The Lord is my banner (Exo 17b)*

Exodus 17:8-16

Key verse – Exodus 17:15

Today’s passage is about war, specifically the first war in which Moses and the Israelites engaged. This war was different from the ones that we know of; Israel won through the leadership of Moses and his assistants. Their enemy was the Amalekites, who had attacked Israel while they were very precariously travelling over rough terrain. Seeing the Amalekites’ wickedness, God delivered a word of judgment against them. By examining this passage very carefully, we will determine why they incurred such a severe judgment from God, while also learning how to win our fight against the enemies we encounter on our journey to God’s kingdom.

Israel was at Rephidim, near the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula, and very near to both Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai. Immediately following this event, within a day’s trip, the Israelites reached Mount Horeb (Exodus 19:1). This means that, from Rephidim to Mountain Horeb, the journey was possibly less than 15 - 20 miles. Horeb was the place where God wanted to meet face-to-face with His firstborn son, Israel, in order to reveal Himself more fully to them. So this was an important moment for both Israel and God; however, just before this, the Amalekites had attacked Israel, interrupting and delaying God’s important plan for them.

Exodus 17:8 – “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.” (Exodus 17:8).

The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, the older brother of Jacob. Most of them were called Edomites and lived in the southern and western parts of the land, just above the tip of the Arabian Gulf on a modern map, below the Promised Land. The Amalekites probably lived near Edom, a city a little closer to the tip of the Arabian Gulf. They were nomads and fighters, with a highly mobile army and possibly many camels.

We can make a good guess that over two million Israelites, with many women and children, had a hard time travelling over the unfavorable terrain at Rephidim, where there were not many resources for life. As we learned from the previous passage, Israel suffered from a lack of water, and many, especially young children and old people, were extremely weary; simply, Israel was very vulnerable to any attack.

While they were in this weakened position, the Amalekites attacked them. When Moses received the news, he said to Joshua:

“Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands"” (Exodus 17:9).

There is no record concerning Israel’s response to this Amalekite attack; however, Moses made a decision and took immediate action. He told Joshua to choose some of their men and go out to fight. At the same time, he said what he would do - stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands.

Joshua mustered all of the able-bodied, young, Israelite men and went against the Amalekites. We don’t know how many men he recruited or what weapons they had. During this time, Moses went up on top of the hill and raised his hands above his head, toward the sky, calling for God’s help. He had done something similar at least eight times before, when God had told him to bring down His power against the Egyptians, but this time, it was a little different.

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” (Exodus 17:11).

As Moses was looking down on the battle, Joshua and his army began losing the battle whenever Moses’ arms lowered. As long as his hands were held above his head, Israel’s army was winning. However, it was very hard for him to keep both of his hands raised for so long; he was not only very old and did not have much strength, but it is also very hard work to keep one’s arms above their head. When I was a middle-school student, I had to stand outside of the classroom with both of my hands held high above my head, as punishment for the wrongs that I did. Even after 20 minutes, my hands began to lower, despite my best efforts. The war against the Amalekite army went on for hours and Moses’ arms were so tired, that, even with his best efforts, he could not keep his arms up. That meant that Israel would lose the war, which they could not afford to do. So he received help:

“When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset” (Exodus 17:12).

In this way, two of his assistants, Aaron and Hur, helped Moses keep his arms up until sunset, when the battle was finally over. So this battle’s conclusion is described in this way:

“So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword” (Exodus 17:13).

Here, ‘so’ means that, since Moses held up his hands with Aaron’s and Hur’s help, Joshua and his men could overcome the Amalekite army. Israel did not have many weapons, no fighting skills, and no organized fighting forces, so overcoming the Amalekites, much less winning the battle, was a great success.

What might be this war’s significance? God expressed His decision in Exodus 17:14 and Moses expressed his experience in v15.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.”  (Exodus 17:14-15).

In order to execute His judgment against Amalek, God told Moses to do two things; first, this event was to be recorded so that future generations might come to know why the Amalekites had to be destroyed. Second, He made sure that Joshua knew about this experience, since he would carry the leadership of Israel after Moses’ death. This means that the Amalekites’ actions, i.e. attacking Israel, were not just an effort to control or destroy them; it was an act against God and His authority, since the nation of Israel was of God’s choosing. God considered this an irreconcilable offense against His authority. As we can note from Moses’ song, God’s mighty acts against the most powerful army of the time, the Egyptian army, became well known among all the surrounding nations. In that event, God’s might was obvious, and all the nations who heard of this feared the God of Israel. Despite such knowledge, the Amalekites made an open and flagrant offense against Him. What comes to those who so vulgarly offend God? They must be wiped out completely. In the world He created, owns, and controls, God would not tolerate such offenses against His authority.

We can note a similar event in Matthew 12:22-32, where Jesus healed a demon-possessed man, who was both blind and mute. The Pharisees called this a work of the Prince of Demons. Healing was obviously God’s work, accomplished through His Spirit, but the Pharisees attributed it to demons. This was a direct offense and an abomination against the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned them:

““And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”” (Matthew 12:31).

Jesus foresaw their destruction and proclaimed seven woes against the Pharisees and religious leaders of the time. It is believed that they all perished when Rome invaded Jerusalem.

What is the root of such vulgar offenses against God’s authority? We can find it in the Amalekites’ actions; they came from their homeland, nearly a few hundred miles away, to Rephidim. Some suggest that this might have been because of their rivalry with Israel/Jacob. It is also possible that they attacked Israel in order to rob them of the possessions that they had taken from Egypt. Whatever the primary reason for this attack, it looked as if it was the most opportune time for the Amalekites to strike. Also, we can discern that they had a clear and strong will in coming such a long way to this remote place. Deuteronomy 25 reiterates this event in this way:

“Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).

They dared to attack Israel, God’s firstborn, because they had no fear of God. Were they even aware of Him?

As we know from Genesis, Esau, Jacob’s older brother, cried and cried when God rejected him, Isaac’s firstborn, as His blessed son; therefore, his descendants surely were aware of Him. It is possible that they held bitterness or animosity towards the God of Jacob. In addition to this, when God destroyed the mighty Egyptian army in the Red Sea, the surrounding nations knew of His mighty acts. This was well-documented in Moses’ song (Exodus 15:14-16), yet the Amalekites decided to attack Israel, God’s firstborn son. This was an open and direct challenge against God’s authority. God clearly said, “They had no fear of God” (Deuteronomy 25:17).

How did God handle such people (V14)? He will completely blot out Amalek’s name from under heaven. This means that He would make sure that the Amalekites would be exterminated so thoroughly that their name would no longer exist. The name “Amalek” first appears in 1 Chronicles 4 -

“They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.” (1 Chronicles 4:43).

In order to make sure this happened, God told Moses two things: write this down so that proceeding generations may know what happened, and second, He wanted to make sure that Joshua knew this as well. Joshua would take over Moses’ role as Israel’s leader after his death. He and the Israelite leaders after him must continue to carry out God’s will.

As God said, during Kimg Hezekiah’s time, the Simeonites eradicated the remaining Amalekites. We may ask this question: why did God bring judgment against the Amalekites? Or, what message does He want to deliver to us through this event?

The attack was an expression of their discontent, disregard, and hostility toward God and His authority. Deuteronomy 25:18 gives us a very precise description of such a mindset: without fear of the Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator.

““I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes”” (Psalms 36:1 NIV).

King David received a message from God, concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. Here, ‘sinfulness’ refers to how their outward, physical acts; “the wicked” denotes the nature of their inner being. When one has no fear of God in the depths of his or her hearts, their lives will be full of sinful acts. In Romans, Paul says more on this concept:

“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:9-18 NIV).

Under sin’s power, there is no understanding, no good deeds, men’s throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, and they are full of cursing and bitterness. What is the root of these evil acts and attitudes? It is because there is no fear of God in their eyes.

What does it mean then to fear God?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psalms 111:10 NIV).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 NIV).

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge, and the fountain of life!

So when He reveals His power and truth, don’t be too proud. Be humble and fear Him as the Lord of heaven and earth.

What does this tell us?

No person or nation can escape from judgment after making a direct offense against God’s authority and will. His will for His people was for them to meet Him personally. For Israel, this was to happen at Mount Horeb. During this time, the Amalekites dared to ignore His authority and attacked His firstborn son, Israel.

a.    Since the beginning of human history, this was the first challenge against God’s kingdom, the kingdom in which His will and power were most evident. In Revelation, we read that God’s enemies conjured up their forces against Him and His people; however, He destroyed them all.

b.    This was the first war between God’s nation and a nation of the world. No matter how weak His people might be, it is God our Father who will fight for His people and make sure that our enemies are completely destroyed.

What controls what resides in the innermost part of our hearts? When we deal with others, what takes final control of our heart or determines our final decision? Should it be my righteousness, goodness, wisdom, authority, power, or fear? All of these are necessary and valuable, but those things should not control our final decisions; instead, it must be our fear of God, seated in the depth of our hearts. When we don’t fear the Lord, we will live like the Amalekites; however, when we fear Him from the innermost parts of our hearts, His blessing is sure to come upon us.

The Lord is my banner

What did Moses understand about this victory? As we have noted before, this was the first of similar initiatives Moses made as the Lord’s servant. This was his first voluntary act of faith; up until this time, he had done what God told him to do and did nothing apart from His command. Earlier, God had encouraged Moses to act by faith on his own accord.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground”” (Exodus 14:15-16).

Here, God was telling Moses that he had His staff, and, by relying on it, he should move on by faith! He quickened Moses to act by faith, based on his experiences that God had imparted to him through the ten plagues.

The second encouragement came in a later event.

“The LORD answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel”” (Exodus 17:5-6).

Here, God instructed Moses in what to do solve the water shortage; He told him to ‘go in front of the people and take some of the elders.’ (Exodus 17:5a). Clearly, God was telling Moses to lead both the Israelite people and their leaders, And He would watch what Moses was doing as he ministered to his fellow Israelites.

During this event, Moses made a decision, all by himself, based on what God had done in and through the staff he carried in his hand. He acted by his faith and trust in the Lord who encouraged him to lead! As we know, the first step is often the most fearful step for a leader, but Moses did it, expressing his joy and understanding in this way:

“Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner” (Exodus 17:15).

Moses initiated this defense plan. At the end, his motto was “the Lord is my banner.”. What does this mean? In the next verse, he explains the reason for this:

“He said, "Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation"” (Exodus 17:16).

Moses clearly saw the link between him lifting up both of his hands to the Lord and what God promised, i.e. He would wage war against the Amalekites from generation to generation. This is an interesting observation, because what God did at that time would affect Israel, both then as well as for generations afterward, until what He wanted to accomplish, i.e. the eradication of the Amalekites, was fulfilled. Also, what we must not miss here is that God made such a decision, because Moses did what he did (the Lord will be at war).

In this respect, it is good to know exactly what Moses did. In order to understand this, I would like to look carefully at the verses that describe Moses’ use of his hands and his staff. In reviewing the verses we listed (7), we can determine the following:

a.      The word ‘staff’ is only mentioned during the first miracle Moses performed (7:20).

b.      The next five times it is used, ‘stretch out your hand’ precedes ‘staff’

c.      Once, ‘staff’ is mentioned before ‘hand’ (Exodus 14:16), but is the two terms are connected with the conjunction ‘and’.

d.      ‘Hand’ is always associated with ‘stretch out.’

e.      When ‘hand’ is used in association with ‘staff’, it is always singular, i.e. referring to only one hand.

f.       All the above references were initiated by God’s command.

g.      The only place where two hands - i.e. the plural form, was used is in this context. There were no commands or instructions from God. All we can determine is from what Moses said to Joshua.

‘Hand’ and ‘Staff are used seven times	The eighth time, ‘hands’ and ‘staff’ are also mentioned
God initiated and directed man’s actions	No direction from God; Moses’ own accord and direction, resulting in his decision of faith
One hand and a staff	Two hands and a staff
One hand and a staff, raised from earth to heaven	Two Hands lifted toward heaven
Let God’s power be accomplished as He said	Moses and the Israelites uphold God’s power and glory in this battle
Moses’ action	Moses’ ongoing, driven efforts carried out in faith

Here, we can discern two things.

In the first seven references, Moses called down God’s power upon the Egyptians, as He had directed. On these occasions, he used his one hand with the staff raised up; these were all God-directed, God-initiated events. The staff was important because it symbolized God’s power; Moses’ actions were simply to call down that divine power upon the Egyptians, as God had directed. This meant that what God said would be fulfilled or His power may come down. These are all examples of obedience in action.

However, in this war, both of Moses’ hands were held up. Though he took the staff and apparently the staff was with him, it is even more likely that he held the staff up with his two hands, even though there is no mention of it (v16). Also, there is no mention of God, as to whether or not He said anything to Moses at this point. Moses directed this fight; when he held up both of his hands above his head, Israel was winning, and it was discovered that, whenever his arms lowered in fatigue, their army began losing to the Amalekites. So, he would quickly raise his arms above his head again; when he began to have a hard time raising his arms and keeping them steady, Aaron and Hur helped him do so. He personally experienced the depths of the significance of this. What could he discern from this? He said one word: God is my banner.

This was Moses’ personal conviction about this event, based on his belief in God’s promise (v15). To him, God was his banner; when he had used all of his own strength to hold up his arms toward God, Israel was given victory, which assured Moses of Israel’s future victory over the Amalekites, no matter how strong their enemies were. The conclusion is this: out of human trust in God, His power, and His good will for us, mankind is enabled to uphold His authority and glory with all of their strength. God hears their prayers and is a banner for all of their warfares.

This really worked; God really fought for them. So this was the beginning of Moses’ self-confidence as God’s servant, relying on His grace and power.

All along, God had initiated, directed, and exerted His power and initiative; however, this time, Moses had instigated action by his faith in God’s grace and mercy, both for His chosen people, Israel, as well as in his own life. He held up his hands toward God; this was an action from Moses to God, asking for His grace and power on behalf of the Israelites. Moses’ call to God  was a sign of him placing his trust in the Lord, so that God could do what He willed in response to that trust. This spirit was expressed in Moses’ raising his two hands to the Lord.

In the NIV, the word ‘against’, is translated as ‘to’ (the throne) in the ESV, denoting the relationship between Moses and the Lord; this was a sign of his total submission to the Lord.

“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice” (Psalms 141:2 NIV).

God Himself is the banner under which we gather. He is the leader, the cause, the purpose, and worthy of our total allegiance. For His cause, we must gather together with all our strength. Moses sought God’s cause, purpose, and will in this fight by fully submitting to Him all of his desires, ideas, hopes, and his life. Because of this, there are no words, ideas, or emotions recorded or expressed during this event. This was Moses’ decision of faith in God. After this, he gave everything he had to the Lord by holding his hands up to Him. The spirit that counted God as his banner, and lifted up both of his hands to the Lord, were what caused this war to end in victory.

After all, God delivered victory to Israel as He looked down upon Moses and His people in grace.

What can we learn from this?

The real fight is not in how much strength or power we have over our enemies, but in whether or not we gather together in commitment to the cause of God’s will and blessing. In this way, if we earn God’s blessing, then He is with us and will fight for us.

It is interesting that both of Moses’ hands were held up by Aaron and Hur. Victory depended on how fully Moses and his people submitted themselves before God, seeking  His help and mercy, according to His will. This was an example of Moses upholding God’s authority over His people above all else.

Moses’ importance as Israel’s leader began in his faith and continued through his coordinated efforts, which were focused on two things: holding up his hands before the Lord, and letting his men fight the physical battle. The real success of any warfare depends on how the soldiers work together to uphold the leader’s submission to the Lord, entrusting all things to His hands.

The most explicit display of such surrender is seen in Jesus’ crucifixion; God heard his submission in prayer and blessed the sinners for whom he prayed.

In all of our fights in life, the Lord is our banner. Moses upheld God’s power and authority above everything else. Jesus won the victory, not by fighting against sinful men, but by submitting himself fully to the Lord. We can fight all kinds of wars in life by upholding God’s power and authority. He is our banner!