The Lord is My Banner

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 17:1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

In their wilderness trek, the children of Israel now journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim.  It was by instruction from God that the people were led to camp there, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink.  The chronological study I am doing is one ordered by Skip Andrews, and it now takes me to Numbers 33, which gave a little more detail:

(Numbers 33:12) And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. (13) And they departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. (14) And they moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

We see from this passage that actually the Lord led the people through two other stations (Dophkah and Alush), before bringing them to Rephidim.  Moses, in his Exodus account, apparently didn't record every camp probably because nothing eventful took place there; now the people were brought to a place where they were again wanting water and not finding it.  Now back to Exodus:

(Exodus 17:2) Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?”

The people, unbelievably, quarrel with Moses and demand water from him.  Had they not learned anything from their last need of water (and their subsequent need of food) that was ultimately provided by their Lord?  Moses again directed them away from him and to their actual supplier, the Lord.  He accused them of tempting the Lord because they obviously did not have faith in Him to provide them with water, even though He had shown Himself to be faithful in providing all their needs up to this point.

(3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”

Moses had already addressed the people and reminded them it was not him to whom they should complain.  Then it said "they thirsted...and the people murmured", so I would assume because they didn't immediately get water after contending with Moses the first time, they really started murmuring and complaining, once again using the old complaint that he brought them out of Egypt just to kill them in the wilderness.  Being without water would have been especially hard on children and cattle, so perhaps the meaning is not that they truly thought that Moses brought them out to kill them, but that they sincerely believed that would certainly be the result if they didn't get water soon.

(4) And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

Moses cried out to the Lord because it seems the anger of the people toward Moses was so great that he believed they were ready to stone him.  He didn't necessarily pray that God do something for the people, as I believe he had shown in what he said just before, that He knew the Lord would provide for the people, but he honestly did not know what to do with this people whose fevered pitch was so high that he feared they were about to stone him. 

(5) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. (6) Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

The Lord told Moses to go out before the people, taking with him some of the elders, and it seems direct them nearer to a particular rock at Mount Horeb.  I have read the rock remains to this day, and is red granite, 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and lies in the wilderness of Rephidim, to the west of Mount Horeb.  The Lord told Moses to take his rod with him, specifically his rod with which he had struck the river.  The Lord would stand upon that rock; probably that pillar of cloud that led them through the wilderness would then stand on that particular rock.  Moses was to take his rod and strike the rock and water would come out of it for the people to drink.  Moses did as the Lord instructed, and he did it in the sight of the elders.

(7) And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

"Massah" meant "temptation", and "Meribah" meant "strife" or "contention".  It is unclear to me if there were two different places, or if Moses called the place two different names in remembrance of the people's murmuring against the Lord.  It doesn't appear that the scholars of old had a consensus either.  Since they were at one rock, and the scripture said, "he called the name of the place...", I choose to believe Moses called the place by both names.  He was memorializing not the miracle of the provision of water by the Lord, but the people's tempting of the Lord and their contention with him.  It seems the people actually questioned whether or not the Lord was among them or not.  That makes the fact that the Lord presented Himself on that rock at Horeb seem a direct answer to the people's question.  Yes, indeed, He was with them, and He alone provided them with water.

(8) Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, who was the son of Esau (Gen. 36:12), and the Amalekites may have held some hatred for the people of Israel because of Jacob's birthright and blessing, as has been suggested.  However, this may have been a random attack for the purpose of plunder.  According to another passage in Deuteronomy (Deut. 25:17-18), the Amalekites did not boldly confront the Israelites as a nation invading their land, but rather came up from behind and attacked their feeble, faint, and weary ones who lagged behind.  It may be that both facts were true.  The Amalekites thought of the Israelites as enemies, and they sneakily attacked them from behind so as to plunder them more easily.  The timing of this attack is interesting, too.  Did God send the Amalekites because the people had tested Him?  I'm not suggesting it was a punishment, but it certainly became a teaching moment.  God certainly allowed the attack, just as He allowed all the struggles for food and water.  His people easily could have been constantly provided with a steady stream of food and water and easy sailing, but facing these daily difficulties and having them daily remedied by their Lord, kept them in constant remembrance and dependence on God.  How quickly we forget the blessings of the Lord when we have hardship!  Sadly, it seems we must be reminded daily, and in His mercy, our sweet Lord patiently gives us what we need.

(9) And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” (10) So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Moses called on Joshua to choose and organize men to go out and fight the Amalekites.  Meanwhile, he said he himself would stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  Moses had called on Joshua to lead the men into battle, but he himself had a most important job, as well.  On top of the hill, in view of the Israelite army, with that rod of God lifted up as encouragement and a reminder of God's promise and provision, Moses surely prayed to God and spiritually ministered to the children of Israel. Joshua did as Moses has directed him, and likewise, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, went to the top of the hill.  We will find that they were needed to assist Moses.  Aaron is, of course, Moses's brother, and it has been written by the historian Josephus that Hur was Miriam's (the sister of Moses and Aaron) husband.  That part is not clear in scripture, but he was obviously someone in whom Moses had much confidence, as he was paired with Aaron by Moses another time, as well (Exo. 24:14).

(11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

There are a couple of different ways to look at this verse.  From verse 9, we learned that Moses planned to stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  When the rod was up, it may have inspired the Israelites to fight on, and when they could not see it, their hearts failed them and the Amalekites prevailed.  The verse could refer to Moses raising his hands toward heaven in prayer.  The ancient targums interpreted it that way.  Dr. John Gill wrote that even among the "heathens", Moses "was famous for the efficacy of his prayers".  Perhaps when Moses was the most stretched out and upward in prayer, he was the most fervent in prayer, and Israel prevailed; and when he faltered in prayer, Amalek prevailed.  Probably both ways of looking at this verse are correct.  When Moses was stretched upward to heaven, he was the most fervent in prayer, AND the Israelites saw the rod which inspired them to go onward.  When Moses faltered in prayer, likewise did the people when they couldn't see the rod of God.  Either way, or both ways, it's a perfect illustration of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged daily.  When God is lifted up, we are victorious over our spiritual enemies, and when we falter in our faith and in our walk with God, the enemy can prevail.  The daily battles move back and forth from victory to defeat, and it is a reminder that we should be in constant prayer with our Lord, the One from whom all victories come.

(12) But Moses's hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Moses became tired and weary and he couldn't keep his hands held upward, so they brought him a stone so that he could sit down, and Aaron and Hur, on either side of him, held his hands upward, and in this way, he was able to keep them up until the sun went down.  And when his hand was up, we know that Israel prevailed.

(13) And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

In fact, we do read that Joshua and his army defeated the Amalekites in this, the first war of the Israelites.

(14) And the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

God told Moses to specifically and literally write about this war in a book to be a lasting memorial.  It was to be recounted especially in Joshua's hearing because God would eventually completely blot out the memory of the Amalekites.  The Israelites had not yet completely annihilated the Amalekites, but Joshua was chief in this first war against them.  God knew His plans for Joshua, and I believe He wanted Joshua especially to remember what Amalek had done to Israel and especially how God had saved them from Amalek.  He wanted him to know, as well as all posterity by the written account, that in the process of time Amalek would be totally destroyed and not even remembered (except, in history, I suppose).

(15) And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovahnissi; (16) For he said, “Because the LORD has sworn the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Moses built an altar and called it Jehovahnissi, which literally meant, "Jehovah is my banner".  The Israelites fought under the banner, and therefore under the direction of their Lord, in His name, and in defense of His truth.  Much has been written about how this is the incorrect translation of verse 16.  It is supposed what was meant, and what was scrambled by unfortunate translations of contractions and hyphens, was that because the hand of Amalek was upon the throne of God, therefore the Lord would have war with Amalek from generation to generation.  I don't really have a problem with the KJV translation as it stands.  The Lord indeed had already said that He would ultimately completely put out the remembrance of Amalek, which does insinuate there would be a continued struggle with Amalek until that obliteration was achieved.  I believe making the altar to the Lord that was looked upon as their banner of their Lord, would serve as a reminder to the people that they were never to form any union with the Amalekites because they were sworn enemies of the Israelites, doomed to ruin.  Dr. John Gill wrote this about Amalek:  "Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, whose hand is against the throne of God, his tabernacle, and his saints; who, with all the antichristian states which make war with the Lamb, will be overcome and destroyed by him."