Moses Educator

MOSES EDUCATOR

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul,

and bind them for a sign upon your hand,

that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

And ye shall teach them your children,

speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house,

and when thou walkest by the way,

when thou liest down,

and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house,

and upon thy gates.

That your days may be multiplied,

and the days of your children,

in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them,

as the days of heaven upon the earth.

Deuteronomy:11.18-21

William C. Patterson, Ph.D.

January 2003

The Battle Between Israel and Amalek

Scripture

Exodus:17.8-16

Then came Amalek, and fought Israel in Rephidim. 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. 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. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 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. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 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. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Objective Record

Joshua, leading the Israelites, was attacked by Amalek. Israel emerged victorious. The flow of battle was determined by Moses persevering in holding the Rod of God high. Moses was assisted in this by Aaron and Hur, and was able to sit upon a rock to overcome weariness. God required a memorial be written and built to commemorate the Lord’s defeat of Amalek, faithful to His promise.

Situation

The battle between Israel and Amalek was fought at Rephidim. The contest occurred between the soldiers of Joshua and Amalek in a valley near a hill upon which Moses, Aaron, and Hur were positioned. Amalek initiated the hostilities. Israel was on the way to the Promised Land.

Biblical Context

The battle with Amalek is recorded in the Book of Exodus. It identifies a key battle with an adversary keeping the Children of God from the Promised Land. It follows the strong deliverance by God from the Pharaoh of Egypt, and the near disaster at the Red Sea. It was the first physical battle fought by Israel in their quest to claim the Promised Land for God’s Chosen People from those wrongfully occupying the region.

Adjacencies

Leading Adjacency

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, what shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb: and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not? Exodus:17.1-7

In the lead passage to the battle with Amalek there is a context of unbelief among the people of God, of little faith that God would take care of his own in the pressing need of water. How fierce were the people at this lapse of faith is indicated by Moses’ concern that they might stone him for not meeting this urgent need.

As the faithful man of God, God’s choice for presence among the wandering Israelites, Moses asked God what to do. God answered by invoking the strong deliverance symbol of the Rod of God. Moses also was reminded that this scepter of authority had parted the waters of the Red Sea. Accordingly, bringing water to Israel from a rock in Horeb qualifies as just one more amazing act of grace and love in preserving His people when they could not preserve themselves. Use of the Rod of God further reminds Israel that He not only rules man, but He rules Nature, also. His chosen leaders, in this case, Moses, are defacto monarchs of God that demonstrate this collaborative authority by mighty acts.

In the stream of Wilderness experiences, this act furthers the clear purpose of the Lord to show that He, and He alone, is sufficient to every need. He can work with means, and He can work above means. He not only demonstrates His unequaled capability, but the message to Israel being imprinted clearly is that He has promised them deliverance, and He will not violate His word.

The memorializing of this act of God seems to focus on the masses, and the lapsing in faith, in view of so strong a deliverance up to that time. Their care and comfort orientation may have made them more sensitive to absence of precious water. The deeper spiritual significance of water as character cleansing and being clean before the Lord is with merit here, as well. Enslaved Israel was a people of broken spirit, bad habits, and instability. God was cleaning them up day by day, the Great Savior and Sanctifier, in a testimony foundational to all of Scripture. How could they be of such short memory of His care for them? How could they not know that He was among them, most notably and powerfully in the presence and agency of Moses, with strong deliverance?

As a leading context to the challenge by Amalek, God’s chosen people are pictured as vacillating in faith among the most significant independent acts of salvation by God the Scripture records. The evident counsel is to trust God and His representatives, especially as the record of faithfulness by God can be so evidentially identified in the mirror of history.

Following Adjacency

When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt; then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, and her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God; And he said unto Moses, I thy father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. And this Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods; for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. Exodus:18.1-12

This passage recounts how Jethro, Moses father-in-law, learns directly from him of the great deliverance of God’s People from Pharaoh, as Moses is reunited with his family: wife, Zipporah, and sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The interpretation that Amalek represents an anti-family value system is consistent with victorious Moses being immediately surrounded by his family. The importance of testimony and memorials in adding to God’s Kingdom is demonstrated immediately by Moses in his family circle. Jethro was a priest of Midian, yet came to honor God. That the family unit is a sacred institution ordained by God and sustained by Israel also is given proximate importance in this event following battle.

Actors

Consult the Bible and reputable commentaries, then compose a biographical brief on each of the main actors in this important passage of Scripture.

Moses Aaron Hur Joshua Amalek

Mysteries

How can Moses’ rod determine the outcome of a battle?

Why would the elevation of Moses’ hands influence advance of Joshua or Amalek?

Why is Moses positioned up on a hill, away from the actual battle?

Why are Aaron and Hur present with Moses, when only Moses’ hand need hold the rod?

Why didn’t Moses sit or lay down on the if he grew tired of standing?

Why might not Moses hand have been steady after the sun went down?

Phonic Keys

Moses – More Sees Moses was first in the line of prophets, those God would speak through to reveal Himself and to reveal the future.

Aaron – Air On An anointed man of God has the Spirit of God figuratively poured over him. Since the Spirit is unseen, it is in other Biblical references referred to as the wind, hence, air. The name, Christ, also means anointed.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is evey one that is born of the Spirit. (John:3.5-8)

Hur – Her The Holy Spirit is in other Biblical references identified as the Comforter, not unlike a woman is a comfort made by God for man. Also, the Church is regarded in female gender as the Bride of Christ, baptized in the Holy Spirit (i.e., The Comforter) by Him.

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. (Matthew:3.11)

Contrasts

Principle of Mass: Military victory will go to the combatant with more force, in terms of focused manpower or weaponry.

Principle of Offensive Advantage: Advantage goes to the combatant who attacks first, and with a well-designed strategy. Defenders are disadvantaged by circumstances of surprise and having to spontaneously react to the threat with high effectiveness.

Purpose

The evident purpose of the Amalek account is to show that the Triune God, and Him only, determines the outcome of conflicts among men. Whether His people honor the Lord in what they do is the pivot point of victory. Without the faithfulness and fullness of God, we shall fall short, even if time or material or strategy appear in our favor. Victory does not go to the unscrupulous, the devious, the ungodly fierce. It goes to those righteously standing in the power of God.

Key Numbers

Three of God’s men were positioned on a hill, overlooking the battle with Amalek. Three is the number of persons in the Trinity of God.

Parallels and Congruencies

The American Revolutionary War pitted a small band of patriot volunteers newly constituting the American Colonies against the world’s most formidable military force at that time, the army and navy of the British Empire. All Founding Fathers of The United States of America were men of God. Father of our country and first president, George Washington, fought as General of the American Revolutionary Army. He also prayed to the Triune God for victory, one such occasion especially documented as cold, hungry troops were faltering in mid-winter against numerically superior and better equipped British forces.

Retrospect

The Rod of God held high is interpreted by the battle between Israel and Amalek. When the children of His kingdom are ruled by the Triune God, life is good, and no adversary shall prevail. The Rod symbolized defeat of Pharaoh via strong judgements from God that did not even require the enslaved Israelites to fight the battle. Here, with meager fighting resources, but under most faithful Joshua, and His high Triune Commanders, figured by Moses, Aaron, and Hur, defeat of the Amalekites was accomplished with historic enlightenment. The Lord God Almighty is the key to invincibility, the surety of every success. Pharaoh would not grant Moses the Scepter of kingship over Egypt, God’s original intention in bringing His people into Egypt. Nevertheless, the seemingly humble shepherd’s staff place in Moses’ hand alternatively, became a far greater symbol of kingship and authority, confirming the immutability of God’s plans. His people did rise, Moses did reign, and the Pharaoh’s empire was reduced to nothing.

Revelation Line

The Trinity had not yet been revealed to Israel. Jesus Christ was not going to be announced by name and born for another 1,500 years. God’s chosen people had been 430 years in slavery, and certainly without demonstrated viability in battle as a result of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years with much discontent. The Promised Land was God’s promise, but the Israelites were not a force that Amalek feared, as he blocked their way to it. Apart from God, Israel would not have been the victor. They were not a sufficient means, and probably defeatist in attitude. Only Moses and his assistants, Aaron and Hur, along with brave and faithful Joshua, had full confidence in God and victory.

Hand of God

God commanded a memorial on defeating the Amalekites because it was essentially His victory. The Israelites were not sufficient to win otherwise.

Hand of Man

Knowing the odds of victory were not with Israel as a poorly trained, discontent military force, the battle was an occasion to show Israel and their adversaries that God would sustain His people in any circumstance . . . and fulfill His promises. Living day to day without means in the wilderness, except for what God provided, might have buoyed their confidence in a context of battle. But, the military reality was that they entered the battle as underdogs. Yet, led by Joshua, Israel was willing to fight in obedience to God and His agent, Moses. It was this will of faith that God honored.

Christian Doctrine

Review an authoritative source on Christian Doctrine to identify how each of the following interact in determining outcome of the battle with Amelek, and undergirding our faith in God.

Trinity Jesus Christ Memorials

Sovereignty of God Sufficiency of God Rod of God

Antecedents

What was known about the following before the engagement with Amalek.

Rod of God – When God appoints a man to authority, His will is not upset by the affairs of men that might oppose him. Moses was amazingly preserved and prepared to assume kingship over Egypt. Rational choice would have conferred the Scepter of that nation to him, allowing subsequent freeing of God’s chosen people from slavery, and their ascent to high places in Egyptian society, as a priesthood of God. When the wicked Pharaoh denied this transition of power, God still gave Moses the scepter of a king, a humble shepherd’s staff, which He dignified by mighty acts that defeated the Pharaoh and freed His people Israel from bondage. The same Rod further showed His own that the man of God’s choosing also rules Nature, able even to bring water in the desert.

Hidden Truth

This passage brings new light to important doctrines and objects of Christian faith as a result of the battle with Amalek. Elaborate these below.

Trinity Jesus Christ High Revelation Rod of God

Personal Recitation

Stand and tell about your understanding and feelings regarding the battle between Israel and the Amalekites

Story

Write your own account of the battle between Israel and the Amalekites

Poetry

The Spirit of Victory Poem by William C. Patterson, Ph.D.

Enslaved four hundred and thirty years,

Wavering in spirit; with manifold fears,

God’s band of chosen people vowed:

Amalek to fight; and to emerge unbowed.

Joshua led the great defense,

And Moses’ Rod determined, hence,

Who would win and who would fall,

From higher ground, he saw it all.

Arms held up, hands held high,

God’s men prevailed, and we know why:

With Triune God right on our side

Faith in His word is what is tried.

So little us, so all of Him,

Sweet victory’s light will never dim.

I will remember who wins all wars:

‘Tis God who stands at victory’s door.

Compose a few lines of poetry that might help you to remember the secret of winning that God taught His Children in the battle with Amalek.

Music

Figures of Victory

Song Lyric and Melody by William C. Patterson, Ph.D.

Percussion Introduction

Commanders small and great may count how many soldiers.

Strategies of time may count the seconds to surprise.

Many wheels and horses may strive to carry forward,

While skill and weapons rise on a painful, bloody tide.

Percussion Bridge

Success in every battle knows the Father,

Right in victory’s hand, rules beloved Son,

Spirit of the Dove, possessor of all power,

Resting on the Cornerstone: Jesus is the One.

Percussion Bridge

Figures in the battles of the ages.

Some will win forever. Some will surely die.

Holy, holy, holy preach the sacred sages,

Standing in success on every mountain high.

Who can overcome, if the Lord of All be for you?

Who can save the world, as one and only Son?

Consider all the power that surely lies before you.

Stand in victory, the battle is already won!

Compose a short song or chorus that might help you to remember

that God is our victory in every battle.

Graphic Art

Compose a project in graphic arts to portray Israel’s battle with Amalek.

Picture Caricature Symbol

Drama

Compose and perform in a drama or write a speech

to commemorate the testimony of God

in winning the battle with Amalek

Skit Play Oration

Evangelism Plan

Design an evangelism campaign to acquaint others with

the Secret of Winning

taught to Israel in their battle with Amalek.

Clothing

Put together a project involving wardrobe

to make a silent statement about sure victory in battle.

T-Shirt

When God Prevails, We’re Preserved

Raise Him and Praise Him

If You’re Underhanded . . . You Lose

If You See The Hand of the Lord . . .

You See Victory

Underwear

Saved & Private

Property of God

Jacket

Covered By Jesus

Lamb Inside

Vest

I Invest With God

Socks

Walk Softly and Carry A Big God

Walk With Me

Wallet

My Money Is In God’s Hands

Belt

Wrapped In The Arms Of God

Headband or Hat

Throne of God

Holy of Holies

Think On These Things (Philippeans:4.8)

Wristband

W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?)

Right Hand of Fellowship

Reserved For Good Works

Guided By Jesus

Jewelry

Make some jewelry to commemorate the significance of Israel’s battle with Amalek.

Bracelet Watch Face Medallion Necklace Ear Rings

Plaque

Design a plaque that will display important truth about the battle with Amalek.

Door Plaque Wall Plaque

Fabric

How can fabric art remind us of the secret of victory shown at the battle with Amalek?

Embroidery Blanket Bed Spread Needlework

License Plate

Create a phrase to display on an auto license plate

You’ve Got A Friend On Every Mountain

Still Moving Forward to the Promised Land

Office

Decorate office supplies or equipment to portray success

in the way Moses revealed at the battle with Amalek.

Pen or Pencil Nameplate Business Card Coffee/Tea Cup Water Bottle

Computer Screen Saver Lampshade Portfolio Cover

Home

How would you display the key to victory at home?

Refrigerator Art Window Art Door Decoration Wall Decoration

Video Arcade

Engineer software applications to animate God’s sure lessons of Victory.

Higher Ground Interactive Audio/Video

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