For Ever, O Lord, Thy Word Is Settled in Heaven" (continued)
So Joshua led the battle, and Moses stood on top of the hill with the Rod of God in his hand; and when he grew tired and dropped his hands, the enemy would prevail, so Aaron and Hur helped by holding up his hands - thus representing the corporate work of God's people as they are "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." The people of God won the battle that day, but the war would go on, because God would not be through with Amalek until his cup of iniquity was full. The Septuagint puts it this way:
"And Moses built an altar to the Lord and called its name, The Lord is my Refuge; because with secret hand the Lord fighteth against Amalek from generation to generation."
"With Secret Hand," speaking of the Right Hand of God, which is the Absolute Sovereignty of God bringing about all things - in and through and unto Christ - after the counsel of His Own Will.
Deuteronomy 25:17 and 18 gives us one of the reasons the Lord continued to make war on Amalek, for Amalek had attacked the weak and feeble in the rear. He attacked the stragglers who could not keep up the pace, those who wandered away from the direct course; the enemy tried to cut those off from the rest. The enemy had calculatingly attacked when Moses and the other spiritual leaders were faint and weary in the way; remember, Moses could not continue to hold up his hands. Here is a warning that we should heed: The enemy will always attack those who wander from the direct course that God has set before them, and he will try to cut them out of the Way of the Lord. And he does this when those who are strong become faint and weary - when they become drooping or flagging or listless or indifferent from exhaustion, when they lose strength or force because of their circumstances, when they are exhausted and full of labors.
Moses was first of all an intercessor with God's interest at heart, and the true spiritual leaders of God's people are always those who intercede and stand and take the offensive by the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." When the intercessors become faint and weary in their task, then the enemy will smite "the hindmost of thee, even all that were (are) feeble behind thee"; he will try and cut off those who have wandered from the course. Those of us who have committed ourselves to intercession should be watchful, for like Moses we can become faint of heart or discouraged, and the enemy is alert and watching for such a time as this.
Let us hold up each other's arms!
Let us keep the Rod of God's power high!
Let us stand firm in our position in Christ at God's Right Hand!
Let us remain alert and "watch unto prayer" and, thereby, stop Amalek from preying upon the feeble.
Now, we need to see that there was an even greater reason that God "fighteth against Amalek from generation to generation." We have said that behind Amalek is satan, and satan in all his evil being is first and foremost antichrit: he is against all that God has purposed in The Christ. And being antichrist, he is anti-Word, for Christ is The Living Word; and The Living Word Through The Written Word proclaims satan's doom from the beginning to the end: - ""It (Christ) shall bruise thy head ... the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone ... for ever and ever" (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:10). The Written Word absolutely proclaims satan's doom. Therefore, he will do anything in an attempt to annul completely, to make void, to annihilate, to blaspheme, to nullify, the Word of God.
So behind the scenes, almost hidden from view unless we search, there is a great battle going on in the heavenlies as Joshua and Moses and the others prevail against Amalek, for God is about to tell Moses to record this important battle in a book.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Write this for a memorial in a book (Hebrews = in the Book)."
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 19)
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