Dear Family,
Today is Monday, May 16, 2022, Day 2 of Week 5. This is the 30th Day in our Count to Pentecost.
Exodus 17:8-13 (8) Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. (9) And Moses said unto Joshua; Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. (10) So, Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. (11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (12) But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (13) And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
The battle with Amalek raged back and forth all day. Eventually, the battle ended, as the Amalekites were “discomfited.” This word is used infrequently today. According to the dictionary, the archaic meaning of this word is “defeated. “
Exodus 17:14-16 (14) And the Lord said unto Moses; Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (15) And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: (16) For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Have you ever wondered why God did not defeat Amalek as He did the Egyptians? Why did He allow Amalek to attack in the first place, and why did Israel have to go into hand-to-hand combat? And, why was Moses’ intervention required? The answers provide significant lessons for us today.
Believers are still being attacked by “Amalekites,” and although he was a real person, his name has become a synonym for treacherous evil. God is more than able to deliver us from Amalek, yet He intends we learn to do battle His way against this enemy who attacks slow movers and the young and helpless. He goes after the distracted, careless, weak, weary, sick, aged, and other vulnerable individuals. Amalek attacks those of us who do not fervently “love the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) and are not moving properly to our appointed destination, i.e., to become like our Savior.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ:
God allows Amalek to engage us in battle so we can learn, overcome, die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31), behave wisely, and choose to change our ways so that they “please the LORD.”
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Ben Faulkner, Pastor
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