
they would sow seed and then Midianites would grow. You know, 
they put the seed in the ground and they put some water on it 
and the sun would shine and a Midianite would grow. That's kind of how 
I interpret 6.3 there. So it was, whenever Israel had 
sown, Midianites would come up. Also Amalekites and the people 
of the east would come up against them. Then they would encamp 
against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as 
Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor 
ox nor donkey. For they would come up with their 
livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts, both 
they and their camels without number, and they would enter 
the land to destroy it. So Israel was greatly impoverished 
because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried 
out to the Lord. Now they're again mentioned in Judges 7 at 
verse 12. And then in 1 Samuel, remember? 
1 Samuel 15, Saul is given instruction to utterly destroy Agag and the 
Amalekites and everything that breathes. And they had camels. 
So going back to Judges chapter 17, just a little background 
in terms of the Amalekites. So in verse 8 it says Amalek 
came and fought with Israel and Rephidim. It could have been 
that natural sort of rivalry between Jacob and Esau. Could 
also have been that they heard that there was this people that 
had escaped bondage from Egypt, and just prior to their escape, 
Egyptians loaded them up with all kinds of resources. In fact, 
these Israelites are loaded. They got lots of money. So perhaps 
the Amalekites are seeing them as sitting ducks. There are people 
that have been enslaved. They're probably not good warriors. 
There are people that are loaded down with all manner of resources, 
so they'll be easy picking. So verse 8 is pretty easy to 
understand in terms of the attack of the enemy. Amalek came and 
fought with Israel and Rephidim. Now notice the victory is specified 
in verses 9 to 13. First we see instruction given 
to Joshua. First mention of Joshua. We know 
he's a young man. Later in chapter 33 at verse 
11, he's told to be Moses' assistant, and he was a young man. And so 
Joshua is not only mentioned here in terms of the leader of 
the military campaign, more on that in just a moment, but then 
notice in verse 14, Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this 
for a memorial in the book, and recount it in the hearing of 
Joshua. most likely foreshadowing Joshua's succession of Moses. We know that happens. We know 
that Joshua is the man that ultimately takes the children of Israel 
and goes into the land of Canaan on the conquest. So Joshua is 
coming up in this particular section. Now when he tells him 
to muster troops, look at verse 9. It's probably not, we have 
an abundance of trained men. So choose some of them. I doubt 
it. I think it's just the other way 
around. Try and find, out of the abundance of men that we 
have, some guys that'll be able to take a sword to Amalek and 
cut their heads off. Remember, these people were slaves. Remember, they've been in the 
wilderness now. They haven't somehow just automatically learned 
how to fight and how to engage in combat. The weaponry they 
have, either they forged it in the wilderness, or probably both, 
and they took from the Egyptians. Remember the Egyptians were scattered 
on the seashore at the Red Sea in Exodus chapter 14. So if they 
had been thinking, they would have gone and gathered up some 
of those things with the idea that eventually we're going to 
need these sorts of things. So we've got this massive group 
of men that are ready to throw down, so pick a few of them. 
Most likely it's Joshua, find the guys that you've been working 
with, we need to bring them up so that we can deal with this 
Amalekite threat. And then notice what Moses says 
he's going to do in terms of his role in the combat. So verse 
9, choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow 
I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my 
hand. Now again, the rod of God as 
we see in the former section is most likely symbolic of God's 
presence. When we get to Aaron and Hur, 
the amount of spiritual application is pretty endless. Aaron is a 
type of Christ, Hur is a type of the Holy Spirit, so for the 
New Covenant believer we need Jesus and we need the Spirit 
to hold up our hands in intercessory prayer. Most everybody reads 
this section with an emphasis on intercessory prayer, and I 
don't think that's a bad way to read the text, but remember, 
God is the God of holy war, and God is the one that fights for 
Israel in the midst of holy war. He is going to give them detailed 
legislation that when they eventually enter into the land of Canaan, 
They are to go in and utterly destroy. They're not to go in 
and leave anybody. They're not to go in and subsidize 
everybody. They're not to go in and pay 
reparations for any damage that they did. War fighting in the 
Old Testament was war fighting. You went in, you destroyed things, 
and you killed people. And then you didn't pay them 
back. You didn't agonize over your former conduct. You didn't 
build them new everything. You went in and utterly decimated. Especially with reference to 
Holy War. There were certain cities that 
were placed under the ban. That means they were anathematized. 
The word anathema that we have in the Greek is representative, 
or is the Greek version of the Old Testament Hebrew word haram, 
which means to devote something to destruction. So there were 
certain cities put under the ban that they couldn't even take 
the spoil. So those cities were identified 
by God. God says to go in and have no 
truck with them. Form no social alliance, form 
no political alliance, and certainly form no religious alliance. utterly 
decimate, destroy their altars, destroy their pagan idols, destroy 
everything there is. Why? Because God knows they weren't 
so holy as to be able to go in there and dwell in harmony with 
those people. If they didn't destroy Baal, 
they would be worshipping Baal. If they didn't get rid of Asherah, 
they would be bowing to Asherah. And so the details involved in 
holy war was to utterly dispossess the land. Now, of course, the 
children of Israel don't do that. Of course, they fall into Baal 
worship, and the worship of Asherah, and Molech, and every other sort 
of Canaanite deity. But the prescription by God was 
to do great harm and great tragedy upon your enemies. So notice 
in verse 10 again. So Joshua did as Moses said to 
him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went 
up to the top of the hill. And so it was when Moses held 
up his hand that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, 
Amalek prevailed. Again, I think it's symbolic 
of the presence of God. As long as God is with you, then 
you will win the holy war. When God is not with you, then 
you will lose the holy war. When they go on the conquest, 
or when they go into the land of Canaan, they learn that lesson 
over and over again. God fights for them. God sends 
hailstones down to devastate their enemies. God is sovereign 
over all things, and so insofar as God is present, in this special 
way, they will have victory. So certainly intercessory prayer 
is involved, but also the concept of holy war. Stewart says this 
verse does not teach the efficacy of prayer without ceasing. I 
disagree. I think it does. But his emphasis 
is rather the fact that Israelite holy war was God's war. So he 
is present. And that is symbolized by the 
rod that Moses holds up, that same rod that he used to strike 
the Nile, that same rod that he used to strike the rock back 
in Rephidim, that same rod that is symbolic of the presence of 
the God of Israel. Of course, we should see in this 
that camaraderie, that assistance, that helping one another. So 
verse 12, Moses' hands became heavy. So they took a stone and 
put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported 
his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side. 
And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Now 
notice in verse 13, so Joshua defeated Amalek and his people 
with the edge of the sword. So with the presence of God, 
the children of Israel will be able to defeat their enemies. 
If God is not with them, then they will not be able to defeat 
their enemies. Now brethren, this is going to 
come up in subsequent revelation in many, many instances. They're 
going to get superstitious about things. Say for instance, in 
1 Samuel chapter 4, they lose to the Philistines, so they reckon, 
let's trot out the Ark of the Covenant. Now, you might suggest, 
well, if the rod symbolically evidenced God's presence, then 
wouldn't the Ark of the Covenant? Well, the problem was their heart 
attitude. They were treating it like a 
lucky charm. They were treating it like a holy horseshoe. All 
we've got to do is schlep the Ark out, and then we'll be able 
to win, with reference to the Philistines. So what does God 
do? He has them lose to the Philistines again, and he has the Ark of 
the Covenant actually captured by the Philistines. So that his 
people will not be superstitious or manipulative or think that 
God is somehow sort of like a beverage machine. We put in our dollar 
and we get out the blessing that we want. You see those lessons 
all throughout the former prophets. You see that treatment or mistreatment 
of God by the children of Israel. And then in terms of the summary, 
notice, Again, that doesn't mean at this time. They will be a perennial enemy 
of the children of Israel, but the children of Israel will always 
dominate them. There may be instances or times 
where they might lose an exchange here or there, but in 1 Samuel 
chapter 15, even though Saul spares Agag, Samuel hacks him 
to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. And then later on in 
1 Samuel chapter 30, David brings great harm upon the Amalekites 
as well. But there is this command to 
write, lots of inks spilled on that, no pun intended. What is 
it specifically? Is that the Pentateuch? Whatever 
it is, it is to write it for a memorial in the book and make 
sure that Joshua understands that when we meet up with the 
Amalekites, I will give you victory. Verse 15, Moses built an altar 
and called its name, the Lord is my banner, just like the patriarchs. Noah built an ark, not just the 
ark that he floated in, he built the ark and then the altar in 
chapter 8 in verse 20, as well Abraham in chapter 12, Isaac 
in chapter 26 of Genesis, and then Jacob. So Moses is following 
a tradition of the fathers, he built this altar, and he calls 
its name, the Lord is my banner. And then verse 16 is a bit of 
a difficulty, for he said, because the Lord has sworn, the Lord 
will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. The 
literal text is in the margin, a hand is upon the throne of 
the Lord. Most commentators suggest the 
idea is that God is swearing, or God is promising rather, that 
he will maintain his children over the armies of the Amalekites 
in future generations. Well, just a couple of lessons 
and then we close. First, the murmuring of God's 
people. It ultimately reveals unbelief. 
It ultimately reveals unbelief. When we murmur against God, the 
problem isn't God, it's us. And it reveals unbelief. And 
then it communicates an insult, because again, verse 7, is the 
Lord among us or not? Malachi chapter 3, it's unfair, 
it's unprofitable, it's useless to serve God. That's not the 
disposition of the blood-bought children of God. Secondly, the 
faithfulness of God to his people, the children of Israel, continually 
whine and he continually provides. Again, don't use that, okay, 
now I'm going to go out and whine and murmur and grumble and complain 
and God's going to give me everything I want. No, don't conclude that. 
But understand that the grace and the mercy and the goodness 
and the kindness and the faithfulness of God is such that even His 
people can't undo it. And then in terms of the use 
of means, if the raising of the rod is representative of prayer, 
we pray and we fight. Right? We pray and we fight. If the raising of the rod is 
symbolic of God's presence in the fight, we acknowledge His 
presence in the fight and we fight. In other words, the sovereignty 
of God does not mitigate the use of means. The sovereignty 
of God does not mean we just take a knee over at Horeb and 
wait for God to destroy the enemies. When God commands the children 
of Israel to go into the land of promise to engage in holy 
war, they're led by General Joshua and they've got swords in their 
hands. There are occasions when God routes the enemies by supernatural 
means, when God sends hailstones upon the enemies of the children 
of Israel to destroy them. But for the most part, they have 
to take their swords and they have to swing them at the heads 
of the Amalekites, at the heads of the Midianites, at the heads 
of whoever it is they are opposed to or are opposed to them. So 
the use or the sovereignty of God does not mitigate, remove 
the use of means. Proverbs 21, 31. The horse is 
prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord. 
We don't just conclude, well, deliverance is of the Lord, so 
I don't need to prepare the horse for battle. Absolutely, positively 
not. Deliverance is of the Lord, but 
we prepare the horse for battle, and we prepare it to win. We 
don't go into the fight to lose. We don't go into the fight with 
a blunt edge. We don't go into the fight with 
an unfed or unwatered horse. We go into the fight ready to 
throw down in light of the fact that our God is sovereign. 1 
Corinthians 3, verse 6, the apostle says, I planted, Apollos watered, 
but God gave the increase. Do we conclude? Well, God gives 
the increase, so it doesn't matter if we plant or if we water. No, 
we don't conclude that. We plant and we water and we 
pray to God, who is sovereign. So learn that at Rephidim. Learn 
that throughout the holy wars of Israel, that though God is 
sovereign, they nevertheless need to live by Cromwell's maxim, 
trust in God and keep your powder dry. Trust in the fact that he 
is sovereign over all things, but use the means that he has 
ordained. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your Word, and we thank you for the 
examples of Israel, hopefully that instruct us on what not 
to do in terms of our relationship to you. As well, God, we thank 
you for your constant faithfulness. From Genesis to Revelation, we 
see it expressed in Scripture, and as well, God, as we reflect 
upon our own lives, we see it expressed so vividly. And we 
pray to you, God, that you would increase our faith, our confidence 
in both your providence and in your promises, and that you would 
help us to walk by faith in the Son of God who loved us and who 
gave Himself for us. And as well, help us to use the 
means in a proper and biblical way Help us not to ever argue 
that because you're sovereign, it doesn't matter what we do, 
but help us to see that though you do grant deliverance, we 
need to prepare the horse for battle. Though you do give the 
increase, we need to water and plant and seek to evangelize. 
Help us to see that constant emphasis throughout scripture 
on your sovereignty and on the responsibility of your people. 
We ask that you would go with us now and we pray through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Any questions or comments? No? OK. Thank you. All right. You're welcome.