Moses built an altar and named it
The LORD is my Banner;
and he said, ‘The LORD has sworn;
the LORD will have war against Amalek
from generation to generation.’
Exodus 17:15-16
Oh precious one, pour over Exodus 17:8-16 and soak up its truth. Read this account very carefully. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see and a heart to understand all that God shows us in these last verses of Exodus 17.
The children of Israel are in the wilderness and Amalek has risen up against them and they must fight. Moses commands Joshua to choose men and to go out and fight. Moses will go to the top of the hill and station himself and hold up the staff of God. He will hold up this staff that God has used to deliver them from Egypt and to bring water from a rock and now he will hold it up for deliverance against Amalek.
As we read through these verses we see that Moses does not go up on the hill alone He takes Aaron and Hur with him. As we read we see that as long as he is able to hold up that staff Joshua is victorious over Amalek. However, when Moses grows tired and his hand grows heavy and is let down Amalek begins to prevail.
Aaron and Hur came to him immediately. They bring a stone for him to sit on and then they hold up his hand and Israel is victorious over Amalek.
The LORD tells Moses to “write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:14) Moses then builds an altar to the Lord and named it Jehovah-nissi, The Lord my Banner.
So my friend why would God tell Moses to write this day down and recite it, if it were not of the utmost importance for us to know it. Why is it so important? What is so significant about this battle? Oh precious one the beautiful picture, the awesome message, given to us through this battle is crucial to us as a child of God.
Is the suspense killing you?
Go back and read this passage again and instead of reading Amalek replace this nation with the word flesh.
Do you see it?
Do you see that even as a born again believer we still remain in this flesh. We still battle this flesh. How are we to prevail against it?
We can prevail only by lifting up the Lord our Banner. It is only by the Spirit of God that the deeds of the flesh can be put to death (Romans 8:13). We are powerless on our own.
Yet, even as a Spirit filled child of God this battle gets long and weary and we grow tired and our hands grow heavy. We will lose this battle if not for the help of our fellow believers in Christ.
When Moses grew weary Aaron and Hur immediately came to him. Hebrews 12:12 tells us “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble.” We are also told in Hebrews 10:24-25 that we are not to forsake the assembly but we are to gather together and encourage each other. My friend we need each other.
Moses tells us that the Lord will wage war with Amalek from generation to generation. We will battle this flesh and our children will battle this flesh and our children’s children will battle this flesh, until death or the day we are all changed (Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:52).
Oh but precious one, don’t miss that beautiful promise that God tells Moses to write down, the promise that He will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.
Does this not make you want to shout?
The very memory of our flesh will be utterly blotted out. I don’t know about you but that is a day that I long for and a promise that I hold to with hopeful expectation.
Oh Father,
Thank You for Your words of promise. Thank You for letting me know that You are aware of my struggles. You have not hidden your eyes from the daily realities that I face. You know how this flesh of mine comes against me. Thank You for Your Spirit that fights for me and with me. Thank You for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are there to hold me up when my hands grow heavy. You my God have supplied my every need and I give You praise.
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen