The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 17:8-11,
"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.' So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."
There are two faith-building exercises the Lord took Israel through in this chapter. In the first, the Lord brought the Israelites to a place where there was no water. They would have to look to the Lord to find relief. The second one, in the passage above, we see in this same place, Rephidim, where the Lord led them, it would provide another faith-building exercise. The Amalekites came there to destroy the Israelites.
The Amalekites were too strong for the Israelites on their own, but as long as Moses held his hands up to God, the Israelites beat back the Amalekites. With help from Aaron and Hur, Moses held his hands up all day and so by the end of it Joshua and the Israelites overcame the Amalekites.
God chose Israel as a people he would use for his purposes of reaching out and redeeming mankind. He would use this people to communicate his redemption to mankind as well as to bring his Son into the world to purchase that redemption. Because the human heart is so dull spiritually, he had to work with this nation to make them what he needed for his purposes. This he accomplished over many generations until Jesus Christ came into the world through them. Over the centuries they faced many difficulties, some horrific, in order to shape and mold them into what he needed.
On a smaller scale the Lord does the same with us. He works in our lives in the same kind of way. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "... God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11. As he did with the nation of Israel, the Lord brings difficulties into our lives to shape us into useful tools for him to use.
The "Health and Wealth" crowd would have us all believe that when we come to Jesus Christ and join their church, the Lord will bless us with healing and wealth and relief from all trouble. No more worries, no more hardship. They do it to build their ranks and to build their bank accounts. Some day they will have to face the Lord for such deception.
"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.' So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."
There are two faith-building exercises the Lord took Israel through in this chapter. In the first, the Lord brought the Israelites to a place where there was no water. They would have to look to the Lord to find relief. The second one, in the passage above, we see in this same place, Rephidim, where the Lord led them, it would provide another faith-building exercise. The Amalekites came there to destroy the Israelites.
The Amalekites were too strong for the Israelites on their own, but as long as Moses held his hands up to God, the Israelites beat back the Amalekites. With help from Aaron and Hur, Moses held his hands up all day and so by the end of it Joshua and the Israelites overcame the Amalekites.
God chose Israel as a people he would use for his purposes of reaching out and redeeming mankind. He would use this people to communicate his redemption to mankind as well as to bring his Son into the world to purchase that redemption. Because the human heart is so dull spiritually, he had to work with this nation to make them what he needed for his purposes. This he accomplished over many generations until Jesus Christ came into the world through them. Over the centuries they faced many difficulties, some horrific, in order to shape and mold them into what he needed.
On a smaller scale the Lord does the same with us. He works in our lives in the same kind of way. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "... God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11. As he did with the nation of Israel, the Lord brings difficulties into our lives to shape us into useful tools for him to use.
The "Health and Wealth" crowd would have us all believe that when we come to Jesus Christ and join their church, the Lord will bless us with healing and wealth and relief from all trouble. No more worries, no more hardship. They do it to build their ranks and to build their bank accounts. Some day they will have to face the Lord for such deception.
Hopefully we as believers will find ourselves available to God and willing to be spiritually stretched to be useful to him while here in this life.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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