TOUCHING THE THRONE Exodus 17.8-16

Christ wants you to win. NOT that cheesy, plastic smile, shiney car, money-in -the-bank winning – but that Christ-exalting, deep-down-joy, full of life winning!

Picked Off

Israel moved into the desert under watchful and suspicious eyes. The tribes and nations of the region were watching to see whether Israel posed a threat or an opportunity for easy plunder. Amalek was the first to strike.

The evil one stalks Christians. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him; firm in your faith. 1 Peter 5.8. The whole world lies in the hands of the evil one (1 Jn 5.19), therefore it is not benign and neutral towards the righteous. We need protection; and we’ve got it! (God’s armour). We need a strategy; and we’ve got it! (God’s plans).We need power; and we’ve got it! (God’s Spirit). God has equipped us to resist the devil. In spite of the devil’s superior power over you personally... Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4.4

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4.7,8. It is personal closure with Christ and the resulting resistance towards the devil that will send him fleeing. Demonic forces see us as a threat when we are firm in our faith in Christ; but they see us as an opportunity to discredit God’s glory when we are double-minded and compromising. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1.8.

The Amalekites came up behind the Israelites and began to pick off the stragglers – those travelling slowly and reluctantly; the ones drifting off the back of the nation as they moved on. Deut 25.17,18 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.”

Clearly, it is dangerous to lag behind and be a reluctant or worn-out Christian traveller, drifting off the back of the pack. This is the danger for those whose commitment to the Church is intermittent and will eventually prove fatal. ‘Do not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some.’ Heb 10. Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? Hebrews 2.

Your faith needs to run hot and course through your life at all times – like your lifeblood. Once your faith congeals into a crust on the outside of your life, it is no longer your lifeblood. And once your faith becomes a dry scab on your skin it is very easily picked off. It was said of Abraham: You see that (in Abraham) faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. James 2. It is active, lively faith that produces joy, perseverance, purpose and determination to run the course of life marked out for us. It is this faith in Christ that will keep you from drifting away into danger. It is his strong life in you that will raise your resistance against the devil and his strategies.

Resisting Evil

Amalek started a fight and Moses responded. Although Israel was a rebellious people, there were precious young people among them who would in future years fight their way into the Promised Land under God. Moses was not about to let them get picked off by Amalek! Amalek was a shameful people. They were distant relatives of Israel. They were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob who despised the promises of God and chose a full stomach over a heart satisfied with God. Amalek was a nation that resulted from its forbears rejecting God. Not content with abandoning the call of God, they were now trying to maul God’s nation. They appear in Israel’s history time after time, like a pack of wild dogs set on ripping Israel’s young.

We also have young to protect. This is spiritual warfare to provide a stronger next generation to continue the advance of God's kingdom against the gates of hell which will come unhinged. For our own sakes and the sake of our people: Pray. Teach. Role model. Demolish the enemy’s strongholds. We have to fight. We are not called to run or give in. 2 Cor 10 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Back Up

Moses sent Joshua out to fight – but not without back up. Joshua and his men would unsheathe their swords while Moses called on God in prayer. Moses lifted up his hands to God; in one of them he held up the staff of God. He held out this rod of God’s judgment over the fighting to announce God’s defeat of his enemies. But Moses was only a man and the rod became too heavy as his arms tired.

As his arms dipped the battle would turn against Joshua, but as he thrust his arms up again, Amalek would fall back before Joshua’s men. Aaron and Hur joined to support Moses in his work of calling on God. His hand remained steady; the rod was held out and evil Amalek was overcome by Joshua’s sword. There was a direct connection between the rod held up by Moses and the sword that worked the victory against Amalek.

There was no magic in the staff of God. It just symbolised the intention of God to judge Amalek. But God was going to work his judgement by two connected means: by the prayers of Moses and the sword of Joshua and his fighters. It was God who worked the victory that day – not Moses’ prayer; not Joshua’s swords; and not Amalek’s failure.

However, God taught Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Hur and any in Israel who cared to learn, that calling on God for strength in the face of our enemies, assures us of victory. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5.4. Faith is looking to God and stepping out into his will for us – by this means he makes the world melt away in front of us. For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory. Deut 20.4.

Storing Up Wisdom

This incident was to be recorded (v.14). It would become a critical lesson for Joshua when he faced bigger and tougher enemies in Canaan than Amalek. This is why the Bible is so important for the success of your day to day struggle against evil. In it are the proofs and patterns for our daily victory. The person who never drinks at that well will be dehydrated and defeated by the smallest attacks. The person who drinks deeply in the well of God’s word will run and not get weary. David expressed the strength he found in God.

Psalm 18

29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?— 32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. 33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. 36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. 37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.

That day, Moses celebrated the victory of God by building an altar that commemorated the Lord as their Banner. A banner is held up. It has on it an army or a people’s identity written in large writing. Moses was declaring that for the people of faith, the Lord is their identity. It is his name that is written large over all that they would do and achieve. It is his name that would protect them and drain away their enemies’ power.

Touching God’s Throne

Moses described his prayers as ‘a hand upon the throne of the Lord’. In calling upon the Lord to defeat Amalek, Moses had tapped into the power and authority of God’s throne. Joshua was fighting in God’s name. Amalek and others would always be on the run in the face of such power. Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4.16. Notice that we need mercy first to deal with our own sinful shortcomings and then grace to provide us with the help to repel our temptations and other enemies. We have a hand upon the throne of the Lord! Who can touch us? The Lord is my Helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Heb 13.6.

Therefore

• Know that you are in hostile territory and don’t be lulled into thinking that the enemy doesn’t have his eye on you. In this world you will have trouble (Jn 16.33). Everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3.12)
• Keep close to the centre of Christian fellowship so that you aren’t picked off by temptation or attack.
• Cultivate a lively, ‘hot’ faith that keeps you depending on Christ all day and every day. Consider compromising Christians as the enemies of your faith – don’t be led astray by them.
• Pray and fight, knowing that your strength comes from God to whom you are calling for help.
• Read the Bible and use the record of God’s help to encourage your faith in him for the next fight you will face.
• Remember that in Christ you have access to his throne. You can approach him with confidence; for in prayer it is as if you put your hand on the very throne from which your victory is guaranteed; so be encouraged.