Conflict at Rephidim

The book of Exodus chapter 17, and we may read again at verse 8.

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

Exodus chapter 17, reading at verse 8.

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

When the Israelite people were miraculously delivered from their Egyptian oppression,

the first enemies they faced were not external, but internal.

Their first enemies were themselves.

Their struggle was with themselves, as the Lord showed them, their own hearts.

And I would like to suggest that it is still the same to the present hour.

Our struggles are mainly from within and not from without.

Now, you may challenge that, but I think if you are any length of time on the Christian path,

you will know the truth of that statement.

You remember how the Apostle Paul writes about the inward strife that left him struggling time after time.

I see, he says, and my members, another law waging war against the law of my mind,

and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

It wasn't just that he saw it, but that it brought him into captivity.

Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death,

as if he were carrying about a dead body attached to his person.

Well, Israel, during their relatively short period in the desert,

had encountered genuine difficulties.

They came to Mara, and the water was undrinkable, causing them to complain.

And you can appreciate how precious water was when you were in a dry, arid area.

And they must have been looking forward to arriving at this place,

only to be bitterly disappointed by the quality of the water.

God made it drinkable by another miracle.

Then it was lack of food that made them grumble.

And again, God provided them with manna.

The difficulty experienced earlier in this chapter

was that they were faced not with undrinkable water,

but with a lack of water,

either because the water was not there,

or if it was there,

they had no access to it.

And you can make your mind up.

Which of these two possibilities is true?

Because the Bible doesn't really disclose what it was.

Such was their ire that Moses was fearful for his own life.

He thought they were going to stone him.

They didn't trust God to provide.

In fact, they wanted God put on trial.

As they interpreted matters,

God had failed them miserably.

And yet again,

God graciously and marvelously provides

by bringing water from a most unexpected source,

a rock.

And you know from your New Testament

that the New Testament interprets the rock

as Christ.

And there is a sermon there.

Incidentally,

there is no indication of thanks

for such fulsome and gracious provision.

And I wonder how often

are we guilty of the sale

when the Lord has intervened

marvelously and miraculously in our lives,

when we have been pleading,

perhaps for help,

and how forgetful we are

to give thanks when he responds.

Well, I'd like to bring three thoughts before you.

That's just the background

to our text this evening.

First, conflict at Rephidim.

Secondly, countering hostility.

And thirdly, celebrating

the celebration of victory.

Conflict at Rephidim.

Countering hostility.

And the celebration of victory.

Conflict at Rephidim.

The writer tells us,

Moses, we accept as the writer.

The people of Israel

were physically attacked

from without

by those who were hostile to them.

Remember?

Up until now,

their problems arose from themselves.

We read,

Amalek came and fought with Israel

at Rephidim.

This was Israel's

first experience

of our military encounter.

The Amalekites

were a nomadic people.

They could trace their ancestry

back to Jacob's twin brother,

Esau.

In the book of Genesis,

we find this information.

These are the names of Esau's sons.

Eliphaz, the son of Adah,

the wife of Esau.

And then you find Timnah

was a concubine of Eliphaz,

Esau's son.

She bore Amalek

to Eliphaz.

And I suppose

you could argue

that there was a long-standing

ethnic tension

between the two peoples,

given their ancestry.

People of Israel

tracing their ancestry

back to Jacob

and the Amalekites

back to his twin brother.

The writer doesn't suggest

a specific reason

why these Amalekites

attacked Israel

at this precise moment.

May have been

because of the long-standing

ethnic tensions.

It is also possible

that they may have felt

threatened by the

sudden arrival

of all these people

in their territory.

They may have seen them

as a threat

to their own existence

by coming

to the places

which they themselves

frequented for water.

Water being such

a precious commodity

in the desert,

Rephidim,

was an oasis.

But the writer

doesn't tell us

why they were attacked.

There may be one more reason

for the attack.

The impression created,

at least in my own mind,

is that it was,

that it happened

very unexpectedly.

Then Amalek came

and fought with Israel.

When did Amalek

come

and fight

with Israel?

Was it not just

after the Israelites

had given expression,

vehement expression,

to their disgruntlement

with God,

threatening to stone

their leader?

So,

I cannot rule out

that this

unexpected,

sudden attack

was indirectly

provoked

by themselves

on account

of their behavior.

Be that as it may,

we cannot

remind ourselves

too often

that the Bible

does not record

historical events

just for the sake

of giving us

a history lesson.

The history

in the Bible

has spiritual meaning,

from which

spiritual applications

can be made.

And I would

therefore like

to suggest

a reason

from the New Testament

for this

actual

physical attack

by Amalek.

In Paul's letter

to the Ephesians,

he writes

twice in the same

context

of the need

of putting on

the whole

armor of God.

He is addressing

the church,

believers,

and the reason

he gives

for the need

to put on

the whole

armor of God

is

that you may

be able

to stand

against the

schemes

of the devil.

And then

he goes on

to tell,

for we do

not wrestle

against flesh

and blood,

but against

the rulers,

against the

authorities,

against the

cosmic powers

over this

present darkness,

against the

spiritual forces

of evil

in the heavenly

places.

Now remember,

the people

of Israel

represent

the church

of Christ

in the world,

a people

who are

a direct

result

of divine

intervention

and deliverance,

a people

who are

being led

by God

and who

are actually

instructed

by the

Lord to

come to

Rephidim.

Verse 1

in the chapter

tells us,

all the

congregation

of the

people of

Israel

moved on

from the

wilderness

of sin

by stages

according to

the commandment

of the

Lord

and

camped

at Rephidim.

They didn't

choose

to come

to this

destination

in

flagrant

disobedience

to the

command of

God.

They

moved there

in accord

with God's

instruction.

What could

possibly

go wrong?

They were

merely

following

divine

instructions.

And then

we read,

Amalek

came

and fought.

Why?

Well,

could I

suggest

it is

because

the devil

hates

God

and

he

hates

those

who

represent

God

in the

world.

He

seeks

to

destroy

God's

workmanship.

You

know how

peoples

tend to

be proud

of their

ancestry

and that

pride

can lead

to jealousy,

envy,

and opposition

and very

often along

with pride

you get

greed and

selfishness.

And you

can see

that

in many

of the

wars

that

have

started

in the

world,

how

you

can

find

these

elements

as it

were

foundational

to the

beginning

of such

wars.

But

if you

dig

down

deep

enough

and

you

discover

that

all

of

these

reasons

are

the

forces

of

darkness

seeking

to

hinder

and

even

repress

the

work

of

light.

Spreading

confusion

is a

tactic

favored

by the

forces

of

darkness.

The

attack

in this

instance

was

somewhat

cowardly.

How do

we

know?

Well,

in the

book of

Deuteronomy

you find

Moses

writing,

remember

what

Amalek

did to

you as

he's

speaking to

Israel,

on the

way as

you came

out of

Egypt,

how he

attacked

you on

the way

when you

were fed

and weary

and cut

off your

tail,

those who

were lagging

behind you,

and he

did not

fear God.

not only

was the

attack

unprovoked,

humanly

speaking,

in the

sense that

Israel didn't

go out of

their way

to provoke

Amalek,

but the

attack was

aimed

against the

weak,

the

vulnerable,

the

helpless,

the

strugglers

at the

tail end

of the

procession,

usually

defenseless

women and

children,

and possibly

the frail

elderly.

Now,

it may

have been

that Israel

thought there

was no real

danger to

those at

the end

of the

procession.

The

pursuing

Egyptian

forces had

been destroyed

at the

Red Sea.

But you

note it

was the

most

vulnerable

who were

attacked,

and it

happened

possibly

where it

was least

expected.

Now,

we can

apply

that.

Many

things in

life can

leave us

vulnerable to

spiritual

attack,

our pride,

an inflated

view of

ourselves,

lack of

prayer

dependency,

and when we

are vulnerable,

you can be

sure that

these attacks

will

intensify.

will be

the

clue,

surely,

to what

lay behind

this

cowardly

attack

lies in

the words,

he, that

is Amalek,

did not

fear God.

What a

coup for

Satan,

if he

could

prevent

the

children

of Israel

from

reaching the

promised

land.

Here are

the forces

of darkness

using

guerrilla

tactics to

ambush

and deter

the

progression

of the

church

in the

world.

And that,

I believe,

is still

ongoing.

It would

be a huge

mistake

on our

part to

think

otherwise.

Our

real enemy,

it's not

other people,

it's the

forces of

darkness

who will

keep

attacking

you,

yes,

even use

people to

further their

aims, and

of course,

you don't

have to

go further

than Calvary

to see

how the

forces of

darkness

manipulated

people

seeking

to destroy

Christ

in the

world.

And they

do that

to you

and me

in the

hope that

we will

do something

to dishonor

God.

Our

demise

then becomes

the food

of those

hostile

hostile

to the

cause of

Christ.

One

glaring

example in

the Bible

is a

man who

began

well,

who had

a great

reputation,

a man by

the name

of Samson.

And the

Bible tells

us the

Philistine

seized him,

gouged out

his eyes,

because in

a moment

of weakness,

rather than

trusting the

Almighty,

he trusted

his fellow

creature,

gouged out

his eyes

and brought

him down

to Gaza

and bound

him with

bronze shackles.

This is the

point.

And he

ground at

the mill

in the

prison.

Now there

he was

being used

as a

source of

providing

food for

the very

people he

had been

engaged in

destroying.

And now

they were

being fed

by his

efforts.

Well,

that hasn't

changed.

The world

still feeds

on the

fall of

God's

people and

the world.

Conflict

at

Rephidim.

A hostile

encounter

and brings

me to

my second

point,

countering

hostility.

The

chapter

informs

us how

Israel

launched a

counter-attack.

Moses

addressing

Joshua,

choose for

his men,

go out

and fight

with Amalek.

Tomorrow I

will stand,

says Moses,

on the top

of the hill

with the

staff of

God in

my hand.

So

Joshua

obeyed.

He did

as Moses

told him,

fought with

Amalek,

while Moses,

Aaron,

and her

went up

to the

top of

the hill.

Fascinating

how the

writer,

well,

Aaron,

we know,

was related

to Moses,

but her,

he's just

introduced

as if we

ought to

know who

he is.

Joshua

goes to

the

battlefield.

The

hostile

forces

had to

be

engaged.

They

fought in

the

valley.

Moses

was up

on the

top of

the hill.

Verse

11 tells

us,

whenever

Moses held

up his

hand,

Israel

prevailed.

When

his hand

lowered,

Amalek

prevailed.

And does

that not

indicate to

us,

whatever

Moses was

doing on

the hilltop

is connected

with the

fortunes

of the

fighting men

on the

battlefield in

the valley.

Some might

suggest that

he was

merely

directing

the fighting

men in

the valley

below from

his vantage

point on

the hilltop.

and when

I

think of

that view,

I think

of Moses

almost like

a choir

conductor.

And I

would

discount

that

immediately

for one

simple

reason.

Moses

held the

staff of

God in

his hand.

Tomorrow I

will stand

on the

top of

the hill

with the

staff of

God in

my hand.

member

of the

staff has

history.

It was

instrumental

in the

displays of

divine power

connected

with the

exodus.

And so

therefore I

understand

Moses'

uplifted

hand to

be symbolic

of

intercessory

prayer.

Now you

may tell

me there

is no

word of

prayer in

the passage.

but if

you look

through your

Bible you

will find

that the

uplifting

of the

hand is

a symbol

for prayer.

For example

in the

Psalms,

the very

first Psalm

that we

sang this

evening,

so I

will bless

you as

long as

I live

in your

name.

I will

lift up

my hands.

What was

the psalmist

doing there?

He was

engaging in

prayer,

engaging in

wrestling with

God.

And then

the second

Psalm that

we sang,

let my

prayer be

counted as

incense before

you,

and the

lifting up

of my

hands as

the evening

sacrifice.

What took

place when

the evening

sacrifice was

being offered

up?

There was

prayer on

the part

of the

priests.

And although

there is no

record of

what Moses

said,

the inference

is that

Moses' actions

on the

hilltop

were an

unmistakable

sign of

dependence on

God alone

to win the

battle.

In holding

the rod up

to heaven,

he was

appealing for

God to

defend his

people.

Yes,

men were

selected for

battle.

And again,

the writer

doesn't go

into detail

of their

skills or

their

suitability.

None of

that is

revealed.

Yet despite

having selected

men to

fight,

the outcome

was not

determined by

the bravery

and fighting

skills of

these men

on the

battlefield,

but by

what happened

on the

hilltop.

It depended

on the

God he

was being

pled with

in prayer.

Whenever

Moses held

up his

hand,

Israel

prevailed.

Whenever he

lowered his

hand,

Amalek

prevailed.

Now remember,

God answers

prayer.

Oh,

how thankful

every believer

ought to be

that God

answers

prayer.

Moses saw

this

firsthand

as he

watched the

conflict

in the

valley.

The success

in battle

depended on

the God

who answers

prayer.

I'm sure

everyone has

heard the

phrase,

the pen,

is mightier

than the

sword.

But in

this example,

it was the

petition that

was mightier

than the

sword.

And prayer

is an

effective

weapon in

the hands

of the

believer.

In fact,

Paul counsels

the church.

I could put it

stronger.

He instructs the

church in the

letter to the

Ephesians,

pray at all

times in the

Spirit,

with all

prayer and

supplication.

prayer.

And when

he writes

that, it's

after putting

on the

whole armor

of God.

What does

that tell

us?

Does it

not tell

us this,

that we

may put

on the

whole

armor,

the belt

of truth,

the breastplate

of righteousness,

the shield

of faith,

the helmet

of salvation,

and the

sword of

the Spirit?

But if we

do not

entrust

ourselves to

God in

prayer,

then we

will not

stand.

We'll be

led away

into error.

we'll give

way to

temptation.

We'll be

dragged down

into doubt

and discouragement.

We could

fight valiantly

like Joshua,

but unless we

pray like

Moses,

we'll not

overcome in

the battle.

So how do

we fight

back against

the forces of

darkness?

Do we not

do what

Moses did?

He engaged

in prayer.

It is by

persevering and

prevailing in

prayer that we

become victorious

on the

battlefield of

sin and

temptation.

If you ask

me, why

is prayer

of such

huge importance?

Why is it

such an

effective

spiritual

weapon?

My answer

would be

this, that

God is the

difference

between victory

and defeat.

It is by

prayer that

we depend

on him

to win the

battle.

prayer.

Does that

mean that

it is the

power of

prayer that

is important?

Is it that

prayer itself

is the

important

factor?

If we pray

long enough,

if we pray

hard enough,

or often

enough,

then God

will do

what we

are asking

him to

do.

The power

of prayer

is not

the prayer

itself,

but the

power of

God.

In prayer,

we are

acknowledging

our absolute

dependence

on God.

Reminds me

of a

definition

of prayer

that I

read many

years ago

in a book

written by

a man

called

Octavius

Winslow,

and the

title of

the book

was The

Work of

the Holy

Spirit.

This is

what he

wrote on

prayer.

Prayer is

the expression

of want,

the desire

of need,

the acknowledgement

of poverty,

the language

of dependence,

the breathing

of a soul

that has

nothing in

itself but

hangs on

God for

all its

wants.

That

definition

of prayer

greatly

appealed to

me when

I first

read it,

and it

still does

years later.

Prayer is

also for

the glory

of God.

It glorifies

God by

showing that

the victory

belongs to

God alone.

Some have

suggested

that is why

Moses was

on the

hilltop,

because you

could say,

could he not

have prayed

in the

valley?

On the

hilltop,

he was

making sure

that Israel

learned the

power of

prayer.

Had he not

been visible

on the

hilltop,

Israel might

have concluded

that they

themselves were

responsible for

the victory.

They would be

celebrating their

own strength

and military

power.

We are so

prone to

this type

of failing,

of thinking

that we

ourselves

have done

it all.

When you

read this

book of

Exodus

carefully,

you cannot

but be

struck by

the frequency

of prayer

in the life

of Moses,

the servant

of God.

Again and

again you

find him

talking over

his problems

with the

Lord.

Here he

intercedes

on behalf

of Israel.

When he

lifted his

hand on

the hill,

top as I

believe in

prayer,

he was

elevating the

entire nation

before the

throne of

grace.

Given the

many wonderful

answers to

prayer that

he received,

many might

have thought

of him as

a prayer

warrior.

But what

I believe

this chapter

shows about

Moses'

prayer life

is not

its strength

but its

weakness.

As long

as he

interceded,

the Israelite

forces had

the upper

hand.

But there

came a

time when

Moses'

hands grew

weary.

Verse 12.

He was

unable to

persevere

in prayer.

And that

surely points

to the

need of

one greater

than Moses

who is a

better

mediator,

even the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

The writer

to the

Hebrews

reminds us

that he

always lives

to make

intercession

for his

people.

He requires

no one

to hold

up his

hands.

There

came a

time for

Moses

when

sheer

exhaustion

set in,

unable to

keep going.

And I

am sure

that every

person

who engages

in prayer

will agree

that

persistent,

continuous

prayer

can be

wearisome,

can be

exhausting.

it is

difficult

to remember

what is

recorded

of the

disciples

who were

with Jesus

in

Gethsemane.

Remember,

Jesus had

gone a

stone's

throw from

them.

He had

taken

three with

them.

And we

are told

he came

to the

disciples

and found

them

sleeping.

And he

spoke

particularly

to Peter.

So could

you not

watch with

me one

hour?

And then

he goes

on to

say,

The spirit

indeed is

willing,

but the

flesh is

weak.

The flesh

is always

weak.

But the

weakness

of Moses

only served

to highlight

and magnify

the glory

of God.

It showed

that Israel

was victorious

not because

Joshua was

a good

military

leader or

because Moses

was a man

of prayer,

but because

God was

their captain

in the

battle.

We read

Moses'

hands grew

weary,

so they

took a

stone and

put it

under him,

sat on

it while

Aaron and

her held

up his

hands,

and so

on.

And what

this picture

sets before

us and

suggests,

is that

Moses was

given

support in

persevering in

prayer by

these two

individuals,

Aaron and

her.

With their

help,

his hands

remain steady.

Even prayer

warriors

require

assistance.

prayer.

And I

think it

demonstrates

to us

the need

of corporate

prayer.

Yes,

individual

prayer

ought to

be a

constant

feature and

mark of

the believer

in life,

but there is

a need for

corporate

prayer.

That's a

feature of

the New

Testament

church from

the very

outset in

the book

of the

Acts of

the

Apostles.

You find

the early

Christians

engaged in

prayer and

groups.

At

Pentecost,

for example,

they were

all together

in one

place.

Can you

find this?

They devoted

themselves to

the apostle

teaching and

the fellowship,

to the

breaking of

bread and

the prayers.

When choosing

men to

the diaconate,

you remember

the disciples

said,

we will

devote

ourselves

to

prayer and

to the

ministry of

the word.

And again

remember when

Peter was

imprisoned by

Herod,

earnest

prayer for

him was

made to

God by

the church.

When he

was miraculously

released from

imprisonment,

he went to

look for his

friends, and

you remember

what was

true.

when he

came to

the house

of John

Mark,

they were

engaged in

all-night

prayer.

Many were

gathered

together and

were praying.

The strange

thing is,

in that

example,

they didn't

even believe

that the

Lord had

done what

they were

praying for.

And sometimes

we're like

that too.

we ask

for something,

and when it

happens, we

can hardly

believe that

does happen.

There was

Peter knocking

frantically at

the door.

And you

remember

how

Rhoda came

to the

door.

She ran

back in,

such was her

excitement.

And they

weren't

believing it.

that required

some convincing.

Well,

prayer is the

spiritual weapon

of the

church.

Cannot be

emphasized

enough how

we need

to meet

in prayer.

Remember,

the promise

of Jesus

to the

church,

where two

or three

are gathered

in my

name.

There am

I among

them.

there is

need,

as I

said,

for

private

intercession.

But there

is a

great need

for

corporate

prayer,

where we

pray for

and pray

with

other

Christians.

And you

know,

that can

be very

encouraging

to people

when they're

praying for

and with

one another.

Countering

hostility,

the importance

of prayer,

conflict,

and

referendum,

a hostile

finally celebration

of victory.

The narrative

tells us

Joshua

overwhelmed

Amalek and

his people

with a

sword.

Does the

writer tell

us

how they

celebrated

the victory?

A huge

victory

party was

held.

That's not

what we

read.

But what

we read

is this,

or what

is implied

by what

we read.

They

offered

thanksgiving

to God.

They

worshipped.

How

appropriate.

Moses is

instructed to

write

what took

place,

and

significantly

instructed

to bring

this to

the attention

of Joshua

as the

future leader

of the

nation.

Not so

much that

he might

read the

report,

but to

have it

read out

to him.

Write this

as a

memorial in

a book,

and recite

it in the

years of

Joshua.

You know,

write it as a

memorial and

let him read

it.

That's not what's

said in the

context here,

but recite it

in the

years of

Joshua.

And then

there is

this message,

a very

solemn message

that I will

utterly blot

out the

memory of

Amalek from

under heaven.

The report

was to

act as a

reminder to

the future

leader and

to the

nation what

God had

done, what

he still

intended to

do regarding

the Amalekites.

Israel would

face these

peoples again.

God wanted

Israel to

remember what

he had done

for them in

the past, so

when they

came under

attack again,

they would

look to the

Lord for

deliverance.

And not only

that, but

that these

people were

to be

destroyed.

And yet

so often,

we tend to

disregard or

forget the

lessons of

the past.

Is that not

true?

And we

repeat the

same mistakes

again.

Israel sadly

did just

that.

They

encountered

the Amalekites

again when

they reached

the borders of

the promised

land.

Instead of

looking to

the Lord in

prayer, they

were afraid.

As a result,

they spent the

next 38

years wandering

in the wilderness.

However, to

come back to

my third

heading, the

celebration of

victory, they

built an

altar.

Moses built an

altar.

That was a

common practice