In The Desert, But Not Deserted
Defeating Enemies In the Wilderness
My Wilderness Experience
After spending two years in Community College I decided to go to a four year Christian School in La Mirada, CA. I wanted to study missions and I heard they have a good program. There were about 3,000 students back then and I knew none of them. I thought, no problem I will make friends easily. Wrong. I could hardly relate to anyone there. Our backgrounds were so different. I also found out that for many of them, their faith was not a priority. It did not help that I transferred in and so many of the friendships were already established and I felt like the odd man out. I was incredibly homesick for my friends and would check the mail, desperately hoping for a letter. Everyone back home promised they would write, but it seemed like I was out of sight and out of mind. The loneliness was tough and I remember having my birthday come and go with no one greeting me Happy Birthday. With time I found a few kindred spirits at the college and was able to make a go of it. We all have had times like this, where everything seems so dry and hopeless. The Bible has a lot to say about time in the wilderness.
Following God Is Not Easy Sailing
After liberating the Israelites from a brutal life of slave labor in Egypt, Moses had an even greater challenge leading the Israelites through the wilderness on the way to the promised land. The first thing he encountered after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh's army was a lack of drinking water, followed by the lack of food to eat, and then a repeat of no water to drink. It’s not called the wilderness for nothing! There are lots of rocks, twigs, dry grass. Oh, and the sun is hot.
The people and their livestock were not always polite about it either. They complained loudly. It must have been torture to wander in the desert like that not knowing where you next meal is going to come from. The same two questions come to mind over and over, “what shall we eat and what shall we drink?” But God’s loving providence of food and water kept them on the path to the promised land. Amen! God provides! Oh, but one more thing. Warring armies!
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” (Exodus 17:8–9)
Not only did they face the harsh environment of the desert, they had to fight off the attacks of the Amalekites, the descendants of Esau. Moses chose Joshua to round up some men and go fight the Amalekites. Not only that, he included prayer in his plans. He said he would go up to the hill with the staff which he used to perform miracles and he would stand there interceding for Joshua and his soldiers.
I also appreciate the quick response from Moses to the attack. He said, “Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill,” meaning Joshua had very little time to round up his soldiers. So often we wait and let problems go unaddressed. Like cancer, the earlier you treat it the better chance of success.
The City of San Francisco is a great parable in how not addressing problems with crime and theft have spiraled out of control. I recently saw a video of how Market Street with all it’s activity and tourism is basically a ghost town because stores shut their doors due to crime and violence. There was and continues to be no plan and no strategy.
Prayer As Part of the Strategy
There is something to be learned here. When problems arise, and they will, when we are under attack of some kind, we need to come up with a plan. We must never hide our heads in the sand and hope it goes away. Moses took the initiative and drew up a plan immediately. The longer we wait around the worse it’s going to get. And whatever plans we have we need to make prayer a part of the strategy, a two-pronged approach.
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. (Exodus 17:10)
The battle was not going to be easy for these newly freed slaves. They had no time to train and they had to use whatever they had as weapons. Notice how this verse balances the two-prong approach of this battle. On the one hand you have Joshua and his men fighting and on the other hand Moses is praying, but notice that he did not go to the top of the hill alone. He took Aaron and Hur with him. We don’t know much about Hur and after this incident not much is mentioned about him. One rabbinical tradition holds that he was the son of Miriam, Moses’ sister. That would make Hur his nephew. And of course Aaron is Moses’ brother. Moses took them along for support.
Teamwork
We need to avoid the lone ranger mentality and join forces with others. This reminds me of the time Jesus was about to be betrayed and he went to the garden to pray. He took three of his disciples with him for support. “He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (Matthew 26:37–38) We all need the support of others. Who is our Aaron and Hur? I thank God for the church where my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are faithful to support me when I’m going through something.
In 2021 I got Covid, and I was expecting to get over it in 11 days. Day 11 came and went and I was sicker than ever. It actually took 24 days to get out of the woods, including hospitalization, and at least a month after to regain my strength. I’ll never forget how certain individuals would call and pray for me. Even when I did not answer, one of the brothers would leave his prayers on voicemail. I’ll never forget that.
As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. (Exodus 17:11)
The plan was working. What was going on in Moses’ mind as he held his hands up? The answer is given in a later verse where he speaks of victory because hands were lifted to the throne of God. (See Exodus 17:16) Moses had a relationship with God so this was not some kind of mystical posture. He was reaching for God’s help, like a child reaching up to their parents. The opposite was also true that if he lowered his hands the Amalekites began to win. This can be exhausting because battles take hours if not days and weeks. In this case the battle continued until the sunset.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up — one on one side, one on the other — so that his hands remained steady till sunset. (Exodus 17:12)
What a sight! Moses with his hands being held up by Aaron and Hur with great determination at the top of the hill while Joshua fighting hard as he can is winning the battle below. Is there a greater picture of the power of intercessory prayer? We may think it’s of no use to pray for others, but the opposite is true. All Joshua and his men had to do was look up to the hill and see their leader’s hands upheld, the staff of God in one hand, reminiscent of the parting of the Red Sea, and it would fill them with a burst of faith and confidence. Just knowing people are in prayer for us makes a huge difference, and God works his wonders as we put our trust in him.
For the believer in Christ, this concept of intercessory prayer goes to another level because we are told Christ himself intercedes for us. (see Hebrews 7:25) We have every reason to keep fighting the good fight of faith.
So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (Exodus 17:13)
Defeat is not an option. God’s plan must succeed and we must win every time. It may not be an outright victory. It may be a moral victory, which means we did not surrender to the forces of evil and at least we put up resistance. Whatever the circumstance is we must never give up, never surrender to the forces of evil in the world.
So what is Moses response to this? Let’s celebrate Joshua and what a great job he did! No. It was obvious that God was at war against evil all along and that God deserves the glory for the great victory they experienced.
Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord” (Exodus 17:15–16a)
Glorify God
God made sure this event would not be forgotten. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 15:17) It’s a lesson to be shared from one generation to the next.
Some Takeaways
Don’t be surprised when you find yourself in the wilderness for a season. We are all passing through something. Secondly, we need to make sure we address the challenge in a timely way with a good plan and make prayer a part of the strategy. Don’t leave out the most important element: prayer. Thirdly, work on it with others because we all need prayer and support. Be humble and ask others to join you in the struggle. Finally, take time to glorify God when we get the victory.
