Prayer & Victory ( Exodus 17:8-16)
Another incident in Israel's life on the way to Canaan, the PROMISED LAND.
Satan and his forces-the victory against him by Prayer and Intercession.
Moses instructed Joshua to engage Amalek , a nomadic tribe that
opposed Israel on their way to Canaan, in battle. Likewise, we have a lot of opposition
from Satanic forces that attack and hinder us during our spiritual progress to
Heaven. The opposition we have is not always clear yet we know we are against
a strong enemy who is determined to hinder us from our Heavenly goal . Often we do
not know where the attacks come from but the Apostle Paul warns us in Eph. 6:12,
our fight is not against flesh and blood.........'.
The fight against Amalek was ordered by God and Israel had to face the enemy. It was a fight
to destruction. Similarly, God wants us to fight the Devil and his forces to the end. We are not
to give up or postpone it indefinetely. King Saul was instructed to deal with the Amalekites
and wipe them out, but he partly obeyed, thus bringing the wrath of God upon him 1 Sam.15.
There should be no compromise in our fight with the Devil. We cannot afford to engage ourselves in things that suit us or are easy targets, or cause us weariness. Sometimes our attack against the devil will involve great unpleasantness; but we must be prepared to go through and gain victory. The fight by Moses and the Israelites against the Amalekites was done in an unorthodox way. Though Joshua and the Israelite fighters were involved in the physical realm the victory was gained in the spiritual real by Moses' intercession, Aaron and Hur. Moses went on the mountain holding the rod of God, which was God's vested authority in Moses. Down below we have Joshua and the Israelites, a group of warriors, like us untrained in the art of warfare. The art of intercession is shown with Moses holding the rod of God and his hands raised in the attitude of prayer. As long as his hands were lifted up the battle went against the Amalekites. The opposite took place when Moses hands grew weary. It speaks of us in the battle against the Devil and his forces. In the same way that Moses was assisted by Aaron and Hur we have the Holy Spirit whom God sent to aid us. In Romans 8:12 we read "We do not know what we should pray for... but the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us." Final victory was gained by Moses' intercession, victory like we have when we involve the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer. God's battles in our lives are always fought in an unorthodox way. Victory is gained beforehand and confirmed for those who keep God's standard high to the very end. After that, the way forward for the Israelites was opened up to move on to the Promised Land.
The Devil will do everything in his power to hinder us from moving on in the faith, sometimes physically and sometimes spiritually; we need to know his methods: the way he acts.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we face a powerful enemy; but God has made provision for us in equipping us with weapons suitable for the fight (Ephesians 6)
The Israelites, though untrained in warfare, were sent to fight Amalek. We read "the battle is not yours, but the LORD's". We are God's army and we fight under His banner. God's army is a victorious one, though at times it looks as though it is on the run against the enemy.
Another incident in Israel's life on the way to Canaan, the PROMISED LAND.
Satan and his forces-the victory against him by Prayer and Intercession.
Moses instructed Joshua to engage Amalek , a nomadic tribe that
opposed Israel on their way to Canaan, in battle. Likewise, we have a lot of opposition
from Satanic forces that attack and hinder us during our spiritual progress to
Heaven. The opposition we have is not always clear yet we know we are against
a strong enemy who is determined to hinder us from our Heavenly goal . Often we do
not know where the attacks come from but the Apostle Paul warns us in Eph. 6:12,
our fight is not against flesh and blood.........'.
The fight against Amalek was ordered by God and Israel had to face the enemy. It was a fight
to destruction. Similarly, God wants us to fight the Devil and his forces to the end. We are not
to give up or postpone it indefinetely. King Saul was instructed to deal with the Amalekites
and wipe them out, but he partly obeyed, thus bringing the wrath of God upon him 1 Sam.15.
There should be no compromise in our fight with the Devil. We cannot afford to engage ourselves in things that suit us or are easy targets, or cause us weariness. Sometimes our attack against the devil will involve great unpleasantness; but we must be prepared to go through and gain victory. The fight by Moses and the Israelites against the Amalekites was done in an unorthodox way. Though Joshua and the Israelite fighters were involved in the physical realm the victory was gained in the spiritual real by Moses' intercession, Aaron and Hur. Moses went on the mountain holding the rod of God, which was God's vested authority in Moses. Down below we have Joshua and the Israelites, a group of warriors, like us untrained in the art of warfare. The art of intercession is shown with Moses holding the rod of God and his hands raised in the attitude of prayer. As long as his hands were lifted up the battle went against the Amalekites. The opposite took place when Moses hands grew weary. It speaks of us in the battle against the Devil and his forces. In the same way that Moses was assisted by Aaron and Hur we have the Holy Spirit whom God sent to aid us. In Romans 8:12 we read "We do not know what we should pray for... but the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us." Final victory was gained by Moses' intercession, victory like we have when we involve the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer. God's battles in our lives are always fought in an unorthodox way. Victory is gained beforehand and confirmed for those who keep God's standard high to the very end. After that, the way forward for the Israelites was opened up to move on to the Promised Land.
The Devil will do everything in his power to hinder us from moving on in the faith, sometimes physically and sometimes spiritually; we need to know his methods: the way he acts.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we face a powerful enemy; but God has made provision for us in equipping us with weapons suitable for the fight (Ephesians 6)
The Israelites, though untrained in warfare, were sent to fight Amalek. We read "the battle is not yours, but the LORD's". We are God's army and we fight under His banner. God's army is a victorious one, though at times it looks as though it is on the run against the enemy.
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