“HELD HIS HANDS UP”: I was struck by a radio program I heard earlier this week. It recounted the biblical account of when Moses held up the staff of God during a battle against the Amalekites as recorded in Exodus 17:8-15. Here are some selected verses from this reading: “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 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. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword ... Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ‘For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.” Two very important lessons are found in these verses: One is obviously that the real power is from God above. But there’s another important truth here as well: Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands up! So whose hands can you help hold up today? While this can be done by us in a number of different ways as we reach out to help our neighbors; the speaker on the radio program was comparing what Moses, and Aaron and Hur did to “intercessory prayer”, that is praying for someone else. These three men of God were calling on God’s power for the sake of Joshua and his army. And God answered with his power in a visibly evident manner! Whenever Moses hands were lifted up - Joshua and his army were winning - and just the opposite happened whenever Moses hands dropped down. You don’t get a much clearer indication of where the power comes from than that! And so I ask again, who can you and I be lifting up in prayer today?
