


“Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 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. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (Exodus 17:10-13)
That image of Moses standing on a high place overlooking the field of battle, holding up the staff of God in his hands, supported by Aaron and Hur has always caught my imagination. There is a potent symbolism in him holding aloft the staff that was used in his own years in exile, that was also central in the encounters with Pharaoh, that was used to initiate some of the plagues that befell Egypt, that parted the Red Sea, and that brought water from a rock. There were, for those engaged in the battle, so many associations in seeing Moses holding that staff aloft. It is a potent visual reminder of all the moments God had intervened on their behalf and had become present in power among them. Also, of those moments when Moses brought God’s Words to them and when Moses brought their pleas to God.
But Moses grew tired holding the staff aloft. And this is the part of the image that I like to focus on: the role of Aaron and Hur, standing alongside Moses, helping him hold the staff up. When Moses tired and lowered his arms, the tide of battle turned. When – with Aaron and Hur physically helping – he held the attitude of appeal to God and kept the staff high, the battle turned in favour of Israel.
For me this is a powerful image of the vital potency of standing together and holding one another in prayer and service. I could not have survived in ministry without those faithful ones who stand by me and help me keep my gaze upward and my focus on the Lord. And there have been times when I have been able to switch roles and help those faithful ones in their battles.
Give thanks for those who help you stand firm. And stand firm with those who are tiring, holding them up and holding them steady. And rejoice in the turning of battle that this brings.