Bible Readings
Reading 49: Yahweh tests His people with a lack of water and an Amalekite battle
Read Exodus 17:1–16.
We continue our journey with the Israelites. Yahweh commanded them to move through a place called the wilderness of Sin and camp at a place called Rephidim.
There, they ran out of water to drink. (This was the second time they ran out of water. The first time was in Genesis 15:22–25.) What would the people do? Would they humbly go to God for help? No, they didn’t. Their thirst overwhelmed their faith in God and they got angry with Moses and God!
God was testing His people again and the Bible says they were testing God. The Israelites were testing to see if God would respond to their urgent need. But hadn’t He already demonstrated again and again who He was to them? He was their Father who had graciously saved them from Egypt and had given them food and water. Couldn’t they trust Him for more?
God instructed Moses to take his special staff and strike the rock that was somewhere along the base of Mount Sinai. When Moses struck the rock, there was a mighty gush of water enough for over two million people and their livestock.
Then Moses renamed that place. From then on, when the people used the name of that place, they would remember what had happened. Moses could have used a positive name like “The Waters of God” or “Water from the Rock”. But instead, he gave the place two negative names: “Massah” and “Meribah”. Massah means “to test” and the people would be reminded how they didn’t believe Yahweh’s goodness and had to test Him by demanding for water. And Meribah means “to argue”, and saying that name would remind the people how they argued with Moses, God’s representative. These were not good names at all! They would remind the Israelites of their lack of faith in God.
Next, Israel encountered their first battle where they had to actually fight the enemy. For reasons not explained, a people group called the Amalekites came to battle Israel. These people were named after their ancestor Amalek, who was the grandson of Esau, the older twin brother of Jacob (see Genesis 25:19–26 and Genesis 36:10–11). In other words, the Amalekites were distant relatives of the Israelites but they were hostile.
Moses chose a young man named Joshua to lead the battle. (Later on, we’ll see Joshua become Moses’ second-in-command.) While Joshua led the Israelite troops on the battlefield, Moses went to the top of a nearby hill.
The Hebrews prayed by lifting their arms up to God. So Moses lifted the special staff of God in both his hands. As long as his hands were up, Israel was winning the battle. But when he grew tired, the Amalekites gained the advantage. So Moses’ two companions, his brother Aaron, and another assistant named Hur, held up Moses’ arms. In this way, Moses’ arms were up all day and Joshua and the Israelite soldiers won the victory over the Amalekites.
Then Yahweh told Moses to write down this account of how He provided victory over the Amalekites. This is possibly the first instruction to write down Scripture. Moses also thanked God for the victory by building an altar there at the site and named it: “Yahweh is my banner.” The banner was the military flag that troops would raise so that other troops could identify them on the battlefield. Moses was declaring that Yahweh was their source of courage and strength and was fighting for His people. What a contrast to naming the water source “Massah” and “Meribah”.
What we can learn is that Yahweh is doing more than just leading Israel into the Promised Land. He was using the journey to grow the faith and spiritual maturity of Israel. God was purposely leading His people into challenging situations to test and grow them.
It is the same with us. Our life with God is a journey that involves more than just reaching a destination. If we aren’t growing in faith and obedience with each trial and challenge, then we are wasting our growth opportunities. And as we’re beginning to see, some of life’s challenges are caused by God so that we can grow up spiritually! God doesn’t spare His children from difficulties but He purposely puts in difficulties to stretch us.
Life with God also involves hard battles. Sometimes, God does all the fighting for us when we lack strength or resources (think of Israel’s escape from Egypt). Other times, God wants us to battle (think of Joshua battling the Amalekites). When we have to fight life’s battles, God is helping us grow spiritual muscle. So we mustn’t despair and think that God is not with us during these crises.
Notice also how Moses helped Joshua by lifting his hands in a prayer-like manner to God. And notice Aaron and Hur supporting Moses’ arms. Life’s battles are never fought without prayer to God. And life’s challenges need not be handled alone. Are we willing to support fellow believers through their battles? Will we pray for them? Will we offer practical assistance?
And if we are in the thick of battle, will we let fellow believers support us? If so, we need to let others in on our struggles so we are not alone. These fellow believers in Christ can pray for us and support us in practical ways. This way, we can all grow spiritual muscle.