THE MAKING OF A MEMORIAL
Exodus 17
I. The Murmuring
II. The Marauders
A. The Strategy of the Foe
1st – He attacked Unexpectedly – Vs. 8
2nd. – He attacked Indirectly – Deut. 25:17-18
3rd – He attacked Viciously – Deut. 25:18
4th – He attacked Arrogantly – Deut. 25:18
B. The Strength of our Forces
1. The Staff (Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua)
a. Energy
b. Encouragement
c. Endeavor (prayer is work)
2. The Staff (the rod of God)
III. The Marker (His Banner)
A. write
B. rehearse
There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and looked to be perfect Christians.
Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers’ deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly.
All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.
"I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.
The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with,
"But, compared to his brother, he was a saint."
I. The Murmuring
1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. (Have we ever been ready to stone a political leader?)
5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
As a rule, Man’s a fool
When it’s hot, He wants it cool.And when it’s cool, He wants it hot,
Always wanting What is not.
—Bits & Pieces, June 22, 1995, p. 5
“If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet, and sweep through it, and it would draw to itself the most invisible particles. The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find some heavenly blessings.”
—Henry Ward Beecher
II. The Marauders
A. The Strategy of the Foe
2 Corinthians 2:11, “11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
Now I want to show you how Amalek did what he did:
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
1st – He attacked Unexpectedly – Vs. 8
* Israel was not expecting his attack.
* They had just experienced a spiritual blessing and then Amalek shows up. (Vs. 5, 6)
1 Corinthians 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
2nd. – He attacked Indirectly – Deut. 25:17-18
* He came from behind.
* A sneak attack – An ambush
Deut. 25: 17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
3rd – He attacked Viciously – Deut. 25:18
18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
* He attacked the weakest
* He attacked those that were faint and tired.
* The flesh took advantage.
4th – He attacked Arrogantly – Deut. 25:18
18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
* “He feared not God”
* The flesh has no fear of God. It hates God.
General George Patton of WWII fame was seldom at a loss for words. What he said during a battle in North Africa may be legend, but it typifies the man. Patton’s troops were engaged in a successful counterattack of German forces under General Erwin Rommel. Patton is reported to have shouted in the thick of the battle, “I read your book, Rommel! I read your book!” In Rommel’s book Infantry Attacks, the famed “Desert Fox” carefully detailed his miliary strategy, And Patton, having read it and knowing what to expect, planned his moves accordingly.
1 Corinthians 10: 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
A. The Strategy of our Foe
B. The Strength of our Forces
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
1. The Staff (Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua, military)
During the summer of 1904 an unlikely partnership was formed at the World’s Fair St. Louis. The summer was unusually hot and people were searching the fair for something to help cool them off and Arnold Fornachou had just what they were looking for, ice cream. People lined up for what seemed like miles to get some of his cool and satisfying ice cream but there was one problem. Arnold was not prepared for the demand and ran out of paper bowls and was forced to wash a few porcelain bowls over and over again. The result was too few bowls and people were getting tired of waiting.
Next to Arnold’s ice cream booth was the booth of a pastry chef named, Ernest Hamwi and he was making a Persian wafer desert called zalabia. Ernest also had a problem, his pastry was not selling. He noticed the problem Arnold was having and took some warm zalabia and rolled it into a cone shape. He then went over and showed Arnold how the zalabia could hold a scoop of the ice cream. On that hot day during the World’s Fair, the ice cream cone was born because a partnership was formed.
What is partnership?
Partnership is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organized objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results… Simply put, it is less “me” and more “we”. Partnership won’t work with just…
A jawbone – people who merely want to talk about getting it done.
A wishbone – people who merely wish someone would do it
A funnybone – people who never get serious about getting it done.
Partnerships must have a backbone – people who work together to get the job done.
a. Energy
George MacDonald once noted that one draft horse can move two tons of weight. Two draft horses in harness, working together, can move twenty-three tons of weight. MacDonald put his finger on the strength of the church. When we work together, we can perform miracles.
Aaron and Hur helped Moses as he grew tired, they gave him the support and the strength that he needed to accomplish the task. The stone provided support for Moses and the lifting of his hands gave Moses the strength he needed.
The reality is that we need each other to accomplish the work of God in this church and in this community. This is not a one person or one group effort; it must become the mission and effort of the entire church. Our focus must be squarely on Christ’s work and will for the church.
Partners work for a common goal. Partners add their abilities and strengths together to benefit everyone. Partners give their all to support others and partners work to strengthen everyone else.
Stephen Brown explains that when a group of thoroughbred horses face attack, they stand in a circle facing each other and, with their back legs, kick out at the enemy. Donkeys do just the opposite; they face the enemy and kick each other!
How often the church does just that—ignoring the real enemy while we attack fellow believers.
b. Encouragement
This is an e-mail reported to be from a young ensign aboard USS Winston Churchill (DDG-81) to his parents. (Churchill is an Arleigh Burke class AEGIS guided missile destroyer, commissioned March 10, 2001, and is the only active US Navy warship named after a foreign national.)
Dear Dad,
We are still at sea. The remainder of our port visits have all been canceled. We have spent every day since the attacks going back and forth within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing high-security watches, and trying to make the best of it. We have seen the articles and the photographs, and they are sickening. Being isolated, I don’t think we appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling the effects.
About two hours ago, we were hailed by a German Navy destroyer, Lutjens, requesting permission to pass close by our port side. Strange, since we’re in the middle of an empty ocean, but the captain acquiesced and we prepared to render them honors from our bridge wing. As they were making their approach, our conning officer used binoculars and announced that Lutjens was flying not the German, but the American flag.
As she came alongside us, we saw the American flag flying half-mast and her entire crew topside standing at silent, rigid attention in their dress uniforms. They had made a sign that was displayed on her side that read, “We Stand By You.”
There was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside us for a few minutes and saluted. It was the most powerful thing I have seen in my life. The German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it has truly been the highest point in the days since the attacks. It’s amazing to think that only half-century ago things were quite different . .
Energy
Encouragement
c. Endeavor, (Prayer is hard Work)
Prayer must be Persevering persistent. Moses had to keep his hands up in order for Joshua and the soldiers to be victorious.
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
“Just before V-E Day of World War II, a soldier named Joel wrote his mother in New Jersey about the miraculous deliverance of his platoon.
‘Our outfit has been taken off the army’s secret list so now you will hear a little of our activities. We are a part of the Third Army under General Patton. My platoon has been working mostly in observation post and also a few patrols.
One of my best buddies, Tom, with his whole platoon was pinned down by German mortar and artillery fire. They were given the order to move, but couldn’t because the Germans had full view of them from a hill and were zeroing their fire in on them perfectly.
Tom is the most conscientious Christian boy I have ever met in the service. He knew something had to be done to save the 50 men. He crawled from his foxhole and looked things over. Seeing how things were, he lay down behind a tree and earnestly prayed God to help them out of this situation.
This is true, Mother … After he prayed, a fog or mist rolled down between the two hills and the whole platoon got out of their foxholes and escaped. They reorganized in a little town behind the lines where there was a church building. They all went in and knelt down to pray and thank the Lord. Then they asked the kid to take the service.
That is true, Ma, and it just shows how much prayer can mean- if that wasn’t an answer to prayer, I don’t know what is. You can bet that Tom is respected by his buddies.”
[as quoted by Donald Campbell. Joshua: Leader Under Fire.
(Wheaton; SP Publications, 1981) pp. 82-83. from “The Miracle of the Fog.” Good News Publisher]
The story is told of a long-ago couple who said farewell to their home church as they were about to leave for an African mission field known a “The White Man’s Grave.” The husband said, “My wife and I have a strange dread in going. We feel much as if we were going down into a pit. We are willing to take the risk and go if you, our home church, will promise to hold the ropes.” One and all promised to do so.
Less than two years had passed when the wife and the little one God had given the couple succumbed to the dreaded fever. Soon the husband realized his days were also numbered. Not waiting to send word of his coming, he started back home at once and arrived at the time of the Wed. evening prayer meeting. He slipped in unnoticed, taking a back seat. At the close of the meeting, he went forward. An awe came over the people, for death was written on his face.
He said, “I am your missionary. My wife and child are buried in Africa and I have come home to die. this evening I listened anxiously as you prayed for some mention of your missionary to see if you were keeping your promise, but in vain! You prayed for everything connected with yourselves and your home circle, but you forgot your missionary. I see now why I am a failure as a missionary. It is because you have failed to hold the ropes.”
The Other Staff
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Why was the staff so important?
It was a piece of ordinary wood, there was really nothing special about it. The staff Moses carried was just a simple tool used by shepherds to help guide sheep and defend the flock. That ordinary piece of wood was used to do some extraordinary things and it was that staff that God used to prove His power to the entire world.
What exactly does Moses do on the top of the hill?
Moses raised his hands, big deal. It was a big deal because as long as his hands were raised the Israelites were winning the battle. Many people say that Moses went to the top of the hill to pray and he probably was praying but it never says that he prayed. So what was he doing?
I believe that there was something else going on here.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. Exodus 8:5, 6
22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. Exodus 9:22-23
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.
13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. Exodus 10:12-13
21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: Exodus 10:21-22
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Exodus 14:16, 21-22
When Moses raised his hands with the staff of God. It was the model for the work of God in the past and when Israel needed a miracle, Moses stretched out his hands. The staff had become the symbol of God’s power and assistance. The current situation they were facing was no different because Israel was in need of God’s intervention and His direct assistance
A. C. Dixon
“When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence we get what eloquence can do . . . but when we rely upon prayer we get what God can do!”
The power was not in the rod!!!
When Moses went to Egypt he took the staff because God told him that miraculous signs would be done through it. God used that ordinary staff to change the course of nations. Every time that Moses carried that staff he also took this lesson with him, God can use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
That staff had no magical powers or had any real strength of its own but it was the symbol of God’s power. The staff never left Moses’ side and when he took it up the hill with him, it was to show everyone that no matter what they faced, God was with them.
I remember years ago I was holding a meeting in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. I was in that big amphitheater there that accommodates about ten thousand people. The people told me a story. They said a few nights before I was there they advertised in the paper that a man who had just come back from Europe was going to play on a five-thousand dollar violin he had bought in some old museum in Europe. It had never been used in America — was to be played for the first time that night. All the seats in the building were sold and even the standing room. The time came for the artist to come on stage. He came on the stage and waited until the applause swept the crowd first one way the then the other. Then he took his violin and played. The music was sweet. The violin cried like a baby, sang like a bird, laughed like a child. The crowd sat there enraptured. The people said, “Did you ever hear such music! Oh, the tone! We are not surprised that the violin cost five-thousand dollars. It is marvelous. The seasoned tone is wonderful!” When he got through playing, waves of applause swept the crowd this way and that way.
In the midst of the excitement he turned around, took the violin and broke it all to pieces on a chair. They said, “he is crazy! He is mad! he is braking a five-thousand dollar violin!” Still in the midst of the excitement he reached behind him, and from under a seat pulled out a case. He took out a violin, looked out over the crowd, smiled and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, you thought I was playing on a five-thousand dollar violin. That wasn’t anything but a little three-dollar-and-a-half fiddle. This is a five-thousand dollar violin. I will play it for you now.” He drew the bow across the strings, but the music was not any sweeter. Do you know what the man said by his actions? He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is not the violin; it is the man who draws the bow that makes the music.” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., What Is That In Thine Hand?, S.L. 5/15/70
III. The Marker (His Banner)
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
A. write
B. rehearse,
After 911 and the holocaust the phrase was repeated, “We Will Never Forget!”
I never want to forget what my father the king has done for me (Lord’s Supper)
Tell It Again
Into a tent where a gypsy boy lay,
Dying alone at the close of the day,
News of salvation we carried: said he,
"Nobody ever has told it to me."
Chorus:
Tell it again, tell it again -
Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er
Till none can say of the children of men,
Nobody ever told me it before.
"Did He so love me, a poor little boy?
And send to me the good tidings of joy?
Need I not perish? my hand will He hold?
Nobody to me the story has told."
Chorus:
Tell it again, tell it again -
Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er
Till none can say of the children of men,
Nobody ever told me it before.
Bending, we caught the last words of his breath,
Just as he entered the valley of death;
"God sent His Son, whosoever, said He;
Then I am sure that He sent Him for me."
Chorus:
Tell it again, tell it again -
Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er
Till none can say of the children of men,
Nobody ever told me it before.
Smiling, he said, as his last sigh was spent,
"I am so glad that for me He was sent."
Whispered, while low sank the sun in the west,
"Lord, I believe; tell it now to the rest."
Chorus:
Tell it again, tell it again -
Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er
Till none can say of the children of men,
Nobody ever told me it before.
