I am always intrigued by the Old Testament narrative describing the battle between Israel and the Amalekites as given in Exodus 17:8-15. The Amalekites were a chronically troublesome people for Israel who lived in the southern tip of Canaan as well as in the Sinai peninsula depending on the historical period under study. (See International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, .. 1) In our narrative they were “infesting” the vicinity around Mount Sinai and engaged a very tired people who were on an arduous journey that was in its third month since leaving Egypt. The ensuing battle took its toll on the struggling Israelite people especially those who were weakest and unable to keep up with the main Israeli group. The Amalekites were picking them off and inflicting heavy losses (Deut. 25:17f).
Israel was in a fight for their lives but eventually prevailed and moved on to Mount Sinai which was their immediate destination. But what intrigued me most about this battle is that as long as Moses hands were raised in prayer, Israel had the upper hand but lost their advantage whenever a weary Moses lowered his arms until it became obvious that the pathway to victory was in keeping Moses’ hands raised as he prayed. Once Israel had discovered their edge, the issue was no longer in doubt. But the defeated Amalekites remained a stench in the collective memory of the people of Israel and this was reinforced by further incidents in their subsequent sojourning as well as after they had settled in the holy land, their ultimate destination. See Numbers 14;43,45; Judges 3:13;6:3-5 ;and 7:3.
The lesson to be learned here is really not hard but often elusive. The people of God may be engaged against persistent “Amalekitish” forces who seek to undermine and destroy us and who do not relent from forming new campaigns against us. Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-12 that our struggle is not against mere human forces but against sinister demonic beings which can certainly pick us off one by one if we fail to take up the full armor of God and wage spiritual warfare in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells the Thessalonians in his first letter to them to “pray continually” (5:17, NIV), or “pray without ceasing” (KJV). That is our winning edge. It doesn’t matter how terribly we feel when we are under attack; what matters most is that “we keep our hands up.” Our pain will inevitably be turned into gain. Never forget, YOU have an edge. Use it.
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