And Hur Went Up

“And Hur Went Up”

Exodus 17:8-16

By

Dr. Steven G. Cook

I. Introduction

A. Read Text – Ex. 17:8-16

B. As Israel journeyed in the Wilderness of Sin, God allowed them to endure experiences of life that taught them great lessons of His power and grace in their lives.

C. In Exodus 17:1-7 Israel learned of God’s supernatural provision by receiving “Water from the Rock”.

D. In the remainder of Exodus 17 we find that the Lord teaches them other lessons as well.

E. The new Christian is surprised that the Christian life is one of “battles” as well as “blessings”.

F. Up to now, Israel has not had to fight; for the Lord fought for them; Now the Lord will fight through them.

G. The Amalekites were descendents of Esau, the brother of Jacob, Isaac’s son, and they represent the opposition of the flesh.

H. Israel had been delivered once and forever from world (Egypt), by crossing the Red Sea (picture of the blood of Christ), but God’s people will always battle the flesh until Christ returns.

I. Notice that the Amalekites did not appear until after the water was given (water pictures the Holy Spirit); the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and as long as we are in this fleshly body, we will have to do battle.

J. As a matter of fact, the Amalekites executed a “sneak attack” by coming up from the rear – This is why we ought to “watch and pray” lest the enemy come upon us unawares!

K. How Israel was able to overcome the enem?.

L. You will notice four (4) individuals in our story – Moses, Joshua, Aaron, & Hur.

M. Moses is a type of Christ, although not a perfect type because he grew weary; However, we see Moses up on a mountain with the rod of God depicting the Lord Jesus Christ as our heavenly intercessor seated at the right hand of God.

N. Joshua is a type of the victorious, Spirit-filled believer who is bold and obedient to obey the Word of God!

O. Aaron has been appointed high priest, and of course, his position also typifies the Lord’s priestly ministry.

P. But Who Is HUR? Hur is a person we know next to nothing about, yet he is mentioned in the company of three (3) great men of the Bible.

Q. People have long looked at Moses and Joshua as role models, and rightfully so, as they are true heroes of the faith!

R. However, there are two heroes of this story that are seldom mentioned! These two heroes are Aaron & Hur.

S. What happened every time Moses dropped his arms? The momentum of the battle changed against Israel – So what happened? Aaron and Hur held the arms of Moses up until the going down of the sun.

T. Today, I would like to pay special tribute to every HUR in the crowd at Etna Baptist Church! I would like to honor all of those who are willing to play second-fiddle and are willing to make up the second line! People who are often unnoticed, unthanked, and unrecognized for the most part of their Christian lives!

U. There are many people here at Etna just like Hur; they perform vital duties and do so without thought of recognition or applaud!

V. These Hurs of Etna make it possible that the rest of us can do what the Lord has called us to do; and without whose help we could never get the job done!

W. Allow me to share at least 4 Characteristics of people like Hur that make them very special to the church.

II. People Like Hur Are Absolutely Invaluable (Ex. 17:12)

A. In our story, Moses was unable to hold up his own arms, so Aaron and Hur held them up for him.

B. This may seem like a menial task to some, but if Aaron and Hur had not done what they did, Moses would have failed, and so would Joshua have failed.

C. In the church today, there is still a great need for people like Hur – people who are willing to allow others to get the credit; people who are rarely seen; people who are not concerned with recognition; yet they are people who are willing to do what needs to be done so that the battles can be won!

D. People like Hur are those who Pray Daily for the pastor, teachers, missionaries, youth, bus ministry, sick, lost, etc.

E. People like Hur are those who carry the load so that the first line people are able to do their work in reaching souls for Christ!

F. Illustration – “Military logistic support”

G. People who pray and seek God’s face and lift up the hands of the weary in the Lord’s work are INVALUABLE!