assist in lifting up the arms when their leader grows weary. When his hands are up, the battle goes well for Israel. When they come down, defeat is experienced. The battle rages thusly throughout the day. Scripture tells us that Joshua routs the enemy with the edge of the sword bringing a great victory for the forces of righteousness. God promises that He will wipe out the remembrance of Amalek from un der heaven because of their satan- ically inspired attack on His peo ple. Moses built an altar at that place as a memorial to the Lord's guidance. The Amalakites were wicked and ruthless people. They were the bandits and criminals of the area who would prey on unsuspecting and unprepared people travelling the countryside. No doubt they had heard about the wealth and the spoils of Egypt which the chil dren of Israel had been given. This gave them the wicked impetus for their brazen deed of unprovocated attack. Remember that Moses was more than 80 years of age at this point. Young Joshua was appointed to lead the forces of Israel against the attackers. There is a natural point of succession here which the Lord doubtless uses to prepare the peo ple for their next human leader. The rod of God was in the hand of Moses. This was the rod which had already wrought many miracles for the people of Israel. It was a visible sign of the Lord's strength. It became a banner to encourage the Jews in their onslaught against the oppressors. It was as important in the hands of Moses as were the swords in the hands of the people. Even though Moses doubtless
would later be sent in the person of Jesus Christ. In the evening, quail came up to provide further nourishment for them. What won derful provisions God supplies to meet our every need. May our hearts re-echo in His love and grace as we sing, "All the Way my Sav iour leads me"! Someone has said that Genesis 3:15 is the "Seed plot" verse of the entire Bible. Thè fact is that the devil and righteousness, holiness and sinfulness, truth and error have been in a conflict constantly down through the ages. The devil's con tinual program has been to oblit erate the purpose of God, keeping the Seed, Jesus Christ, from com ing into the world. Satan has at tacked all the first families of the Bible through which line the prom ise would be fulfilled. He has, through the years, centered his di rective blows at the nation of Israel. In Exodus 16 we find another at tempt to destroy God's established goals. The murmuring and com plaining of the people against the leadership of Moses fell right in line with the desires of the evil one. It is man's human nature to hold a grudge, seeking revenge. We need to remember that the Lord works in many ways, and can not ever be overruled. Despite all the things God gave to His chosen people, supplying every necessity of life, they con tinued to complain and find fault. In Exodus 17, beginning at verse eight, we see the enemies of Is rael bringing judgment upon those dissatisfied and disgruntled people. Amalek attacks, and Moses, in a picture of prayer, holds up his hands for victory. Aaron and Hur are the ones on each side who
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