"The Israelites left Sin and began wandering through the desert. They begin to thirst almost to the point of death. So, they started grumbling and testing God. Moses even feared for his life thinking that the people would stone him. So, God enabled Moses to strike a boulder at Horeb with his staff and fresh water flowed out for the people to drink. At Rephidim, where the Israelites were camped, Amalek attacks. Joshua, under Moses' command, defeats the Amalekites. God says that He will completely blot out the memory of Amalek. Afterward, Moses builds an altar and names it "The Lord is My Banner," or Yahweh-nissi."
Exodus 17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Then all the congregation of the children of Israel moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so we may [have something to] drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [a]Horeb; there you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may [have something to] drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place [where this miracle occurred] Massah (test) and [b]Meribah (contention) because of the quarreling of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the [patience of the] Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
- ROCK WATERS. The Israelites continued to survive in their journey in the wilderness, as the Lord never failed to rain down manna/bread from heaven by day, and meat/quail by night. However, they got water problems. This was the 2nd time the Israelites complained about being thirsty and having no water to drink. Thus, they began to murmur against Moses again. Are we the same with them, somehow? Sometimes, it takes us a really long time learning, and being convinced and strong in our faith with God. Moses was somehow being overtaken by his emotions too. The last chapter, he became 'angry' with his fellow men for disobeying God. Still, God was guiding Moses, and He is teaching him to always 'go' to God. Instead of quarreling or fighting back, Moses did the right thing by crying out to God for help. God was the ONLY ANSWER. As always, God has solutions, and we cannot really outgive Him. Some of the elders of Israel needed to participate in the next miracle of God, when Moses struck the rock which God used to provide water to all the Israelites. Again, it's not the staff or Moses that made it possible, it was God! In the middle of the dry desert, in a rock, who would've thought there will be drinking water available? It's only God who can make something out of nothing.
- ROCK AND WATER BOTH REPRESENT JESUS. Again, I wonder if there was a picture and foreshadowing of Lord Jesus Christ here. There's a different kind of 'thirst' in our lives, that only Jesus can fill. The longing to be 'truly' loved, accepted and seen, etc. He is the Savior who rescued us from death. He is also the EVERLASTING ROCK we can always lean on to.
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1-2
"Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'? (Matthew 21:42, Psalm 118:22, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, 1 Peter 2:7, Acts 4:11)
"And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God," 1 Peter 2:4
Footnotes: Exodus 17:6 Horeb may refer to the mountain range of which Sinai is an individual mountain.
Exodus 17:7 A similar incident occurred when the Israelites were in the Wilderness of Zin at Meribah-kadesh (Num 20:8-13; Deut 32:50-52). On that occasion Moses disobeyed God’s specific instruction and paid a terrible price for his action.
8 Then [c]Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to [d]Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and [e]Hur went up to the hilltop. 11 Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated [f]Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and [g]recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and named it [h]The Lord Is My Banner; 16 saying, “The Lord has sworn [an oath]; the Lord will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation.”
- VICTORY THAT COMES FROM GOD! After God quenched the thirst of Israelites, something interesting happened! All of a sudden there was a battle-- for what? Maybe because of territory, or just plain attacking of strangers, or maybe to loot, or to fulfill God's prophecies (about the twins Esau and Jacob)? Anyway, this is the very first battle that the Israelites had in the wilderness, after their exodus from Egypt. This is the first time that we heard about the courageous Joshua, and the Amalekites who were the descendants of Esau. Whoa, what is this, Abraham descendants against each other, literally brothers against brothers.
- PRAYER INTERCESSORS? Not only was Moses an old 80 y/o man, but he also seems untrained for battles, having been a shepherd for a long time. Also, he acted as a leader so it made sense that he was not in the battle field. The act of 'standing on the top of the hill holding up the staff of God', seems like a 'prayer intercession' for me. It's like waiting on God for victory, while Joshua and the other Israelites were fighting. Holding the staff up was tiring, and Aaron and Hur helped and assisted Moses. Now that is teamwork! That is also the same in our faith walk and life. We can never do it alone. We need other brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us, encourage and support us, when we feel down, weary and tired. It doesn't mean we are strong, but it is God's strength that will continue to sustain and empower us. Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites did not win the battle because they are great, it's because God was great in their behalf, it is God who gives victory!
- FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. For some reason, the picture of Moses, Aaron and Hur makes me think of the Trinity or Triune God (three in One). ❤️
- FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. Israel's victory through God was to be written for the next generation, even to people like you and me who reads the Bible. Wow! This is so that we can learn who God is, and was-- how powerful and good He is. In His sovereignty, God already foresaw and prepare for the future.
- THE LORD IS MY BANNER (YHWH NISSI). What an awesome name of God. "A banner can be a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message." So when we say the Lord is my banner, it means we identify as His people, we believe in Him, we are His children, no matter who we are, where we live, and whatever.
Who are the Amalekites?
Exodus 17:9 Joshua, leader of the tribe of Ephraim, was one of the great warriors of the OT and was an attendant to and the successor of Moses.
Exodus 17:10 According to Josephus, Hur was the husband of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 17:13 These nomadic people were the descendants of Esau.
Exodus 17:14 Lit put in the ears of.
Exodus 17:15 Heb YHWH (Yahweh)-Nissi.
* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:
a. According to the commandment of the Lord…but there was no water for the people to drink: Israel did exactly what God commanded, following the pillar of cloud and fire; yet there was no water to drink. They were in the will of God but in a difficult time. It is possible to be completely in the will of God yet also in a season of great problems.
c. Why do you tempt the Lord? The people focused their complaint against Moses, but Moses understood that their problem was with the Lord.
i. When we have a problem it is much easier to blame someone than to think through the problem carefully and spiritually. In this situation Israel could have thought, “We are in a desert; it’s not surprising there isn’t much water here. We need to look to God to meet this need.” Instead they blamed Moses and did nothing to help the problem.
c. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it: Moses was commanded, in the presence of the Lord, to strike the rock with his rod, and water would gush forth to satisfy the thirst of God’s people.
i. This was a remarkable miracle. Moses (and everyone else) knew that water does not normally come from rocks in such a way.
ii. This was a generous miracle. “Here again the divine patience appears, for Jehovah uttered no word of reproach, but in spite of their impatient unbelief provided water out of the rock for them.” (Morgan)
iii. This was a meaningful miracle. In striking the rock, Moses acted out a drama that perhaps he didn’t understand. In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul wrote of Israel in the Exodus: they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. We don’t know if this rock followed Israel just as Paul described, but we do know that when Jesus was struck, living water flowed out for all to receive. “Herein a type of Christ, ‘stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted’ (Isaiah 53:4; 1 Corinthians 10:4).” (Trapp)
iv. Jesus was struck with the rod of Moses – the curse of the law – and from Him flowed water to satisfy our spiritual thirst.
iii. The living water Jesus spoke of was the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); it is no less of a miracle for God to bring the love and power of the Holy Spirit out of our hearts than it is to bring water out of a rock – our hearts can be just as hard.
b. And fought with Israel: The method of attack used by Amalek was despicable. Deuteronomy 25:17-18 says: Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.
i. “In the most treacherous and dastardly manner; for they came at the rear of the camp…The baggage, no doubt, was the object of their avarice; but finding the women, children, aged and infirm persons, behind with the baggage, they smote them and took away their spoils.” (Clarke)
a. So Joshua did as Moses said to him: This is the first passage that mentions Joshua. We find him doing what he did until the time Moses passed from the scene – Joshua served the Lord and Moses faithfully.
i. It’s always good to remember that the name Jesus is simply the Greek way of pronouncing the name Joshua. It’s the same name.
ii. “Both in the Septuagint and Greek Testament he is called Jesus: the name signifies Saviour; and he is allowed to have been a very expressive type of our blessed Lord. He fought with and conquered the enemies of his people, brought them into the promised land, and divided it to them by lot. The parallel between him and the Saviour of the world is too evident to require pointing out.” (Clarke)
ii. This amazing passage shows us that life or death for Israel depended on the prayers of one man. Moses prayed as we should pray – with passion, believing that life and death – perhaps eternally – depended on prayer.
iii. It can be difficult to reconcile this with knowing God has a pre-ordained plan. But God didn’t want Moses to concern himself with that – he was to pray as if it really mattered. Just because we can’t figure out how our prayers mesh with God’s pre-ordained plan never means we should stop believing that prayer matters.
iv. In his early days Moses thought the only way to win a battle was to fight (Exodus 2:11-15). Now Moses let Joshua fight while he did the more important work: pray for the victory.
a. Moses’ hands became heavy: The job of supporting the battle in prayer was difficult and Moses could not easily continue. We might think that fighting was the hard work and praying was the easy work, but true prayer was also hard work.
ii. “Several of the fathers consider Moses, with his stretched-out hands, as a figure of Christ on the cross, suffering for mankind, and getting a complete victory over sin and Satan.” (Clarke)
i. This amazing passage shows us the great importance of prayer. Life and death – the course of history itself – depended upon prayer. We can conclude that many times the people of God are defeated today because they will not pray, or prayer does not support their work.
ii. Nevertheless, Joshua had to fight. Praying Moses did not eliminate what Joshua had to do. The battle was won with prayer, but also through normal instruments – the work of the army, led by Joshua. “Prayer is a downright mockery if it does not lead us into the practical use of means likely to promote the ends for which we pray.” (Spurgeon)
b. I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven: Amalek had a special guilt and shame in their attack against Israel.
· Amelek had the shame of being the first nation to make war against Israel.
· Amelek had the shame of going out of their way to attack Israel.
· Amelek had the shame of actually fighting against God.
c. And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner: Though Moses knew his prayer was important, he wasn’t foolish enough to think that he won the battle. As an act of worship he built an altar and praised the name of Yahweh-Nissi (The-Lord-is-My-Banner).
i. Nissi describes a flag or a banner. The idea is that God is victorious in battle and the flag of his victory is lifted high.
i. Because of God’s strong command to battle against Amalek until they were completely conquered, many see the Amalekites as a picture of our flesh, the unspiritual aspect of man that makes war against the spirit. In this sense, “Amalek” constantly battles against the spirit and must be struggled against until completely conquered (Galatians 5:17).
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Exd/Exd-17.cfm ©2013 David Guzik
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