Message

---

After crossing the Red Sea and seeing the Egyptians lying dead on the shore, Moses and the Israelites sang to the LORD. Afterwards, their journey in the desert began. They went into the Desert of Shur and for three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. At Marah they could not drink its water because it was bitter. So, the people grumbled against Moses. Then God turned the bitter water into sweet water. They came to Elim where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water, enjoying a time of refreshment. One month after coming out of Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sin. There, the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron for they feared that they would starve to death. The LORD heard their grumbling and provided bread from heaven, called manna, which would last forty years until they entered the promised land. This amazing provision of manna contained God’s daily bread training and Sabbath-keeping training to mould them into a holy people of God. At Rephidim, the Israelites quarreled with Moses and again grumbled against him because of their thirstiness, with no water to drink. This time God provided water from the rock. For the past two months, Moses was probably extremely troubled and distressed because of the grumbling people. Conversely, we see in today’s passage some people who supported Moses greatly. Their names are specifically written: Joshua, Aaron and Hur, and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Thus, this passage sets a good stage for the Israelites’ encounter with the LORD at Sinai in the next following chapters. Let’s think of the people. First, Joshua, and Aaron and Hur with Moses (17:8-16). In verse 8, “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.” Here we see the first enemy of the Israelites, the Amalekites. Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Ge. 36:12, 16). The Amalekites dwelt as a nomadic people in Negev. They came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim in the desert. How they attacked is clearly written in Deuteronomy 25:17-18: Moses said to the Israelites, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.” As a result, the Amalekites were doomed to annihilation by God (v. 14; Dt. 25:19). In Balaam’s final oracles in Numbers 24:20 it is written, “Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: ‘Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last.” The annihilation would not be immediate (v. 16). The Amalekites defeated disobedient Israel at Hormah (Num 14:43-45). Saul failed to destroy them as God ordered (1 Sam 15:2, 3, 9). David later fought and defeated the Amalekites (1 Sam 30:1-20). The final descendants of Agag (Esth 3:1), the Amalekite king in Saul’s day, were destroyed in Persia at the time of Esther and Mordecai (c. 473 B.C.; Esth 2:5, 8-10). At the attack of the Amalekites, what did Moses do? In verse 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites.” At this time Moses did not say, “The LORD will fight for you; stand firm and be still.” Rather, he said, “Go out to fight.” The Israelites were veteran slaves in Egypt. Certainly, they had not learned to fight. Yet fighting would be inevitable to conquer the promised land. So, after crossing the Red Sea, it is clearly written in 13:18, “The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.” This indicates that they were to receive God’s military training sooner or later. In the battles they had to know when they are to stand still and when they are to go out. At this time, Moses told Joshua to take some of their men and go out to fight. In this way, their first battle would begin. Additionally, Moses did not say, “I will follow you into the battle”, but, “tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” Here we will see another aspect of God’s battle. Verse 10 says, “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.” Clearly, we see two groups, one group going to the battle field, another to the top of the hill. On the top of the hill what did they do? Did they just view the fighting from the height of the hill? Verse 11 says, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” What an interesting scene! Winning or losing of the battle depended on Moses’ hands being lifted up or lowered. Surely it does not mean that the strength of Moses’ hand and arm mattered. We know that the staff of God in Moses’ hands is the symbol of God’s personal and powerful involvement, as we saw in the Exodus. Moses’ arm outstretched upward toward God signified an appeal to God. We can imagine that the fighting solders could see Moses’ uplifted or drooping arms, and were encouraged or discouraged. Yet, it was more than a psychological effect. This act of Moses demonstrates their total dependence on God as a nation. Now verse 12 says, “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.” In this way Aaron and Hur supported Moses in his hands’ uplifting all day long. What was the result of the battle? In verse 13, “So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” What a meaningful victory. Here we are convinced anew that the battle belongs to God. Most people can be interested in Joshua’s fighting in the field, not Moses’ uplifted hands supported by Aaron and Hur on the hill. We clearly see that there is a battle in the field and a battle on the hill, and they are closely related. We can say that in God’s ministry, there are those who fight and those who support through prayer. Both are precious. For example, there are CSBC messengers and other servants who take charge of other tasks. They need prayer support. In a family, a wife’s prayer support for her husband is significant, and parents’ prayer support for their children is necessary. In a church, the pastor needs the prayer support of the congregation. We can also say that there is both a visible physical battle and an invisible spiritual battle. Spiritual victory is followed by physical victory, not vice versa. This is a biblical constant. We should learn this truth deeply. On one occasion, strong forces of Aram with chariots and horses surrounded the city of Samaria. Elisha’s servant responded, asking, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” The prophet Elisha answered, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw, the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike these people with blindness.” So the LORD struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha could destroy them. However, Elisha let them go in his mercy for them. Then the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory (2 Ki 6:14-23). Jesus once sent out seventy-two disciples for gospel work. They returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Lk 10:17-18). Also, when his disciples who failed in driving out an evil spirit, asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” We need to value prayer more than outward activity and engage in a prayer battle more as an expression of our sole dependence on God. Look at verse 14. “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 memory of Amalek from under heaven.’” In chapter 16, the LORD had commanded Moses to keep an omer of manna in a jar for the generations to come so that the future generations mighty remember God’s wonderful provision of manna and its spiritual lesson. Now this first victory of Israel had to be remembered so that Joshua and the army of Israel might have other victories one after another in the upcoming battles until the LORD would completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. In verses 15 and 16, “Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” The name of the altar Moses built was “The LORD-Is-My-Banner.” It was because hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. What a beautiful name! We have heard terrible names, Marah (testing), Massah (testing), and Merribah (quarreling). Now “The LORD-Is-My-Banner,” in Hebrews “Yahweh-Nissi”. In naming this, Moses declared the LORD himself to be the standard of his people. This is Moses’ personal confession of faith, after the confession in the song of Moses, “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God.” (15:2). When the LORD is my banner, the enemies who see this banner will be scared and run away. It is also as written in the song of Moses, “The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall upon them” (Ex. 15:14-16a). In 1 Chronicles 18, David defeated all the surrounding enemies, Philistines from the west, Arameans from the north, Edomites and Moabites from the south, and Ammonites from the east. The author commented on the victories this way: “The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went” in verse 6 and 13. This indicates that the LORD was his banner. For he dedicated all his war plunder of silver and gold to the LORD, to be used for service in the LORD’s temple. And he reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people (1 Chro. 18:14). The LORD is a warrior who knows no defeat. When the LORD is our banner, there will be no defeat, but one victory after another. We cannot demand the LORD to be our side, but we are to be on the side of the LORD, seeking his kingdom, striving to please him in every area of life. In this way, when we have the LORD as our banner, the LORD will fight us. In our time humanism and gospel enemies are so strong. Thoughtful parents are very concerned about how to raise their children in a godly way in this time of sexual revolution. With the name, “the-LORD-is-my banner”, “Jehovah-Nissi”, it is possible. With this name, we can evangelize U of T, establishing 12 house churches. Second, Jethro, the priest of Midian (18:1-27). Verse 1 says, “Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.” It seems that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, suddenly appears here at this important stage of Israel’s history, after sending Moses and his family to Egypt with the words, “Go, and I wish you well” in chapter 4. Why this sudden appearance of Jethro? Here, Jethro heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel in Egypt, probably through Zipporah, who had gone back to him. It is written in verses 2-4, “After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, ‘I have become an alien in a foreign land’; and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, ‘My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.’” The names of Moses’ sons can be his confession of faith as a summary of his life. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God. Jethro sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” How did Moses respond to the coming of his father-in-law? Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. This is Moses’ humble and whole-hearted welcome for his father-in-law. Then they greeted each other and then went into the tent. In verse 8, “Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.” It would have not been easy for Moses to share the work of the LORD with Jethro, since he was the priest of Midian, though he was Moses’ father-in-law. Yet Moses did it before God. Then there is an amazing response of Jethro. In verses 9-11, “Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.” Jethro Moses’ father-in-law probably worried about Moses, when Moses returned to Egypt. But hearing about all the good things of the LORD’s work in Egypt, Jethro praised the LORD for rescuing Moses from the hand of Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and for rescuing the people of Israelites from the hand of Egyptians. “Rescuing” or “rescued” is written 3 times in these verses. Then he said in verse 11, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” This confession came from the mouth of Jethro, priest of the Midian, a pagan priest. We have seen that the LORD brought judgment on all the gods of Egypt through ten plagues, particularly, the plague of the firstborn (12:12, 29). And Moses confessed in the song of Moses, “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (15:11) Now Jethro priest of Midian confessed, “The LORD is greater than all other gods.” His confession was not just an emotional confession. He showed a clear reason of making such a confession. For the LORD is a rescuing God for his people and a righteous God who judges the arrogant, the proud. To Jethro’s eyes no other god could do such a thing. To him the LORD is the only true God. So, praise of the LORD came from his heart and mouth. Most certainly he accepted the LORD as his God. Since then, the word “God” is used in the following words of Jethro. Here, Moses and Jethro shared beautiful spiritual fellowship. This could be seen as a necessary stage before the LORD would establish the Israelites into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, in chapter 19. In verse 12, interestingly, Jethro brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, perhaps out of thanks to God. At this, Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. It was likely that Jethro prepared the main food though he was a kind of a guest who visited Moses and his people. Then there is a long detailed description, in verses 13-26, of what Jethro contributed to Moses for the effective work of God. The next day, Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” What an observation as a visitor! He was not a mere on-looker. Then Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws.” Now Jethro gives lengthy, yet clear, empathic advice. Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.” Although Jethro said, “What you are doing is not good”, first he acknowledged what Moses had done. He did not say, “What you did was wrong.” Jethro was not critical at all. He was really caring for Moses prayerfully, saying, “may God be with you.” Then comes the core of his advice: “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” This is reasonable and wise advice, to work together with God-fearing people. As we learned, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Pro. 1:7; 9:10). Those who fear God are trustworthy people, who hate dishonest gain, surely rejecting selfish gain. Apostle Paul said of Timothy in Philippians 2:20-21, “I have no one like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.” God-fearing people are trustworthy, and they are those who seek God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness first. May we learn to work together with God-fearing men and women. We not only see Jethro’s wise advice, but also his humble attitude before God. Jethro did not just want to impose his idea upon Moses. Finally, he said, “If God so commands…” As a last resort, he wanted his advice to be confirmed by God, meaning that if God does not command so, it was fine not to take his advice. We learn how to give advice, particularly to those whom God places above us. How did Moses respond? Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases were brought to Moses, but the simple ones the people decided themselves. Moses was sure that this advice was from God through Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian, who made a wonderful confession of faith in the LORD. We see also Moses’ humility as a great leader of God’s people that he was humble enough to accept such an advice from such a person. Moses apparently did not immediately implement Jethro’s solution, but waited until the law had been given (cf. Dt. 1:9-15). This chapter ends with these words in verse 17, “Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.” This is a beautiful departure. Jethro did not try to gain something from Moses, his son-in-law, nor Moses did try to show excessive kindness to his father-in-law. Thank God for teaching us that the LORD is our banner, the LORD is greater than all other gods because of his recuing power and righteousness, and about working together with God-fearing people. May we especially remember the words, “The LORD is my banner” and fight our personal battles as well as our common battle with our banner, the LORD, serving him with reverent fear.

---