Hold Up the Hands of Your Leaders Mike Dickson God puts leaders in place as He sees fit. How should Christians respond to those in leadership positions?
H ave you ever read the Bible and had something jump out at you— something that made you pause and ask, Why is that in the Bible? Why are certain stories, phrases, or spe- cific actions recorded? And what is the purpose? At times, God does not explain ev - erything directly. Yet in many of these moments, powerful lessons are embedded just beneath the sur - face—lessons meant for God’s peo- ple in every age. Exodus 17 records one of those oc - casions. At this point in Israel’s his- tory, the nation had just been deliv - ered from slavery in Egypt by God’s mighty hand. The Red Sea had part- ed. Pharaoh’s army had been swal - lowed up. Israel was free, but the journey was far from over. As they traveled through the wil - derness, one test followed anoth- er—hunger, thirst, fear and faith— culminating with an attack from an enemy nation. The Amalekites, a nomadic people known for their cruelty and ambush tactics, came out to attack Israel. They did not engage honorably. In - stead, they struck from behind, tar - geting the weak, the weary, and the stragglers. This was not a fair fight. Exodus 17:8–13 records what hap - pened next: Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose us some men and go out, fight with
Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. God could have granted Israel victo - ry without Moses lifting his hands.
He could have given Moses super - natural endurance so his arms never grew tired. But that is not what God chose to do. Instead, God revealed something profound. Although God appoints leaders as He sees fit, His leaders still need support and God expects His people to provide it. God’s people must be aligned with Him if they expect to succeed and that means supporting the leader- ship He has placed over them. God’s Order and Our Attitude By design, everyone lives under some form of leadership—whether they like it or not. It is part of God’s order, His government, and His plan—not a man-made hierarchy. That said, what kind of follow- er should Christians be? There are
John Everett Millais, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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