The battle of Rephidim was the first major action by the nation of Israel against an enemy force. It would be the first of many; over the next forty years, Israel would fight battles against virtually every civilization between Egypt and Canaan.
Make no mistake about it: The nation of Israel was not equipped for military action. Even though they came up “armed out of Egypt (Exodus 13:18), with a total population most likely in the millions, they could not fight the Amalekites on their own. Just a short time earlier, God rerouted the Israelites around the Philistines because He knew they were too easily fearful (Exodus 13:17).
The battle at Rephidim against the Amalekites was a sort of test, then. Would the nation of Israel prevail, or would they quit and run?
Exodus 17 makes no bones about who was behind the eventual victory. When Moses’ arms were up, they were winning. When his arms fell, Israel faltered. The problem was that Moses’ arms grew heavy, just like anyone of ours’ would. Someone had to hold them up in order for Israel to have the victory.
Those “someones” were Aaron and Hur. They grabbed some stones for a makeshift chair for Moses, then stood nearby to support his hands so they remained in the air. Because of that, the nation of Israel prevailed.
If you look around at the Godly people in your life, no doubt you’ve seen them do amazing things for the Kingdom. Teaching others. Serving others. Correcting others. These people need to be supported by holding up their spiritual hands. For every Moses that has their arms outstretched, there’s an Aaron and Hur by their side holding them up.
In my own life, I’ve seen this to be the case more often than not. On Sundays and Wednesdays, I’m the person at the front of the church building speaking. To the untrained eye, it looks like I’m doing it all by myself.
But what almost nobody sees is my wife who offers advice on sermon points and managing relationships. They don’t see the elders making decisions behind closed doors. They don’t see the deacons that gets there early to get the building ready. They don’t see the people who helped me buy Bible software twenty years ago and the members that counsel me when I step out of line.
Without them, my arms would get heavy and I would inevitably fail. My responsibility is not only to use their support, but—just as importantly—offer support to others in their spiritual endeavors. I can be an Aaron or Hur to someone else. I can be the one that listens, encourages, strengthens, and assists.
I see people working in the Kingdom all the time. What’s stopping me from being the Aaron to their Moses? What’s stopping you? If we’re going to “defeat the Amalekites” in the world, we need to strengthen each other. I guarantee you there are people you whose arms are getting heavy and could desperately use your support.
