(1) Who were the Amalekites?
(BKC) The Amalekites were nomads in the desert south of Canaan (cf. 1 Sam. 15:7; 27:8). They were descendants of Esau through Eliphaz (Gen. 36:12). They apparently were attempting to dislodge the Israelites from this pleasant oasis and to secure their territory from intrusion.
Esau was the brother of Jacob. Now, their relatives, Israelites, came out of Egypt and journeyed through the tough lives in the wilderness, the Amalekites came to attack them. In 1 Samuel 15, Saul was asked to carry out the mission to wipe out the Amalekites.
(2) There was no mention of prayer in this passage, but the raising of hands with the staff.
(NET) This short passage gives the first account of Israel’s holy wars. The war effort and Moses’ holding up his hands go side by side until the victory is won and commemorated. Many have used this as an example of intercessory prayer—but the passage makes no such mention. In Exodus so far the staff of God is the token of the power of God; when Moses used it, God demonstrated his power. To use the staff of God was to say that God did it; to fight without the staff was to face defeat. Using the staff of God was a way of submitting to and depending on the power of God in all areas of life.
When the hands up they prevailed, when Moses hands became heavy they lost. That was so obvious that Aaron and Hur needed to help him to keep his hands steady. The relationship between the staff and the victory was obvious.
Therefore, after the victory, they knew it was God who gave them the success.
17:15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The LORD is my Banner,”
(NET) The account includes the difficulty, the victory, and the commemoration. The victory must be retained in memory by the commemoration. So the expositional idea could focus on that: The people of God must recognize (both for engaging in warfare and for praise afterward) that victory comes only with the power of God. In the NT the issue is even more urgent, because the warfare is spiritual—believers do not wrestle against flesh and blood. So only God’s power will bring victory.
(3) Moses was very old and Joshua followed his words
Moses told Joshua to fight against Amalek while he stood on the hill with the staff of God v.9
17:10a So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him
Also, when God asked them to commemorate this fight,
17:14 The LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in Joshua’s hearing;
Joshua would be the next leader. Right now, he carried out the words of the old leader, Moses. God prepared Joshua and made sure he knew exactly who their enemies were. On the other hand, Joshua was obedient. As a matter of fact, he did not say 1 word in the whole chapter. Until the death of Moses and Joshua took over the leaders Joshua was a man with few words.
Joshua would be the next leader. Right now, he carried out the words of the old leader, Moses. God prepared Joshua and made sure he knew exactly who their enemies were. On the other hand, Joshua was obedient. As a matter of fact, he did not say 1 word in the whole chapter. Until the death of Moses and Joshua took over the leaders Joshua was a man with few words.
Reflection: Do you admit that you cannot do everything? We all have limits like Moses had his limit. What do you do to prepare or train our second generation? Not just your own children, but also the young ones in the church shall be our "target." Do they know exactly where our direction is? What is important? And what is not so important?
How about us as Joshua? Are you willing to obey like Joshua? On one hand, they won when Moses raised his hands, but they won also when Joshua fought. Are you willing to sweat for the ministry?
Audrey
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