Israel Defeats the Amalekites
Exodus 17:8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 9 Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. 11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. 12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
After years of herding sheep in the wilderness, Moses is tough with strong arms. But as the battle continues hour after hour, Moses finds his arms beginning to tremble. As long as Moses has kept his hands raised with his staff in the air, Joshua has been winning. But now Moses’ arms and legs are getting tired because he’s been standing for hours. The staff is sagging, and the Amalekites begin winning. That’s when Aaron and Hur find a large stone for Moses to sit on and begin supporting his arms. Even though these two men are also getting tired, they hang on until sunset, and the Israelites win the day.
Notice something about this story: Moses did nothing wrong. Moses followed all God’s instructions to the letter; however, his arms and legs simply became tired. Moses didn’t call for anyone to help him, but Aaron and Hur realized what was happening and took it upon themselves to help Moses. Aaron and Hur realized that if the Amalekites won, they would annihilate the Israelites. All God’s miracles in Egypt and since the deliverance would be meaningless. Moses was still the main man involved in the miracle, but he needed help to fulfill God’s perfect will.
We have spent most of the last 38 years in Ghana, where we have done our best to fulfill roles behave similar to Aaron and Hur. Our calling is to come alongside those already doing a work, supporting and encouraging them so that God’s message of salvation can go forth. We work in mission hospitals because God’s will for His people is Shalom, wholeness, completeness, and well-being in all aspects of life. Aaron and Hur helped Moses but did not take credit for the work God called him to do. In the same way, we do our best to avoid vaunting our efforts.
One of the things we have learned is that when we help others, God sends helpers to us as well. When we first went to our small town in 1993, God had already moved in one of the finest theater (OR) nurses I have ever met. This man was so knowledgeable on a number of different aspects of running a bush clinic with minimal resources. Together we began the Theatre and established a laboratory and blood transfusion service. Through the years, there have been many others, too many to count, who have helped in various ways. God has moved these people to help at times when, like Moses, we have been ready to faint from exhaustion. The ministry of helps is one of the most important ministries there is because helpers don’t wait to be called but they simply show up. Helpers don’t worry about who gets the credit; they’re more worried about making sure people receive the assistance they need.
Has this ministry been easy? Are you kidding? We have come in for criticism, accusations, slander, and bunches of lies. But we know that God has called us, and that gives us peace. Throughout the world, it’s the helpers who carry out God’s will in the lives of those whom they help. But there are some warnings about helping.
- It’s not help if you want credit! Charities are familiar with the pseudo-helpers, those people who are simply there for photo-ops, taking selfies of themselves helping. Such efforts are not help; such people are taking advantage to promote themselves.
- You must give the kind of help needed, not the kind you think people need. True story: one church group was visiting our hospital and wanted to conduct vacation Bible school sessions for local children. But one of the handicrafts these kind people wanted to do was to create bracelets with beads and feathers. Unfortunately, in our culture, fetish-worshiping parents dress their children in such bracelets. Blessedly, we were able to redirect our visitors so that they substituted a different project. Yet another example is that of people donating canned goods to food banks without also donating can openers. (Donate cans that have flip lids to get around this problem.)
- You must give help when it is needed, not when you feel like it. It’s necessary to discuss everything with organizers so that your efforts will have the best results.
- You are there to help, not to take over direction. Aaron and Hur didn’t climb that hill and begin arguing with Moses; they simply gave him a stone to sit on and then supported his arms.
- You need know when it’s time to stop helping. Sometimes your best-intentioned efforts can create unlooked-for problems. Support a medical outreach in one community, and other communities begin clamoring for similar outreaches. But what if your funds are limited? What if there are other groups who might be able to handle the needs of these communities better?
- Is God moving you to help, or are you trying to force a situation? If you pray and God says “no,” stop. Once the battle was over, Aaron and Hur and Moses all climbed back down that hill.
We don’t hear much about Hur apart from this story, but he played a major part in helping save the Israelites from the Amalekites. When it was necessary, Hur climbed that hill, helped hold Moses’ arms, and then climbed back down into obscurity. May God help us so that we will help when it’s needed and necessary and retreat when it’s time to withdraw, having God’s peace in our hearts.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, give us Your guidance so that we will help when and how You want us to. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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