February 3

Moses was an amazing man. The Bible says that he was the most humble man in all the earth. Yet, he had great power with God. He parted the Red Sea with his staff. When he threw a piece of wood into bitter water, it became sweet. He called down plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

In our reading for today, Moses is praying on the mountaintop as Joshua and the armies of Israel are fighting the Amalekites down in the valley. Two battles were being fought that day – a natural battle down in the valley and a spiritual battle up on the mountaintop. Both battles were important and both were necessary, but the spiritual battle was determining the outcome of the natural battle. As long as Moses held his hands in the air, the Israelites were defeating the Amalekites. When he lowered his hands, the tide would turn and the Amalekites would begin to gain the upper hand. (Exodus 17:11 &12)

This scene shows us another side of Moses - Moses the man with tired hands. It also shows us two willing men standing on either side of Moses:  Aaron, who was holding up one arm, and Hur, who was holding upon the other arm. Because of their help, Moses was able to persevere in prayer on the mountain and God gave victory to the Israelites down in the valley.

One of my favorite hymns is “Take Time to Be Holy”:   

Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord.

Abide in Him always, And feed on His word,

Make friends of God’s children, Help those who are weak, [Emphasis mine]

Forgetting in nothing, His blessing to seek.

Prayer:   Lord, please help me to “lift the hands” of the weak. Help me to be sensitive to Your Holy Spirit, so that I may know who needs my encouragement and help today. Amen.

Teresa Brand