Sermon Tone Analysis

On their journey through the desert, the people of Israel have had their share of issues.

They’ve been thirsty and hungry, they’ve been surrounded by the enemy.

Things have not necessarily gone well for them.

The most significant issue being the people of the Lord struggling to trust the Lord.

They have, over and over, again and again, questioned the Lord’s provision and protection and presence.

That is, they question the very foundation of who the Lord is.

So now, the Lord is going to show them once more that He is their Provider, their Protector, their ever-Present God.

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Exodus Chapter 17.

The text is on Page #113 of the red pew Bible in front of you.

If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.

Exodus 17, beginning with verse 8:

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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I’ve heard this story told/preached a few times and each time it’s a little different, though every telling ends up in the same place.

The sermons and devotionals I’ve heard all make prayer the focus of this passage.

And honestly, it’d be pretty easy to preach a sermon on prayer from this text.

However, here’s the issue: prayer is not mentioned in these verses.

Anywhere.

I see where people get the idea, but they have to stretch a little to make this about prayer.

Maybe Moses was praying there on that hill.

Certainly some of the Israelites were praying, or at least I hope they were praying.

I’d like to think my good friend Joshua was praying as he led the Israelites in battle.

But there’s never a mention of prayer, not even a hint of it like there is throughout the rest of the Exodus story.

Several times in what we’ve read in the first 17 chapters of this book, we’ve seen Moses and/or the people of the Lord cry out to the Lord.

That’s prayer.

We saw this in the verses that precede these today: Exodus 17:4 is Moses praying to the Lord, crying out to Him for help.

But here, in these verses, there’s none of that.

We see some principles and postures that can be applied to prayer (which is why, I think, so many people are tempted to make this about prayer when it’s really not).

So, as tempted as I was to preach a really cool sermon on prayer—with visual aids and everything—I think I’d better preach the text for what it is, don’t you?

Good news is, if I can get three young people to help me, I can still preach a sermon with some pretty good visual aids.

And—even more good news—what the text is actually about is absolutely magnificent and maybe even life-changing.

Okay, I need three young people to help me out (boys and girls, please; at least one of each).

One of you gets to be Moses.

Take this staff in your in hand and lift up your hands.

You other two, ‘Aaron’ and ‘Hur’ just stand there for now.

But as soon as ‘Moses’ gets tired, you two hold his hands up.

When ‘Moses’ gets tired, you can grab that chair and let him sit down.

The important thing is that ‘Moses’ there keeps his hands raised.

You help keep his hands steady till sunset.

Okay?

Okay, good.

>Kind of out of nowhere, the Amalekites come and attack the Israelites at Rephidim.

Why?

The Israelites were just minding their own business, you know, railing against God, accusing God of abandoning them in the desert.

Just another Tuesday in the wilderness for the Israelites.

And now they’re getting attacked by the people of Amalek who lived in the northern Sinai peninsula.

We don’t know much about the Amalekites other than that “Amalekites” is fun to say.

We know that they are the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau.

And we can deduce that the Amalekites are militarily superior; if the Israelites were on their own, the Amalekites would win no problem (as we see happening in the passage):

>In the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites, there is one factor that’s greater than all the others.

There is one variable in the equation that effects the whole.

There is something, rather someONE who affects the results of the battle: it’s the Lord Yahweh, the One true and only God.

The Lord is in the battle.

The Israelites are being attacked.

Moses, their leader, enlists the help of a fellow named Joshua.

I’ve never met a Joshua I didn’t like, and I figure when I meet this Joshua one day, I’ll very much like him, too.

This is the first time we meet Joshua, the first mention of Joshua in the Bible.

He acts as an assistant to Moses.

He’s one of the few who are faithful in the wilderness.

He will take over for Moses and will lead Israel into the land of Canaan.

Joshua here gets tasked with taking the men of Israel into battle.

Moses tells him: “Hey, you go fight.

I’m going to stand on that hill over there.”

Moses goes up on the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.

Most importantly and most significantly, though, Moses is standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hand.

The staff of God is the very visible representation of God’s power and presence.

With the staff of God in his hand, Moses was able to perform all sorts of signs and wonders before Pharaoh; the sea opened up for the people to walk through on dry ground and it closed up, drowning Pharaoh and his army—all this, conducted by Moses with the staff of God in his hand.

Most recently, God told Moses to take the staff and strike the rock.

Moses did and water came forth for the people to drink.

So then, Moses climbing the hill with the staff of God in his hand is Moses making clear that the Lord is in this battle.

The staff of God is a clear indication of the Lord’s involvement.

It’s as if Moses is saying, “Here!

Here!

Here is the staff of God—the staff that brought the plagues upon the Egyptians, the staff that parted the sea, the staff that brings forth water from the rock—Here’s the staff of God!

The presence and power of the Lord.”

The Lord is involved in this battle—there is no doubt.

Even Joshua’s name makes this clear; ‘Joshua” means “the Lord is salvation”.

Moses lifts his hands up as Joshua and the Israelites are fighting the Amalekites.

This is not prayer so much as it is a symbol of the Lord’s presence with His people and His wrath against the enemy.

Verse 16 gives us some understanding, though verse 16 can be understood in a couple of ways.

This translation of a tricky sentence seems to highlight the fact that the Amalekites were fighting against God, and as such, God promises vengeance against them.

What Moses says (in this translation) is: “My hand was at/on [touching] Yahweh’s throne,” a way of saying, “When I held up that staff, I was symbolizing the presence of the Lord with us, ruling over the battle; Him victorious for us.”

The Lord is lifted up over the people and the people are secure.

God has stepped in.

He has intervened.

The Lord is on the scene.

As an illustration of the power and presence of God, as long as Moses was able to keep his hands raised, the Israelites were winning.

It was like a divine “Red Light, Green Light” game, really.

Hands up, Israelites win.

Hands down, Israelites lose.

To quote my friend, Maty: “Easy-peasy, guacamole.”

The Lord is involved in the battle.

God is sovereign in the consequences of the battle.

God is superior over all other forces involved in the battle.

Notice verse 13:

SO Joshua overcame.

Joshua won because the Lord was present.

We have all that detail about Moses raising his hands, holding the staff of God; Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands for him, steadying his hands until the sun set.

That detail isn’t there to draw attention to Moses.

Our attention isn’t supposed to be drawn to Joshua.

Our attention is to be drawn to the Lord.