Winning the Battles of Life

(Exodus 17:1-16)

In life all of us have battles on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, life is really just a series of battles. Experiencing one battle after another in life is not unique. What does the Bible tell us in (Job 5:7a)?

This means when we are born, we enter a world that will give us trouble. Your trouble may be a relationship battle in your marriage or with one of your children. You may be having a battle at school, at work, or with your health. Your trouble, or battle, may be with temptation or finances.

We are all unique and different in many ways, but one thing we all have in common; we must regularly fight the battles of life. Moses encountered one battle after another. No sooner was one battle over than another cropped up. First, he had a battle with the Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Then, there was a cul-de-sac situation at the Red Sea. Then came the desperate need for drinkable water and for food. Now, God leads them to Rephidim, where again there is no water to drink. Thus, people quarreled with Moses and demanded water (Exodus 17:1-2). Even though God's presence was visible to them in the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, and the daily manna, the Israelites still demonstrated no faith in God and accused Moses of bringing them to the desert to die of thirst (Exodus 17:3.)

This was apparently the most severe complaining so far because Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people?" They are almost ready to stone me" (Exodus 17:4). Once again, our patient Lord comes to their rescue (Exodus 17:5-7).

The battles of life are really spiritual exams, and God knows that each time we win a battle we learn to trust Him a little more. Since the Israelites have consistently failed the exams, there will soon be more, as we will see in this lesson. If we are to win the battles of life, we should be aware of at least two things: the reason for our battles and the resources for our battles.

The Reason for Our Battles (Exodus 17:8).

At Rephidim the Amalekites attacked the Israelites. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau through his grandson Amalek. Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. The Amalekites were a hostile nomadic tribe that took pleasure in killing people and survived by attacking and looting settle-ments. As the manner of the Middle East, the Amalekites sent messengers to summon all the available forces. Until they were gathered, they attacked the rear on swift camels, cutting off and killing those who were lagging behind and doing as much damage as possible (Deuteronomy 25:17-18).

The Israelites were ex-slaves, without any experience on the battlefield, and had few swords, shields, and spears. They were no match for the experienced, ruthless, and heavily armed Amalekites. A life of "Intimacy with God" leads us down a road where we will be attacked by modern-day Amalekites. God allows this because a journey of continued successes and blessings could cause us to think we deserve it all, making us prideful.

The most dangerous points of life are the long-term mountaintops with no big battles and no serious problems. It was only after years of success that David fell into sin. This was also true of his son Solomon. Moses was in danger of a similar fate because just a few weeks before, he had led the greatest exodus the world would ever see. He parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites to be fed with heavenly manna. All of this could have filled him with pride.

Moses could have had the fate of Uzziah, who at age sixteen became the ninth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. He was a wise, pious, and powerful king who defeated the enemies of Judah and extended her borders. He led Judah to a place of prosperity not known since the time of Solomon.  But, what do we read about king Uzziah in (2 Chronicles 26:16)?

Because of his successful career, he egotistically determined to burn incense on the altar in the temple, even though the Law of Moses specified that only a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD (Numbers 16:40).

When opposed by the high priest and eighty other courageous priests, Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD'S temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead . . . "and King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died" (2 Chronicles 26:19-21). This kind of pride is what continued success can do to any child of God. That is why God gives us this serious warning in (Proverbs 11:2)?

Good men and women, even great ones, often cannot stand against the attack of pride. According to (2 Corinthians 12:7), what did God allow to keep from Paul from becoming conceited because of the great revelations He had given him?

It was for this reason God brought Moses to Rephidim, and this is why God allows battles in our lives, to keep us humble. Not only do we need to remember the reason for our battles, but also . . .

The Resources for Our Battles (Exodus 17:9-16).

When the Amalekites found the Israelites proceeding to the Promised Land, they saw an excellent opportunity for pleasure and profit so they attacked the Israelites at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8). Therefore, Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites", so Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered (Exodus 17:8-10a).

Here we meet Joshua for the first time. He was born in Egypt and is now about 40 years old. Later he will be Moses' successor and lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Moses also told Joshua, "Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands . . ." So, Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill (Exodus 17:9-10).

Aaron was Moses' brother and according to Josephus, the Jewish historian, Hur was the husband of Miriam, Moses' sister. Moses, was now 81 years old, entrusted the army to Joshua while he climbed the hill so he can lift his sacred staff. However, what happened (Exodus 17:11)?

What was the relationship between Moses lifting up the staff in his hand and the battle in the valley? In the Bible the lifting of hands is symbolic of prayer. We read in Psalm 63:4, "I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands."

This practice apparently continued in the early church. How does Paul's writing in (1 Tm 2:8) indicate this?

Today we bow our heads and put our hands together beneath our chins to pray. But to pray in the OT and NT, people would lift their faces toward heaven and outstretch their hands with palms upward. Moses was lifting up his hands in prayer, for only prayer can account for the connection between the position of his hands and who was winning the battle. Two important prayer principles are seen here. First, prayer requires persistence. In (Luke 18:1) what does Jesus teach about persistent prayer?

Like Moses, you will get tired of praying, but don't give up; keep on praying. Jesus also said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" - Matthew 7:7. The verbs: seek, ask, and knock are in the present tense and could be translated "keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking."

Second, effective prayer requires partners. When Moses became weary and couldn't hold up the staff, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on each side, so that his hands remained steady till sunset (Exodus 17:12). We all need our Aaron's and Hur's to pray with us. What did Jesus teach about prayer partners in Matthew 18:19?

Many Christians have difficulty asking other people to pray for them or to pray with them about anything. The reason could be our pride prevents us from asking anyone for assistance, even in prayer. But the Bible teaches there is special power in collective prayers.

As a result of prayer we read that Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. "Then, Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner" (Exodus 17:15).

The name The LORD is my Banner in Hebrew is "Jehovah Nissi". The Hebrew word "Nissi," translated banner, comes from a root word meaning "to be high" or "raised." Thus, it means "banner" or "flag." The term banner refers to something raised up or obvious. If we want to win the battles of life, we must always fight under His banner. What does the Bible say about the Lord's banner in Songs of Salomon 2:4b?

In the midst of the hassles and battles of life, we shouldn't get angry, bitter, or try to get even. But we should fight under the Lord's banner of love, and the Bible says love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8a).

So, if we want to win the battles of life, we must use the available resources by being persistent in prayer, involving prayer partners, and fighting under the banner of the Lord, which is love. When we fight God's way, what promise do we have in Romans 8:37?

God waits for us, as He did Moses, to invite Him into the battles of life. He does not rush in automatically to our rescue. If He did, we would take Him for granted. We, like Moses when he lifted up the staff, must invite God into the battles of our lives through prayer. Winning the battles of life requires that we be aware of the reason and the resources for our battles.