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Exodus Chapter
Seventeen
Exodus 17
Chapter Contents
The Israelites murmur for water at Rephidim, God sendeth
it out of the rock. (1-7) Amalek overcome, The prayers of Moses. (8-16)
Commentary on Exodus 17:1-7
(Read Exodus 17:1-7)
The children of Israel journeyed according to the
commandment of the Lord, led by the pillar of cloud and fire, yet they came to
a place where there was no water for them to drink. We may be in the way of
duty, yet may meet with troubles, which Providence brings us into, for the
trial of our faith, and that God may be glorified in our relief. They began to
question whether God was with them or not. This is called their "tempting
God," which signifies distrust of him after they had received such proofs
of his power and goodness. Moses mildly answered them. It is folly to answer
passion with passion; that makes bad worse. God graciously appeared to help
them. How wonderful the patience and forbearance of God toward provoking
sinners! That he might show his power as well as his pity, and make it a
miracle of mercy, he gave them water out of a rock. God can open fountains for
us where we least expect them. Those who, in this wilderness, keep to God's
way, may trust him to provide for them. Also, let this direct us to depend on
Christ's grace. The apostle says, that Rock was Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:4, it was a type of him. While
the curse of God might justly have been executed upon our guilty souls, behold
the Son of God is smitten for us. Let us ask and receive. There was a constant,
abundant supply of this water. Numerous as believers are, the supply of the
Spirit of Christ is enough for all. The water flowed from the rock in streams
to refresh the wilderness, and attended them on their way towards Canaan; and
this water flows from Christ, through the ordinances, in the barren wilderness
of this world, to refresh our souls, until we come to glory. A new name was
given to the place, in remembrance, not of the mercy of their supply, but of
the sin of their murmuring: "Massah," Temptation, because they
tempted God; "Meribah," Strife, because they chid with Moses. Sin
leaves a blot upon the name.
Commentary on Exodus 17:8-16
(Read Exodus 17:8-16)
Israel engaged with Amalek in their own necessary
defence. God makes his people able, and calls them to various services for the
good of his church. Joshua fights, Moses prays, both minister to Israel. The
rod was held up, as the banner to encourage the soldiers. Also to God, by way
of appeal to him. Moses was tired. The strongest arm will fail with being long
held out; it is God only whose hand is stretched out still. We do not find that
Joshua's hands were heavy in fighting, but Moses' hands were heavy in praying;
the more spiritual any service is, the more apt we are to fail and flag in it.
To convince Israel that the hand of Moses, whom they had been chiding, did more
for their safety than their own hands, his rod than their sword, the success
rises and falls as Moses lifts up or lets down his hands. The church's cause is
more or less successful, as her friends are more or less strong in faith, and
fervent in prayer. Moses, the man of God, is glad of help. We should not be
shy, either of asking help from others, or of giving help to others. The hands
of Moses being thus stayed, were steady till the going down of the sun. It was
great encouragement to the people to see Joshua before them in the field of
battle, and Moses above them on the hill. Christ is both to us; our Joshua, the
Captain of our salvation, who fights our battles, and our Moses, who ever
lives, making intercession above, that our faith fail not. Weapons formed
against God's Israel cannot prosper long, and shall be broken at last. Moses
must write what had been done, what Amalek had done against Israel; write their
bitter hatred; write their cruel attempts; let them never be forgotten, nor
what God had done for Israel in saving them from Amalek. Write what should be
done; that in process of time Amalek should be totally ruined and rooted out.
Amalek's destruction was typical of the destruction of all the enemies of
Christ and his kingdom.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 17
Verse 1
[1] And
all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of
Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and
pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
They journeyed according to the commandment
of the Lord, led by the pillar of cloud and fire, and yet they came to a place
where there was no water for them to drink - We may be in the way of our duty,
and yet meet with troubles, which Providence brings us into for the trial of
our faith.
Verse 5
[5] And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee
of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in
thine hand, and go.
Go on before the people — Though they spake of stoning him. He must take his rod with him, not to
summon some plague to chastise them, but to fetch water for their supply. O the
wonderful patience and forbearance of God towards provoking sinners! He maintains
those that are at war with him, and reaches out the hand of his bounty to those
that lift up the heel against him. If God had only shewed Moses a fountain of
water in the wilderness, as he did to Hagar, not far from hence, Genesis 21:19, that had been a great favour; but
that he might shew his power as well as his pity, and make it a miracle of
mercy, he gave them water out of a rock. He directed Moses whither to go,
appointed him to take of the elders of Israel with him, to be witnesses of what
was done, ordered him to smite the rock, which he did, and immediately water
came out of it in great abundance, which ran throughout the camp in streams and
rivers, Psalms 78:15,16, and followed them wherever they
went in that wilderness: God shewed his care of his people in giving them water
when they wanted it; his own power in fetching it out of a rock, and put an
honour upon Moses in appointing the water to flow out upon his smiting of the
rock. This fair water that came out of the rock is called honey and oil, Deuteronomy 32:13, because the people's thirst
made it doubly pleasant; coming when they were in extreme want. It is probable
that the people digged canals for the conveyance of it, and pools for the
reception of it. Let this direct us to live in a dependance, 1. Upon God's
providence even in the greatest straits and difficulties; 2. And upon Christ's
grace; that rock was Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:4. The graces and comforts of
the Spirit are compared to rivers of living waters, John 7:38,39; 4:14. These flow from Christ. And nothing will
supply the needs and satisfy the desires of a soul but water out of this rock.
A new name was upon this occasion given to the place, preserving the
remembrance of their murmuring, Massah - Temptation, because they tempted God,
Meribah - Strife, because they chide with Moses.
Verse 8
[8] Then
came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel — The Amalekites were the posterity of Esau, who hated Jacob because of
the birth-right and blessing. They did not boldly front them as a generous
enemy, but without any provocation given, basely fell upon their rear, and
smote them that were faint and feeble.
Verse 9
[9] And
Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to
morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
I will stand on the top of the hill with the
rod of God in my land — See how God qualifies his people for, and
calls them to various services for the good of his church; Joshua fights, Moses
prays, and both minister to Israel. This rod Moses held up, not so much to
Israel as to animate them; as to God by way of appeal to him; Is not the battle
the Lord's? Is not he able to help, and engaged to help? Witness this rod!
Moses was not only a standard-bearer, but an intercessor, pleading with God for
success and victory.
Verse 10
[10] So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses,
Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Hur is supposed to have been the husband of
Miriam.
Verse 11
[11] And
it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when
he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
And when Moses held vp his hand in prayer (so
the Chaldee explains it) Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand from
prayer, Amalek prevailed - To convince Israel that the hand of Moses (with whom
they had just now been chiding) contributed more to their safety than their own
hands; the success rises and falls, as Moses lifts up or lets down his hand.
The church's cause is ordinarily more or less successful, according as the
church's friends are more or less fervent in prayer.
Verse 13
[13] And
Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Though God gave the victory, yet it is said
Joshua discomfited Amalek, because Joshua was a type of Christ, and of the same
name, and in him it is that we are more than conquerors.
Verse 15
[15] And
Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
And Moses built an altar, and called it
Jehovah-niffi — The Lord is my banner. The presence and
power of Jehovah was the banner under which they were lifted, by which they
were animated, and kept together, and therefore which they erected in the day
of their triumph. In the name of our God we must always lift up our banners: He
that doth all the work should have all the praise.
Write this for a memorial — This is the first mention of writing we find in scripture; and perhaps
the command was not given till after the writing of the law on tables of stone.
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
17 Chapter 17
Verses 1-3
Give us water, that we may drink.
Rephidim: ancient and modern
How far have we travelled from Rephidim? This is mere than a
question in geography: it is a profound inquiry in morals. How far have we
advanced morally, spiritually, and in all the higher ranges and Diviner
outlooks of our being? Here we seem to be still at Rephidim. Geographers say
they cannot find out the exact locality. Verily, there need be no difficulty
about the exact locality--it is just where we are. Why be so emphatic about our
being at Rephidim?
I. Because the
people at Rephidim were tormented by a continual consciousness of necessity.
How far have we got from necessity? Not one inch. Necessity has followed us all
the time. We must advance from the lower to the higher. We have it before us as
a certain and indisputable fact that for the support of the body we need
external help: we need the whole ministry of kind and gracious nature. What
wonder if in the education, and culture, and strengthening of the soul we need
all heaven, with its infinite Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Were we
pressed to affirm that necessity it would be in strict consonance with all the
other wants that follow and devour our wasting life.
II. Because at
Rephidim help was found in unexpected places and given in unexpected ways: “Thou shalt smite the
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.” We are
always helped by unexpected people, in unexpected ways, and at unexpected
places. God would appear to delight in baffling the ingenuity that would forecast the
future with too exclusive a minuteness. God will not allow us to trifle with
His prerogatives. He will find water where we should find none. Why be so
emphatic about still being at Rephidim?
III. Because peevish
tempers were corrected by great duties in that ancient locality. Israel fell
into fretfulness, and whining, and dissatisfaction, and rebellion. What did God
do? He sent Amalek upon Israel. That is the function of war among the nations.
It is no use reasoning with peevishness. It is time wasted to try to
expostulate with any man who is in a whining mood of soul, displeased because
of his bread, discontented because of the scarcity of water, making no
allowance for the undulations of life--reasoning, remonstrance, expostulation
would be lost. What must be done? An enemy must be raised up to smite him with
the sword. Then he will come into a new mood of mind, forget his littleness,
and, springing forward to a realization of his true power, he will lose in
service the discontent which he contracted in unbelief. What we want to-day is
persecution. We do not want eloquence, criticism--new learning, some new
invention in theological confectionery that shall tempt appetites that have
been sated; we want war--persecution--the enemy at the gate. Then we should
begin to forgive one another, to pray for one another, to come more closely
together at the altar and more near in that consent of soul which is blessed
with insight into spiritual mysteries. We have lost in losing the enemy. The
sting of Smithfield fire would correct our theology a good deal; the old gibbet
would take the fretfulness out of our tone; the great earthquake rocking our
cities would make us forget our animosities and unite us in bolder
intercession. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Refreshing thoughts for the hot season
I was told by a gentleman who walked over one of the battle-fields
on a hot summer night, after a day of carnage, that the cry of the wounded was
absolutely unbearable, and after giving all supply that he could, he put his fingers to his
ears, for the cry all over the plain was from hundreds of dying men, “Water!
Water! For God’s sake, give us water.” Coming home from the store on a hot
summer day, in the eventide, every muscle of your body exhausted with fatigue,
what do you first ask for? A cup of water--fresh, clear, sparkling water. This
Bible is all agleam with fountains, and rivers, and seas. The prophet sees the
millennium, and cries, “Streams in the desert.” David thinks of the deep joy of
the righteous, and calls it “A river, the streams whereof shall make glad the
city of God.” While the New Testament holds forth ten thousand chalices filled
with living water for a thirsty world.
I. Water is
typical of the Gospel, because of its brightness. The fountain breaks forth
from the side of the hill, flashing with gold, and silver, and beryl, and
chrysolite; and as you see it, you almost clap your hands with gladness. But
there is no brightness in it compared with this living fountain of the Gospel;
for in each falling drop I see the glory of heaven.
II. Water typifies
the Gospel by its refreshment. How different you feel after you get a glass of
cool water, or after you have plunged into a bath! On a hot summer day there is
nothing that so soon brings you back from a bad temper or a disturbed spirit,
and puts you into a happy frame of mind and body, as cold water. Blessed be God
for water. I love to hear it fall in the shower and dash in the cascade, and to
see it rush from the ice pitcher into the clear glass. Hand round this nectar
of the hills and drink, all of you, to the praise of Him who brewed it among
the mountains. Thank God for water. But there is a better refreshment even than
that. There was a time when you were hounded by convictions. Sinai thundered.
The wrath of God cried, “Fly.” Justice cried, “Fly.” Your own fears cried,
“Fly.” Mercy said, “Come, come!” and you plunged like a hart into the water
brooks, and out of that flood your soul came up cool, and clean, and radiant; and you
looked round and said, Come, and hear ye all that fear God, and I will tell you
what He hath done for my soul.”
III. Water typifies
the Gospel because of its abundance. When we pour the water from the pitcher
into the glass we have to be careful, or the glass will overflow, and we stop
when the water has come to the rim. But when God, in summer, pours out His
showers, He keeps pouring on and pouring on until the grass blades cry,
“Enough!” and the flowers, “Enough!” and the trees, “Enough!” but God keeps
pouring on and pouring on, until the fields are soaked, and the rivers
overflow, and the cisterns are all filled and the great reservoirs are supplied,
and there is water to turn the wheel, water to slake the thirst of the city,
water to cleanse the air, water to wash the hemisphere. Abundance! And so with
this glorious gospel. Enough for one, enough for all. Just after the battle of
Antietam, with some of the other members of the Christian Commission, I went
down to help look after the wounded, and on the afternoon of a very hot day I
came to a pump of water. I saw a soldier, with musket, guarding the pump. I
said, “Why do you not fill my cup?” He replied, “Water is scarce. Here is a
great army, and we do not know where to get water after this is gone; and I
have orders to give no more than that.” What a poor supply for a thirsty man on
a hot day I But, glory be to God! that in this gospel fountain there is water
enough for all the armies of the earth, and for all the armies of heaven. You
cannot drink it dry.
IV. Water typifies
the Gospel in the fact that it is perennial. In this hot summer weather some of
the fountains have dried up; but stand you on the bank of the Amazon, or of the
St. Lawrence, or of the Mississippi, or of the Ohio, and see if it runs dry.
No; they have been flowing on for thousands of years, and they will probably
flow on for thousands of years more. The trees of the forest have cast their
leaves for ages into the bosom of these waters, and the birds of heaven have
dipped their wings in the wave. And so it is with this gospel. It is a
perennial gospel. On earth we only see a portion of that great River of Life;
but after a while
the river will rise, and it will join the tides of the celestial river that
flows hard by the throne of God. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
Want of water a terrible experience
About 1858, while a number of routes from the proposed, now
completed, Pacific railway were being surveyed, E. T. Scovill, of Cleveland,
was in charge of a corps of engineers in Nevada. On one occasion they were
obliged to leave their base of supplies for a trip of six days. On the fourth
day’s journey their water gave out, and the sufferings of men and beasts were
terrible. The heat appeared to rise from the sand like vapour and dance a death
dance before the sufferers’ eyes. Not a breath of air stirred. The sun was like
a great round furnace, The horses struggled on, their noses hung nearly to the
ground, and their eyes bulged out of their heads like knots on a tree. Two of
the men became delirious and were bound in the waggons. Near night a gulch was
reached and all plunged into it expecting to find water. It was dry! The
situation was desperate, when Mr. Scovill, taking in the situation at a glance,
directed some to go up the gulch and some down and the one who found water to
shout. Some found wet gravel and sand and with their hands dug a hole into
which trickled water. It was brackish and warm, but it was water. Nothing ever
tasted sweeter. They were saved. Next morning by digging a deep hole in the
creek bed a good supply of water was obtained. As they were about to move away
the next morning the thought struck Mr. Scovill that some other poor creature
might come along the trail, strike the gulch, find a dry instead of a wet camp,
and despair. So he took an empty flour-barrel and scrawled upon it: “Water
1,000 feet up the gulch, E. T. Scovill, chief of engineers.” This he stuck in the
sand by the side of the trail. Now the scene of the story shifts to South
America. Mr. Scovill sat in the Llama Club, Lima. He had gone to Peru to help
Henry Meigs build those wonderful railways in the mountains. Here, to a company
of Americans and English, he told the story of his journey across the plains.
There was one man in the party who was evidently excited. As Mr. Scovill
reached the end of the story, and told how he had put up the sign that water
could be found a thousand feet up the gulch, the nervous stranger, a man of
giant frame, leaped from his seat and took Scovill in his arms as if the latter
had been a child. “Then you are the man, are you”? he exclaimed; “you are the
man who saved my life. I went across the desert a few days after you. I--my
companions and I--suffered as you suffered. On the way we killed our horses and
drank their blood. When we finally reached the gulch we had just strength
enough left to enable us to crawl down into the dry creek bed. There we lay
down to die, when one of us happened to see your blessed guide board. A
thousand feet up the gulch we found water. If we hadn’t I should not be here
to-night to take the hand of the man who saved our lives.”
Verses 4-7
Thou shalt smite the rock.
Horeb; or, great mercies from unlikely sources
I. The secular
department of human history will furnish abundant illustrations of this
principle.
1. Does intelligence conduce to this end? Undoubtedly knowledge tends
to make men secularly happy. How often, then, do you find streams of
intelligence gushing from the most unlikely sources. Demosthenes was a
stammerer; Homer and Milton were blind; Shakespeare was the son of a butcher.
2. Do philanthropic institutions conduce to the secular well-being of
man? Unquestionably. If you look to the origin of temperance societies,
asylums, provident associations, etc., you will find they have generally sprung
from the most unlikely sources.
3. Does political liberty conduce to the secular well-being of man?
Undoubtedly. It, too, has come mostly from unlikely sources--Moses, Luther,
etc.
II. The spiritual
department of human history will furnish still greater illustrations of this
principle.
1. See it exemplified in the spiritual Deliverer of the race. Babe in
manger; Son of carpenter; Man of sorrows, etc.; malefactor on cross. “This
rock,” says St. Paul, “is Christ”--is like Christ. How?
(a) Most needed.
(b) Most adequate.
2. See it exemplified in the first preachers of the gospel. Poor
fishermen, etc.
3. See it exemplified in the missionary enterprise. Carey, the
shoemaker; Williams, the blacksmith; Moffat, the gardener, etc.
Conclusion: This subject suggests--
1. Good ground for trusting God in the greatest difficulty.
2. To remove all ground for glorying in your usefulness. God could
make the meanest creatures do all and more than you can accomplish. (Homilist.)
Crying unto the Lord for help
Hiacoomes, an early Indian convert, was a remarkable man. Two
years after his conversion (1743), having in the meantime been prepared by Mr.
Mayhew, he commented teaching to the Indians the things of Christianity. He was
not suffered to proceed without opposition from the Paw-Waws, Sachems, and
other Indians; but he made this improvement of the injustice done him. “I had,”
he remarked, “one hand for injuries and another hand for God; while I received
wrong with the one, I laid the faster hold on God with the other.” These words
should be written in gold. (New York Independent.)
The needful things of life providentially supplied
I. That men are
sometimes brought into great straits through lack of the ordinary things of
life. “And there was no water for the people to drink.” Thus the Israelites
lacked water. They had lacked bread only a few days previously.
1. It is not the lot of man to be long free from trial of some kind.
Trials come successively. Job, Joseph, David. They are diversified according to
the station in which our tent is fixed. Every sphere of life has something of
perplexity connected with it, which tests our moral nature and brings the mercy
of God near to us. We must learn both how to want and how to abound, to be
sorrowful and yet always rejoicing.
2. Thus by the varied trials of life man is made to feel that earth
cannot give him abiding satisfaction, and he is led to anticipate the rest of
heaven. There the wilderness is unknown, and hunger and thirst are not
experienced. The Lamb feeds them. They drink of the River of the Water of Life.
3. But we see from this narrative that each occasion of want on the
part of Israel was signalized by a rich manifestation of the mercy of God.
Their hunger was met by the manna. Their thirst was met by the streams of
Horeb. The hour of man’s need is often the hour of God’s richest gift and
blessing.
II. That when men
are brought into great straits through lack of the ordinary things of life,
they often appeal to human agencies rather than to divine. “Wherefore the
people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.” How
foolish, for did not he suffer from the same calamity? nor was it in his power
to create fountains. How cruel, for was not he seeking their freedom? How
fickle the approbation of men, it varies with the circumstances of life. People
often go to the human in trouble when they ought to go to the Divine.
III. That when men
are brought into straits through the lack of things they very much need, they
often get them in the providence of God from the most unlikely sources.
“Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt
smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may
drink.” Thus we see that
God did not flash immediate judgment upon these rebellious people. He is
long-suffering toward the race. We must learn to be patient with those who
injure us. God has regard to human need, and evil in men will not turn Him away
from His promise, None need despair of His mercy. When the people chide, the
minister should pray. Our heavenly Father is never absent from the good;
goodness and mercy follow them all their days.
IV. That when men
are brought into straits, the way in which they act therein will leave
irreparable memorials of sin or victory. “And he called the name of the place
Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel,” etc.
Let us not leave behind in our life memorials of strife and unbelief, but of
faith and good works. Such memorials are abiding; once erected, they cannot be
removed; hence the need that they should be worthy. Lessons:
1. That man is frequently called upon in this life to endure great
physical need.
2. That the physical needs of life often reveal our real and inner
character.
3. That the physical needs of life are no indication that God has
failed us.
4. That the physical needs of life give us a great insight into the
wealth and method of the Divine mercy. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The smitten rock
I. The rock a type
of Christ.
1. Its situation. In midst of wilderness.
2. Its stability (Isaiah 28:16).
3. Its durability. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever.
II. Moses striking
the rock. An act of violence required. When man is to be saved, the rod of
Divine wrath strikes the Saviour, and “the rock” pours forth streams of
everlasting salvation.
III. The purpose of
the miracle. (I. Saunders.)
Water out of the rock, a type of Christ
I. As a rock it
elegantly typed out Jesus Christ, fitly compared to a rock in five
resemblances.
1. For the despicable appearance. The rock is in appearance dry and
barren, the most unlikely thing in all the world to afford water, so as it was
incredible to Moses and Aaron themselves to fetch water out of a rock. Even so
Jesus Christ was (for outward form and appearance in the world) most unlikely
of all men to afford any such waters of grace and salvation (Isaiah 53:2).
2. A Rock for exaltation and advancement. A rock is a promontory
lifted up above the earth. Such a Rock was Christ advanced above the earth,
yea, and the heavens; advanced above all men and creatures--
3. A Rock for firmness and stability. He is the strength of Israel (Matthew 16:18). Hence He is a rock of
defence and safety to His chosen; and every wise man builds his house on this
Rock.
4. A Rock of scandal and offence to wicked men (Romans 9:32).
5. A Rock for weight and danger and unavoidable judgment upon His
adversaries, which, “on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder”
(Matthew 21:44).
II. It was a type
of Christ, as it sent out water in abundance to the people of Israel ready to
perish for thirst. For so Jesus Christ is the only Rock that sends from Himself
all the sweet waters of life for the salvation of His elect, otherwise ready to
perish eternally. For explanation whereof, mark--
1. As from that rock issued waters to wash and cleanse themselves and
their garments, so from this Rock stream waters of ablution or washing, which
serve to wash away both the guilt of sin and stain of sin.
2. As from that rook issued waters to cool and comfort Israel in
their weariness and wanderings, so from Jesus Christ do issue the waters of
refrigeration and comfort, to cool and refresh the dry and thirsty soul; to
allay the heat of a raging and accusing conscience, and to revive with new
strength the fainting soul in temptation or persecution.
3. As from that rock streamed abundance of waters to make fruitful
that barren wilderness wheresoever they ran, so only from the true Rock issue
plentiful waters of grace to make our dry and barren hearts fruitful in all
works of righteousness (Isaiah 44:3-4).
III. In the manner
of attaining this water are many sweet resemblances.
1. The people might ask Moses for water, but Moses cannot give it. It
is God must give it, and miraculously fetch it out of a rock.
2. The rock gives water, but not till it be smitten (verse 6).
3. It was the rod in Moses’ hand that smites and breaks the rock. Even
so it was the Law given by Moses’ hand and our transgression against it that
breaks the true Rock (Isaiah 53:5; Galatians 3:13).
4. The rock was smitten, but it was not so much the striking on the
rock, but the Lord’s standing upon it that gets water for Israel (verse 6).
There was no virtue in the stroke, but all depended on God’s commandment and
presence; even so it is not the death of Christ, nor an abundance of price and
merit of His blood, nor the striking
on this rock before men’s eyes in the ministry of the Word and sacraments that
can bring one drop of true water of comfort, but by the presence and word of
God’s blessing. The efficacy of grace depends not on any means or work wrought,
but it is God’s word and presence that doth all in them. (T. Taylor, D. D.)
Help from an unlikely source
The manna was simply sent from heaven, but the water, on the
contrary, was brought out of the smitten rock--the most unlikely place that
could be imagined. Some men went about collecting funds for an important
charity. They arrived in course of time at a very rich man’s door who was known
to be churlish in his manner and niggardly in his gifts; whereupon they said
that there was no need to call on him, “he is not likely to give.” However,
they entered, and laid their case before him, and to their surprise he at once
responded by giving them the largest donation they had yet received.
Rephidim-Rock was a most unlikely place from which to receive supplies of
water.
Verse 7
Is the Lord among us, or not?
Evidences of the Divine presence
I. We observe an
increase of spiritual enlightenment is an evidence of the Divine presence among
a people.
II. We observe
spiritual-mindedness is an evidence of the Divine presence among a people.
III. We observe
Christian love is an evidence of the Divine presence among a people.
IV. Activity and
devotedness in the cause of Christ is an evidence of the Divine presence among
a people. We have three remarks in conclusion--
1. The unrenewed may learn from this subject that there is no hope
for him of any radical improvement save in the grace of God. The Holy Spirit is
the sole agent for this work.
2. The Church of God should learn from this subject that the grace
and presence of the Lord in the midst of them is the one thing needful.
3. Let all know that the Lord is to be found in the power and
sufficiency of His grace by all who seek Him through the Saviour. (H. F.
Holmes.)
“Is the Lord among us, or not?”-a false inference
Notwithstanding all the other tokens of God’s presence they
thought that their renewed difficulties were a proof that God was no longer
amongst them. And are not our hearts far too apt to come to the same conclusion
on the same grounds? We enter on some new path, on some fresh work, because we
think that the hand of God is leading us to it, and, almost unconsciously to
ourselves, we suppose that His presence will secure us from any great and
discouraging difficulties. Our expectations are disappointed--one difficulty
after another presents itself--one door after another is closed. What follows?
Too often doubts begin to arise in our minds whether God is really with us. But
these doubts should not be encouraged. It is altogether a false inference, that
because our path is one of difficulty or trial, therefore the Lord is not among
us. The very reverse will usually be found to be the true conclusion. (G.
Wagner.)
Verse 8
Then came Amalek, and fought.
Fighting and praying
“Then came Amalek”; that is, after the manna had fallen, after the
rock had been smitten. First food, then conflict. God spared His people all
battles in their early days. In our march to heaven, it may happen that one
part of the way is free from conflict; but let no man wonder if things change.
One of these days we shall read this despatch from the seat of war, “Then came
Amalek, and fought with Israel.” Do not court attack, nor even desire it. When
you hear the older folk talk about their inward conflicts, do not lament if
your chronicle of wars is a short one. It has often been the Lord’s way to give
His people space for refreshment before trying them. We cannot work for God too
soon; yet it is possible to go to work before you have sharpened your tools.
There is a time for every purpose; and each thing is good in its season. Learn,
and then teach. I would have you serve the Lord successfully: wherefore, as God
gave to Israel manna and water before He sent them to fight with Amalek, so
should every believer feed on the truth himself, and then go forth to teach
others also. Feed, that you may work, and work because you have been fed. After
the manna and after the smitten rock, came the fight: “Then came Amalek.” He
was a descendant of Esau, full of his father’s hate. Note well, that in this
battle of the Lord, there were two kinds of fighting. The first was the
Joshua-service; and that was done in the plain by the fighting men. The second
was the Moses-service; and this was done upon the side of the hill, by the men
of God, who communed with heaven. We need both modes of warfare.
I. To begin with,
we want much of The Joshua-service.
1. This is the service of many. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us out
men, and go out, fight with Amalek.” We have a battle against sin, error,
pride, self, and everything that is contrary to God and to His Christ; and in
the Joshua-service many can be employed. Every believer should be a soldier in
Christ’s own army of salvation.
2. In this Joshua-service all the combatants were under due command.
“Joshua did as Moses had said to him,” and the people did as Joshua commanded
them. In all holy service, willingness to be led is a great point. Certain
workers may be very good personally; but they will never combine with others to
make a conquering band. They work very well alone, or as fore-horses in the
team; but they cannot trot in double harness. Soldiers without discipline
become a mob, and not an army. Friend, will you be one of the steady workers?
3. In Joshua-work courage was required. “Go out, fight with Amalek.”
The Amalekites were fierce, cruel, strong. They are said to have been the chief
among the nations; by which I understand first among the plunderers of the
desert. The soldiers under Joshua had courage, and faced their wolfish foes.
Saints need courage for Jesus in these days. May God, in His mercy, make His
people bold against scepticism, superstition, and open wickedness! We are
called, not to flirt with error and evil, but to fight with it; therefore, let
us be brave, and push on the conflict.
4. Those fighting under Joshua did not grow weary. Moses had the more
spiritual work, and his hands grew heavy: we sooner tire in private devotion
than in public service. Joshua and his men were not weary: never let us be
weary in well-doing. Do you ever grow weary in one peculiar way of serving God?
It may be useful to try something else. I mean, do something extra. Variety of
labour serves for recreation.
5. In the Joshua-service they were successful, for “they discomfited
Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” Beloved workers for the
Lord: may He grant you like success against evil! The devil goes to be beaten,
and he shall be beaten.
II. The
Moses-service--the service of Moses and his comrades. These did not go down to
the battle-field themselves, but they climbed the mountain-side, where they
could see the warriors in the conflict; and there Moses lifted up the rod of
God.
1. Note, that the Moses-service was essential to the battle; for when
Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek
prevailed. The scales of the conflict were in the hand of Moses, and they
turned as his prayer and testimony failed or continued.
2. This holy work was of a very special character. Only three were
able to enter into it. I believe that, in every Church, the deeply spiritual,
who prevalently commune with God, and bring down the blessing upon the work of
the rest, are
comparatively few.
3. This Moses-service lay in very close communion with God. Moses,
and Aaron, and Hur were called to rise above the people, and to get alone,
apart from the company. They climbed the hill as a symbol, and in retirement
they silently communed with God.
4. In this sacred engagement there was a terrible strain upon the one
man who led the others in it. In the process of bringing down the Divine power
upon the people, the vehicle of communication was sorely tried. “Moses’ hands
were heavy.” If God gives you spiritual power to lead in Christian work, you
you will soon find out that the condition of such leadership is a costly one.
5. In this hallowed service help is very precious. When Moses’ hands
began to drop down, and he himself was faint, Aaron and Hur gave him
substantial aid. Are you a worker? Have you a leader fit to lead you? Bring a
stone and put under him: cheer his heart with some gracious promise from the
Lord’s Word, or with some happy sign from the work itself. Cheer the good man
as much as possible. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The battle between good and evil
I. That the good
are required to do battle with inveterate enemies (verse 8).
1. Every soul has to contend with the Amalek of
2. The soul is led gradually into the moral battle of life. We cannot
get to heaven without being interrupted by many enemies--by Satan, by poverty,
by sickness, by prosperity; all these will seek to stop or slay us.
II. That the good
in this conflict must combine prayer with the utmost exertion to overcome their
enemies (verses 9-11). Truth has lost many a battle through bad generalship.
Truth needs a man like Luther to lead the attack. If we would overcome evil
within us and without us, we must summon the best energies of our mental and
moral nature, and put them under the command of Christ; then shall we be led to
victory. Joshua fought. Moses went up the hill to pray. Prayer is often uphill
work. And the conflict between Good and Evil necessitates the use of prayer and
activity. Man must pray over his evil heart, and he must also fight against its
sinful tendencies. Sin is persistent in its opposition to the soul.
III. That the good
in this conflict are often impeded by the weakness consequent upon the physical
condition of life (verse 12). Nature at the strongest is weak. But the hands of
Moses were supported by Aaron and Hur. Holy companionship is helpful in the
hour of severe moral conflict. Two are better far than one. Christians should
seek to hold up the hands of ministers. They must bear one another’s burdens.
The insignificant members of the Church may render service to the most
important; Hut may strengthen Moses. The hands of our heavenly Intercessor
never grow weary with pleading; and the infirm Christian will soon be as the
angels. It is consoling that God knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust.
IV. That the good
in their conflict should keep faithful record of their victories (verses 13,
14).
1. To aid memory.
2. To inspire hope.
3. To awaken gratitude to God.
V. That the good
in this conflict should ascribe all the glory of victory to God (verses 15,
16). Lessons:
1. That there are inveterate enemies to moral goodness.
2. That these enemies are doomed to ultimate defeat and destruction.
3. That the good must pray and fight to this end.
4. There will be a final celebration of victory. (J. S. Exell,
M. A.)
War with Amalek
I. First, then, we
have here the experience of every individual Christian,
1. Observe, the Children of Israel were emancipated from bondage, and
had left Egypt behind, even as you and I have been rescued from our natural
state and are no longer the servants of sin.
2. The Children of Israel were probably anticipating ease, forgetting
that the Promised Land was yet many days’ journey beyond them. Inexperience
made them expect a continuance of uninterrupted song and feasting, and there
was a time when we indulged in the same foolish hopes.
3. Like Israel, we soon experienced tribulations. You must fight if
you would win the crown, and your pathway to the other side of Jordan must be
the pathway of an armed crusader, who has to contend for every inch of the way
if he is to win it.
4. In proceeding with the narrative we notice that they found
opposition from an unexpected quarter. It is just where we feel most safe that
we should be most cautious. I do not think the Christian has so much to fear
from open and avowed enemies as from those deceitful foes who feign to be his friends.
Sin is never so much a Jezebel as when it paints its face with daubs of
respectability and patches of innocence. Things dubious are more dangerous than
things distinctly evil.
5. When the assault was made, the people were commanded to exert
themselves. The message was given, “Go, choose out men, and fight with Amalek.”
Israel never fought with Egypt. God fought for them, and they held their peace.
The yoke of sin has been broken by God’s grace from off our necks, and now we
have to fight not as slaves against a master, but as freemen against a foe.
6. Spiritual fighting must be conducted on most earnest and prudent
principles. They were to choose out men. So we must choose out our ways of
contending with sin. The best part of a man should be engaged in warfare with
his sins.
7. This makes me notice that though the men of Israel were to fight,
and the chosen men were to be selected, yet they were to fight under the
command of Joshua, that is, Jesus, the Saviour.
8. That where holy activity is joined with earnest supplication, the
result as to our sins is absolutely sure--the enemy must be defeated; we shall
put our feet upon the necks of all our sins. There is no fear of their
overcoming us if we do but lay hold on Divine strength.
9. And, if ever we overcome sin once, it should be the signal for
proclaiming a general war against all sin. The fight and victory over Amalek
brought from God’s mouth the solemn declaration that there should be war with
Amalek for ever and ever. Have you mastered one sin? Slay the next, and the
next, and the next.
II. The whole
narrative may be interpreted as the history of any one Christian church. In any
one Church there will be, there must be, if it be a Church of God, earnest
contention for the truth and against error. If we do indeed hold the very truth
as it is in Jesus, we must fight for it valiantly, for if we do not fight
Amalek, Amalek will certainly fight us, and the hindmost will always be
suffering and the weakest go to the wall. It is on behalf of the weaker brethren,
who are easily perverted, that we must watch and fight perpetually. To all
Christian effort in every Church must be added unpleasing intercession.
III. But lastly, the
history of the whole Christian Church is here before us as in a picture. The
sacramental host of God’s elect is warring still on earth, Jesus Christ being
the Captain of their salvation. He has said, “Lo! I am with you always, even to
the end of the world.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The war of truth
I. The great
warfare.
1. Not with men, but with Satan and error.
2. A most righteous warfare.
3. A war of the greatest importance.
4. Insidious and very powerful foes.
5. A war of perpetual duration.
II. The appointed
means of warfare.
1. Hard blows.
2. Hard prayers. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Both sides of the shield
I. First, let us
look at persecution in its double aspect. On the one hand, notice that this
attack upon Israel was Amalek’s great sin, on account of which the nation was
doomed to be extirpated. Because of this, God said, “I will utterly put out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” But, on the other hand, this assault
was the result of Israel’s sin; for it is significantly put after the strife of
Massah and Meribah, “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.” The
point is this: persecution may come to you from evil men, distinctly from them,
and it may be their wicked free will which makes them assail you; and yet, at
the same time, it may be your sin which lies at the bottom of it, and because
you have erred they have been permitted, and even appointed, to bring trouble
upon you. Let us think of these two things.
1. Notice well that assaults upon us may arise from the sins of
others. It is right that we should recognize this, lest in the dark day we
should become unduly discouraged. These Amalekites attacked Israel, and greatly
sinned in so doing, for they were the first that made war against God’s people.
But the impiety was still worse; for Amalek went out of his way to attack
Israel. The people had not come into his territory; they were a good way off
it, and were passing quietly by; but we read, “Then came Amalek.” His
envy was stirred up so much that he came away from his own region to fight with
Israel without any provocation. Moreover, Amalek in this act went forth to
fight against God Himself. It was not with Israel alone that he warred; he
battled also with Jehovah, the God of Israel. When you are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, the Lord takes notice of it. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou Me?” Let us now turn our thoughts to the other aspect of this subject.
2. The guilt of ungodly men in persecuting God’s people is not
inconsistent with my next statement, that assaults upon us may also arise from
our own sins. We may have brought the evil upon ourselves. When they had chided
with Moses, and murmured against God, “Then came Amalek.” Israel had
been quarrelling with God. Do you wonder, then, that other people quarrelled
with them? You may often read your sin in its punishment. They put a question
about God, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” But, because they questioned God,
God makes it a serious question between them and Amalek. If we make God a
question, God will make our safety a question, and we shall have a stern fight
for it. Moreover, we find that Israel had uttered threats against Moses, so
that he said, “They be almost ready to stone me.” Now, if they would stone the
man of God, is it at all wonderful that the men of the world were ready to kill
them? If you go against Moses, God will sent Amalek against you, for remember
that God does chasten His people. So, there is our first point. We may
sometimes justly charge our afflictions upon the ill intent of ungodly men; and
yet, at the same time, we may have to charge them also upon ourselves.
II. In the second
place, let us think of instrumentality in its double relation. Here, again,
another contrast is to be found in the text and its connection. If you will
notice, in the fifth verse, God says to Moses, “Take with thee of the elders of
Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river”; but when Moses talks
about the rod, in the ninth verse, which forms our text, he says, “To-morrow I
will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.” In both
verses it is the same rod which is spoken of.
1. One side is that God calls it the rod of Moses, and so honours
him. Wherever there is an opportunity of doing honour to the faith of His own
servants, God is never
slow to use it. He is a King who delights to give glory to His warriors when
they behave themselves bravely in the heat of battle. Moreover, it really was
the rod of Moses, and would not so well have fitted any other hand. God does
not put into a position of influence a man unfit for the post. Even Moses did
not work wonders with the rod until he had renounced the riches of Egypt, and
borne the burden of life in the wilderness. There was a fitness in the fact of
the rod being in the hand of such a man. Thus, in a very real sense, it was the
rod of Moses. In addition to this, it was the faith of Moses which gave power
to his rod; he himself was the conductor of the Divine energy. Had the rod been
wielded by another man, self-appointed, and lacking the confidence which Moses
had come to possess in God, it would have been simply a powerless stick.
2. On the other hand, Moses calls it the rod of God, and so honours
God. He whom God uses gives God the praise, for God is ever the source of
our:strength; and if any work is done that is worth the doing, unto Him must be ascribed
all the glory. “Not unto us, O Lord; not unto us, but unto Thy name, give
glory.” Let us learn, from these words of Moses, that instrumentality is not to
be decried, for God uses it; but the instrument must never be allowed to usurp
the place of God, for it must be always remembered that it is God who uses it.
The axe must not exalt itself against him that heweth therewith; but, when
there are trees to be felled, it would be folly to throw the axe away.
III. Behold, in this
incident, prudence in its double activity. You have that in the text. Moses
said unto Joshua, “Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek.” To which
Joshua might have replied, “Yes, I will gladly do that, and you will go too,
Moses, and fight, will you not?” No, no, he will not. “To-morrow I will stand
on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.” Prudence prays with
Moses, while it fights with Joshua. In like manner, in the activities of our
holy faith, we must learn to balance work and worship, prayer for victory and
conflict with the enemy.
1. In the case before us, we see that the means are not neglected.
Moses did not call all the people to pray when it was time for fighting. He
prayed, but at the same time he set the battle in array. This is true wisdom, for “faith
without works is dead.” The means must not be neglected. Observe how Moses
prepared to fight the Amalekites. He said to Joshua, “ Choose us out men.” He
did not lose sight of the necessity of:having the fittest warriors, because his
trust was in God. Let the Church always see to it that she tries to get the
best men she can to fight the battles of the Lord. It is a mistake to suppose
that anybody wilt do for Christian work. The leader was also chosen--“Moses
said unto Joshua.” He did not pick up the first youth that he met, and
say to him, “Go and fight these Amalekites.” The time for the battle was also
chosen. “To-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill. Why not fight
them at once? Well, because the people were not ready; it would take a little
time to get the fighting men in order. Choose the best time. Serve God wisely.
Go about the work as if all depended upon you, and then trust in God, knowing
that all depends upon Him. Note, again, that the battle was most real. Moses
did not say, “Choose you out men, and go and drive Amalek away like a flock of
sheep.” No; but “Go out, fight with Amalek.” Believe me, we make a great
mistake if we think that this world is to be conquered for Christ without
mighty efforts. Some talk as if the expenditure of a few pounds, and the going
forth of few men, will end the whole war.
2. But, on the other hand, in this battle, reliance upon God is not
neglected. Moses ascends the hill holding up his banner, and that banner is the
rod of God. Unfortunately, in our work for God, we generally fall into one of
two blunders. Either we get a lot of machinery, and think that we shall
accomplish everything by that; or else we are like some whom I have known, who
have confided so much in prayer that they have done nothing but pray. It is a
very heinous fault to trust the means without God; but, though it is a much
smaller fault to trust in God, and not use the means, yet still it is a fault.
Practical prudence will lead you to do both.
IV. Behold here, in
a wondrous type, Christ in his twofold capacity. Christ is represented to us
here as Moses on the hill pleading, and as Joshua in the valley fighting.
1. Learn, first, that Christ is pleading for us. He is not here: He
is risen. It is because He intercedes for us that we win the victory. In His
mediation is our confidence.
2. But, then, do not forget that He is also warring for us. On the
very eve of His departure, He said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world.” This is the dispensation of the Holy “Ghost, and in Him Christ
is always with us, our greater Joshua, fighting for the people whom He will one
day lead into the promised land, the heavenly Canaan. I think that I see our
Joshua now, sword in hand, chasing our adversaries; and I turn my eye upwards,
and see our Moses, rod in hand, pleading for His people. Let us see Him in both
capacities. Believe in Christ in heaven, and trust Him with your prayers.
Believe in Christ on earth, range yourself on His side, and rest assured that
no foe will be able to stand against Him. So, you see that, though two things
may look contradictory, they are often both really true, and are both different
sides of one shield. Try, then, always to see both sides of every truth
revealed in the Scriptures. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The assistance of prayer
An unaccountable revival broke out in a congregation in a village,
and about one hundred were converted in a few weeks. At last the minister
discovers the secret of the revival, and relates it thus: “There is a sister in
my Church who has for years been an invalid, and confined to her bed. She lives
several miles from the village, and the other day I rode out to see her. As I
sat by her bedside she said, ‘You have had a very precious revival?’ ‘We have,’
I answered. ‘I knew it was coming,’ she said.” And then she proceeded to give her
pastor an account of the burden that had been upon her for weeks, and the
manner in which her soul had gone out in prayer for the unconverted, in
midnight hours and at other times; and before the interview closed the pastor
felt that the unaccountable revival was accounted for. Like Hur and Aaron, who
held up the hands of Moses, this bedridden sister had by her prayers obtained
victory for the soldiers of Christ.
Encouragement
There were four boys, all brothers, walking along the banks of a
stream, and playing as they went. Like most boys, their idea of fun was to go
as far into danger as they could, and at length one of them fell into a deep
place. He could not swim, but immediately his brother who could, plunged in to
rescue him. He got hold of him but could not bring him to the bank, then
another brother, catching hold of a branch, stretched his body out its whole
length so that the swimmer could catch hold, and thus all three were brought
safe to land. When they got home they all began to tell their father about the
affair. “Now give me time,” he said, “and I’ll hear you all.” Turning to the
oldest, he asked, “When your brother fell into the river what did you do
towards his rescue?” “Well, father, at first I was paralyzed with fear, and I
stood on the bank for some seconds trembling for his safety, then I recovered
myself and plunging in, caught hold of him, and strove to bring him to shore.”
Then facing the second boy he said, “And what did you do to rescue your
brother?” “I could not swim, father, but when I saw they could not reach the
shore, I bridged the water between them and the bank so that they might pull
themselves in.” Now there only remained the youngest, a little fellow of four
years, and turning to him the father asked, “And what did you do? Oh, father, I
could do nothing. I just stood on the bank and clapped my hands and shouted,
“Well done, well done!” “Yes, well done, my boys, all of you, I am proud to
have such sons,” exclaimed the happy father. Christians, standing safe on the
bank, What have you done for the rescue of your brother? At least you can by
your words and prayers encourage others who are stronger to go to the rescue of
the lost. The working layman:--We shall find that the
Church, like warring nations, expects every man to do his duty. If, as we
suppose, Hur was not of the priestly office, we think the laymen of our day may
find that this Scripture was written for their learning. They are, we fear,
very far from walking in the steps of Hur, and from following his example. It
will be noticed that it was a personal service in which he was engaged, one
that required not only labour but the sacrifice of his time. Until the going
down of the sun he stood by Moses and stayed up his hands. When Israel was at
war with Amalek, he did not content himself with wishes for success, nor did he
rejoice over a victory which he had not laboured to win. He did not serve God
by proxy, nor send a substitute to perform his personal duties. When he was
needed upon the mount, he did not beg to be excused; he pleaded no want of
leisure and no press of worldly engagements. It is the great want of the Church
in our day--working men and working women, especially working men; men with the
true missionary spirit and zeal; men who, like Hur, will not grudge to spend a
day on the mount, to stay up Moses’ hands. While Aaron and Hur stood on the one
side or on the other, the strength of Moses failed not. It is in vain to have
officers if men will not fight, or men willing to fight if there are no
officers to direct and guide them. There must be the co-operation of all, if we
expect prosperity. Our strength is not to sit still. Here is a field which we
all may equally occupy; where wealth has no advantage, and where poverty is no
loss,--the field of religious influence and personal exertion. We all can do
something, many of us can do much, to promote the prosperity of the Church. To
destroy Amalek, to bless Israel, we must labour as well as give; we must stay
up Moses’ hands, as well as worship in the tabernacle. If the priest must pray
and preach and
toil, no less do we look for them to work. Hur, on the mount with Moses and
Aaron, was a type of a working layman. (G. F. Cushman, D. D.)
Verse 9
The rod of God.
Moses’ rod, the emblem of power and faith
I. The rod served
to join man and God in the work of the Lord. At the one end, Faith; at the
other, Almighty Power.
II. The rod served
to increase the confidence of the people in their God, Success everywhere
attended the rod.
III. The rod served
to teach the people dependence upon God for their success in battle.
IV. The rod served
to teach the people the need of holy and devout men. (Homilist.)
Man as a servant of God
The words (Exodus 4:17) lead us to contemplate man
as a servant of God--a servant to promote the true progress of the race. They
suggest four things which God requires man to do in this grand service.
I. To use the
instrument most at his command,
II. To turn old
things to new uses.
III. To aim at
mighty ends by apparently insignificant means.
IV. To follow god’s
will, rather than the dictates of our own wisdom. (Homilist.)
The old rod, or the inspiration of common ministries
Wondrous is one little line in the history:--“And thy rod,
wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go,” and afterward Moses,
having spoken to Joshua, said, “I will stand on the top of the hill with the
rod of God in mine hand.” Never forget the old rod, the old book, the old
truth;--the sword that cut off the head of Goliath--“Give me that,” said David,
“there is none like it.” Thus God hides inspiration in things of apparently
little value, and touches the imagination and the faith by books, ministries,
churches, altars, which we thought had passed away into desuetude, perhaps
oblivion. Your first prayer may help you to-day. The faith of your youth may be
the only thing to win the battle which now challenges your strength. One little
hour with the old, old book may be all you need to obtain the sufficiency of
light which will drive away the cloud of mystery and bring in the heaven of
explanation. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Verse 13
Joshua discomfited Amalek.
Winning God’s battles
I. Amalek, as we
learn from Deuteronomy 25:18, had “smitten the
hindmost, even all that were feeble.” The stragglers are always a temptation to
the foe. The hindmost and the feeble are sure to be the first attacked, and
therefore should have special care.
II. Joshua
discomfited Amalek, not Moses or some other friend. Let us keep our bitterness
for sin, and our swords for the King’s enemies.
III. Amalek is not
to be beaten without a fight. The struggle against sin is real, as we shall
find to our cost if we are not wary.
IV. Moses was for
each minding his own work. Joshua to fight, and himself to take the top of the
hill.
V. Moses on the
hill is an emblem of public prayer. There is a mystery about prayer that we
cannot unravel, fine of the bravest of Christian soldiers, scarred with many a
fight, said, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy
hands.”
VI. How much even
the mightiest of men are dependent upon others much weaker than themselves. It
was well for the fortunes of the day that Moses was not alone.
VII. An altar marked
the place of battle, and glory was given to the Lord of Hosts. The soldiers of
the Cross should call the battle-fields where they have won their bravest
fights by the name of Him to whom they ascribe all might and majesty. (T.
Champness.)
The battle of Amalek, an instructive war
I. As the record
of a war distinguished from most modern wars.
1. It was purely defensive on the Hebrew side.
2. It was Divinely sanctioned on the Hebrew side.
3. It was evidently judicial on the Hebrew side.
II. As the record
of a war suggesting principles of general application.
1. The propagating influence of evil. I find the primal cause of this
war in the injury which Jacob perpetrated upon his brother Esau (Genesis 27:18-19). God only knows the
influence of one evil act.
2. The Divine liberty allowed to wicked men. Full freedom to work out
revengeful passions.
3. The variety of instrumentality by which God works out His designs.
The Eternal ever works by means.
4. The dependence of man’s progress on his relation to heaven.
5. The importance of transmitting to posterity the agency of God in
history (see verse 14).
III. As the record
of a war symbolizing the moral struggle in which the good are engaged.
1. That the good have spiritual enemies to contend with.
2. That the victory which the good are to obtain over their enemies
depends on the help of others.
3. That whatever may be the amount of help obtained in the struggle,
the victory must ever be ascribed to God. (Homilist.)
Israel and Amalek
I. The Christian’s
example.
1. To fight.
2. To pray.
II. The Christian’s
encouragement.
1. Christ, our Captain--
2. Christ, our intercessor.
III. The Christian’s
prospect.
1. Of certain victory.
2. certain glory. (B. D. Macmillan.)
Amalek and Israel
I. The battle was
forced upon the victors.
II. The battle was
hotly contested.
III. The vanquished
owed defeat, and the victors victory, to Divine power through human
intercession.
Lessons:
1. As soon as we become followers of Christ, war is forced upon us.
2. Every Christian possesses a Divine rod which, wielded, will bring
him Divine help (Hebrews 4:16).
3. Christians in their conflict have an Intercessor on the hill, and
a Leader in the valley. Christ makes intercession (Hebrews 7:25); and the Holy Spirit helps
our infirmities (Romans 8:26), and guides into all truth (John 16:13). (W. Harris.)
Lessons
1. Hands of creature-instruments may be helpful under God, to give
His Church success against its enemies.
2. Such hands lifted up to heaven in prayer, and for encouragement,
God doth assist unto prevalency.
3. Hands hanging down and feeble in prayer, may give opportunity unto
enemies to prevail.
4. Such languishings after strong strugglings, God sometimes orders
upon His choicest servants.
5. Doubtful may be the fight of Israel as to success against its
enemies for a time (verse 11).
6. Heaviness of flesh and spirit in contending with God for Israel
may sometimes befall Moses (Matthew 26:41; Matthew 26:43).
7. Suitable support under such delinquencies are very requisite for
God’s servants. Christ the stone to us.
8. Good helpers to strengthen hearts and hands in faintings are
specially useful.
9. By such helps souls may be stedfast and faithful unto God unto
time of victory (verse 12).
10. Moses praying and Joshua fighting, Amalek must fail, when prayer
puts the edge on the sword it is furbished to the slaughter.
11. It is God’s just ordering that they who first oppress with the
sword, shall perish by the sword (verse 13). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Verse 14
I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek.
Lessons
1. Jehovah’s victories over His Church’s enemies He giveth in charge
to be recorded.
2. Writing and tradition are both God’s ways of recording His works
for future ages.
3. God’s book is the best record of His mighty works done for His
Church.
4. A memorial would God have kept by the records of God’s works to
men.
5. God hath irreconcilable displeasure against some enemies above the
rest.
6. Blotting out of the names of such enemies will God make, who would
blot out the name of His Church. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Destruction of Amalek
I. It is probable
that from this time Moses began to keep a journal of striking and useful
occurrences. Great men have frequently done the same for intellectual, and good
men for religious, purposes.
II. Whatever may be
said of the particular mode, the thing itself is of importance. If we are to be
affected with transactions and feelings, they must be in some way secured and
retained.
III. A reason is
assigned for the recording and rehearsing of this transaction in a dreadful
menace. The threatening was executed partially by Saul; but fully by David.
IV. The scriptures
cannot be broken. Whatever improbabilities appear--whatever difficulties stand
in the way--whatever delays intervene--God’s counsels of old are faithfulness
and truth; not a lot of His Word shall fail. (W. Jay.)
Use of history
Lucius Lucullus, being appointed captain-general over the Roman
forces against Mithridates, had not great experience or knowledge in war, but
only what he had gotten by reading history, yet proved a discreet and valiant
commander, and vanquished at that time two of the greatest princes in the East.
Thus it is that history is, and may be, the director of meanest men in any of
their actions, how others have behaved themselves upon several occasions, and
what hath followed thereupon; it is a trusty counsellor of state, by whose
advice and direction a commonwealth may be framed, governed, reformed, and
preserved, an army may be ordered, enemies vanquished, and victory obtained. In
it, as in a glass, we see and behold God’s providence guiding and ruling the
world, and men’s actions which arrive often at unexpected events, and even
sometimes reach unto such ends as are quite contrary to the actor’s intentions;
it is a punisher of vice, presenting aged folly green and fresh to posterity;
not suffering sin to die, much less to be buried in oblivion; it is also a
rewarder of virtue, reserving worthy deeds for imitation; a good work, though
it die in doing, is a reward to itself, yet that some dull natures might be
stirred up the more, and all benefited by seeing gracious steps before them,
this only is exempted by a firm decree from the stroke of death, to live in
history. (J. Crompton.)
Verse 15
Jehovah-nissi, the Lord my banner.
I. The fight with Amalek was Israel’s first battle, and God made it to
them the revelation of the mystery of all battles--the unseen spiritual things
on which depend the final issues of all struggles and the progress of the
world.
1. The main purpose of Israel’s history is the revelation of the
unseen influences which mould the character and guide the progress of all
people or minister to their decay and death.
2. It may be fairly asked if in all battles the victory is with those
who can not only fight, but pray. The answer is that it is only on a very large
scale that we can trace the ways of God. Yet we may say that in any conflict
the best reinforcement, that which stands a man in best stead and raises our
surest hope of victory, is the assurance that God is on his side.
II. The text is the
revelation to us of the mystery of the great battle in which we are all
combatants, the battle of life. “Jehovahnissi” must be our watchword, if we
would not doom ourselves to go down before the foe.
1. The Lord is our banner against self, that baser part of us which
is ever ensnaring, enslaving, and dragging us down into the pit.
2. The Lord is our banner
against the world.
3. The Lord is our banner against the devil. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Jehovah-nissi
I. The altar a
memorial of an historic fact. Great battle of Rephidim. One of the most
remarkable. The enemy--crafty, cruel, cowardly--attacked the rear where the
young, aged, women, etc. (Deuteronomy 25:17-18). Israelites
unarmed, unused to warfare. Taken by surprise in the rear. They could succeed
only by the help of God.
II. The altar a
record of religious duty.
1. The duty of diligently using the means at hand in doing our proper
and appointed work. Moses chose the general. Joshua chose the fittest men. The
men chose their weapons.
2. The duty of encouraging those who may be in peculiar danger. Moses
to Joshua (verse 9).
3. The duty of rendering willing sympathy and aid. Israel hastening
to the rescue of the feeble, etc., who were attacked.
III. This altar an
expression of pious sentiments.
1. Of faith. Flushed with success, remembering much individual prowess,
they acknowledge that their victory was from another source.
2. Of gratitude. The altar left behind would teach all desert
travellers to trust in the Lord.
3. Resolution for the future. They would only fight for the right,
and under this banner. We too have a banner (Isaiah 11:10). Must be united (Isaiah 11:12-13), and rally round it (Psalms 60:4; Song of Solomon 2:4). (J. C. Gray.)
Jehovah my banner
There are two names in Scripture conspicuous above all others, the
names Jehovah and Jesus; the one stamped upon the Old Testament, the other upon
the New. Jesus is “the name which is above every name”; it is the crowning word
of Revelation. And the title Jehovah is that which lies beneath and sustains
every other name, that on which all teaching about God contained in the Bible,
and all true knowledge of Him, virtually rest. It is the foundation name of Scripture. With the name
of Jesus we are very familiar. But the other word, the proper name of the God
of Israel and of our Lord Jesus Christ, is too much overlooked and forgotten by
the Church. And this greatly to our loss; for in declaring it to Moses God
said, “This is My name for ever, and My memorial unto all generations.” And
this oblivion betokens the neglect of not a little belong-Lug to the
fundamental teaching about God contained in Scripture; to which in turn we may
attribute certain grave defects, painfully manifest in the religious life and
experience of our times. I mean the lack of reverence, the decay of that sober,
serious piety, that “fear of Jehovah” in which true wisdom begins. It is in
rude and violent
surroundings that great spiritual principles are often first asserted, and out
of the throes of fierce conflict they come to birth. Upon this battle-field,
with routed Amalek disappearing over the edge of the desert, “Moses built ‘his’
altar, and called the name of it Jehovah my banner.” So he lifted up this
mighty name and flung it forth as the ensign under which God’s Israel should
march through all its pilgrimage and warfare in the time to come. This great
name of our God was, however, in later times overlaid and almost destroyed by
superstition. After the age of prophecy had closed, when spiritual faith died
down in Judaism, it ceased to be a living word in the mouth of Israel. Through
fear of “taking the name of Jehovah in vain,” the people no longer dared to
pronounce it; and it is a saying of the rabbis that “he who utters the name as
it is written, has no place in the world to come.” But what does this
mysterious word mean? I cannot give an answer beyond all dispute. Its origin
goes back to the very beginnings of Hebrew speech and religion. The differences
of interpretation, after all, lie within a narrow compass. Most interpreters
have taken it to signify “He is.” Others render it “He is becoming,” “He goes
on to be,” or “will be.” Others again, “He creates,” “He makes to be.” I have
little doubt that the first is the proper, or, at least, the principal sense of
the word, although no very clear or sharp line can be drawn in Hebrew between
this and the second interpretation. But the third application, if it were
certainly established, is at any rate subordinate to the first. “He is,”
therefore “He makes to be.” Creation rests upon the being of God.
I. By the name
Jehovah, therefore, God is declared as the supreme reality. So the Greeks
render it, “He who is”; and John, in the Apocalypse, “Grace and peace to you
from Him which is, and which was, and which cometh.” No grace or peace, verily,
from things that are not! “Say unto the children of Israel”--so He
authenticated Moses--“I AM hath sent me unto you.” The finite demands the
Infinite; the chain of causes and effects hangs upon the Uncaused; all
creatures unite to point to their Creator, and by their very being proclaim
His, in whom they live, and move, and are.” But I hear some one saying, “This
is metaphysics; this is very obscure and transcendental doctrine, this talk
about the Absolute and Uncaused. How could ideas of this sort ever have existed
or been entertained in these early and barbarous times? But everything depends on the way in
which you take notions of this kind. To ancient Israel--the true Israel of
spiritual faith--this was no philosophical abstraction, arrived at by a process
of difficult reasoning: it was the revelation of an immediate and
self-evidencing fact. Behind all sensible objects, the forms of nature, the
movements of human affairs--there He is! They discerned, they felt the presence of
Another--the real, the abiding, the living God, breathing on their spirits by
His breath, searching their hearts with holy eyes, as of flame; He who said to
their souls, “I AM,” and concerning whom they could say, as neither of their
mortal selves nor of the fleeting world, “Yea, and of a truth, He is.” Hence
this name was a standing protest and denouncement against all idolatry. “The
name of Jehovah,” so their proverb ran, “is a strong tower; the righteous
runneth into it and is safe.” “I am Jehovah,” says the Lord in Isaiah, “that is
My name; and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven
images.” You see the argument. If He is, then they are not. His very name
annihilates them. It was this sublime and solid faith in the unity and
sovereignty and spiritual reality of God, that lifted the Jewish people above
superstition and the fear of worldly power. See the whole history of Israel
gathered into a single incident. “Thou comest unto me,” said David to Goliath,
“with a sword, and with
a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied!” Here is the one
immortal certainty, the Rock of Ages.
II. This glorious
name proclaims the eternity of God. His reality is our strength; His eternity
our consolation. If you turn to the French Bible you will find Jehovah
translated, in place of our English “Lord,” by l’Eternel, “The
Eternal.” This rendering is often singularly apt and true, as for instance in Psalms 102:1-28., where the Psalmist in
melancholy mood is sighing,
“My days are as a shadow that declineth, and I am withered like grass.” But he
remembers the name of his God, and he continues: “But Thou, O Eternal, sittest
King for ever; and Thy memorial is unto all generations.” And from that point
in his song he mounts up as on the wings of eagles. God’s name is the He Is--a
timeless present, a perpetual now. John expands it backwards and forwards into
the everlasting past and future: “Grace and peace to you from Him which is, and
which was, and which cometh.” Men live and die; empires rise and fall; worlds
and systems of worlds run through their courses, and dissolve and vanish like a
puff of smoke; still He Is; always He Is; the unchanged, the abiding God, whose
being fills and constitutes eternity. There is no thought so sublime and
overwhelming to the human mind as that of the eternity of God. But there is
none more restful, more soothing and satisfying. “We which have believed,” it
is written, “do enter into rest.” Here we touch the calm of eternity, the
“Sabbath of God.” We have found a haven which no storm can ruffle, a rock to
build upon which no earthquake will ever move. You find great religious minds,
like that of St. Augustine in his Confessions, constantly returning to this
thought as their solace and shelter, hovering round it as birds about their
nest; here they find an ever-renewed spring of mental strength, of spiritual
joy and courage. The Jews have been not unfitly called “the people of
eternity.” Their monumental endurance, the toughness and indestructible
vitality of their national fibre, are due, to no small extent, to the force
with which the doctrine of Jehovah has possessed them. It would seem that the
revelation of personal immortality was not made in the early ages to the men of
Israel, that their souls might be the more completely filled and absorbed with
the thought of God Himself--His being, His character; that they might find in
“Jehovah the portion of their inheritance and their cup.”
III. Jehovah is the
specific name, the proper and personal name of the God of revelation and
redemption. It is, so to speak, the Divine autograph written across the face of
Scripture; it is nothing less than the signature of the Eternal attached to His
covenant of grace; its very presence on the page, the sublimity of its import,
and the transcendent dignity and force with which it is employed, fill the mind
with awe, and compel one to say as he reads and listens, “Surely God is in this
place.” To the believing Israelite this name was a summary of revelation past.
The call of Moses, the judgment upon Pharaoh, the passage of the Red Sea, the
lawgiving on Sinai, the conquest of Canaan--all these and a thousand glorious
recollections clustered round this immortal name, and served for its verifying
or illustration. And it was at the same time the basis and starting-point of
future revelations. Having learnt to say He Is, they could go on to say: “He is
just, He is wise, He is faithful, He is merciful and gracious--Jehovah of Hosts, Jehovah our
Righteousness, Jehovah our Peace, Jehovah our Banner.” In Himself unchangeable,
in His manifestations to mankind God is perpetually new. He is ever advancing
and unfolding Himself to His creation. The “He Is” of the Bible is no frozen,
silent Impersonality, like the Pure Being of Greek philosophy, or like
Spinoza’s Infinite Substance. This is the name of the living, self-declaring
God, whose revelation is the single stream that runs through all cosmical and
human history, the working of whose counsel forms the process of the ages. His
name, like “His mercies,” is “new every morning.”
IV. Finally, this
glorious name of God is a creed, a confession of faith. God says to Moses,
through Moses to Israel, through Israel to the world, “I AM”: faith answers
back, “He Is”; and “this is His name for ever, and His memorial unto all
generations.” Pronouncing it in spirit and in truth, we “set to our seal that
God is true.” It is the communion of heaven and earth, the dialogue between man and his
Creator; it is the Church’s Amen answering back to God’s self-affirming Yea.
And “Ye are My witnesses,” saith Jehovah, “even Israel whom I have chosen.”
Despite its apostasies and its chastisements, nay, even by virtue of them, the
Jewish nation has proved itself the people of Jehovah, the witness of the true
God. Israel has made the nations hear the voice of her God; and now they are
sitting at the feet of her prophets, learning of His ways. It is the flag of
conflict, the symbol of a faith which has the world to overcome. So our text
continues, with a prophetic symbolism that has proved itself all too true: “And
Moses said, Jehovah hath sworn that He will have war with Amalek from
generation to generation.” “All nations compassed me about,” said Israel, in
worldly power the smallest and least considerable of the peoples--“Yea, they
compassed me about; but in the name of Jehovah I will destroy them!” And what
is more, she has done it; her faith, her Christ have done it I Those gigantic
and cruel empires of the East, with their vile and sensual idolatries, have
passed away for ever. Isaiah sang their doom ages before: “They are dead, they
shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise. Therefore hast Thou
visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” Fact is
stranger than fiction. The true God has lived down the false ones. The “He Is”
must displace the “are nots.” As it has been, so it will be. Moloch and Belial
and Mammon--the gods of hate and lust and greed, the gods of this world that
still rule in the nations and blind the souls of men--oldest of all false gods,
which men formed out of their own evil passions, before they set them up in
wood and stone--as the Lord liveth, they shall surely perish! If the Church is
worthy of her faith, she will say like David, “In the name of Jehovah I will
destroy them.” And these latest idols, which our fathers knew not, of modern
nature-worship and scientific materialism, will they fare any better, do you suppose?
The name Jehovah, we have said, is a confession of faith. It is a personal
confession, which only personal experience qualifies us properly to make. It is
not enough to read it in the Bible, to understand and assent to its theological
and historical import; God Himself must pronounce His own “I AM,” must “speak
into our soul His name.” Jesus is to us the revealer of Jehovah. “I have
declared unto them Thy name,” He said to the Father in leaving this world, “and
will declare it.” The name Jehovah--the Absolute, the Eternal, the Creator, the
living God--Christ has rendered into the tender yet no less awful name of
Father. (G. G. Findlay, B. A.)
Jehovah-nissi
A flag is in itself a simple thing enough. A piece of bunting, or
of silk, having on it an emblematic device--that is all I and, when so
regarded, it is “nothing in the world.” But when we view it as a symbol, it
forthwith acquires transcendent importance. It becomes then the mark of
nationality, and all the sentiments
of patriotism are stirred in us by the sight of it. We think of the struggles
of our fathers, when for the first time it fluttered over them in the breeze,
as they resisted injustice and oppression. We recall the many bloody fields
over which, amidst the smoke of battle, its streaming colours waved their proud
defiance. The memories of centuries have woven themselves into its texture; and
as it floats serenely over us, we see in it at once the aggregated result of
our history in the past, and the bright prophecy of our greatness in the future.
Now, it is quite similar with the banner which God has given us, that it may be
displayed because of the truth, and which, as this inscription declares, He is
Himself.
I. Jehovah is our
token of decision. In the opening days of the first French Revolution, it is
said that a timid trimmer fixed a cockade beneath the lappel of his coat on one
breast, and a tricolour in the corresponding portion on the other; and that
when he met a royalist he exposed the cockade, and shouted, “Long live the
king!” but when he met a republican he showed the tricolour, and cried, “Long
live the Republic!”
That, however, sufficed only for a short time: for as the strife increased,
every man was forced to make a decision between the two. So sometimes, in times
of indifference, it has been possible for men to seem to combine the services
of God and mammon; but happily, as I think, for us, we have fallen on an
earnest age, in which it is becoming impossible even to seem to be neutral.
Everywhere the cry is raised, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” and it becomes us
all to hoist our flag, and display to the world in its expanding folds this old
inscription, “Jehovah-nissi--the Lord is my banner.” When Hedley Vicars, the
Christian soldier, was converted, he knew that he should be made the butt of
much ridicule, and the victim of much petty persecution by his comrades; so he
resolved to be beforehand with them, and in the morning on which he made his
decision he took his Bible and laid it down open on his table. Very soon a
fellow-officer came in, and, looking at the book, exclaimed, “Hallo, Vicars!
turned Methodist?” To which he made reply, “That is my flag; and, by the grace
of God, I hope to be true to it as long as I live.” That was his Rephidim, and
there he, too, conquered Amalek by raising the banner of the Lord. So let it be
with you.
II. Jehovah is our
mark of distinction. When, in travelling through England, one comes on the
stately residence of some duke or earl, and sees the flag floating in quiet
dignity from its turret, he knows from that indication that the proprietor is
himself within the walls. Now, the distinguishing peculiarity of the Christian
is that God, to whom he belongs, is, by His Spirit, dwelling within him, and
that shows itself in many ways. It is apparent in the love by which he is
animated for all who are in suffering, sorrow, or want. It is seen in the
purity of speech and conduct which he maintains; in the earnestness of his
devotion to the will of Christ; and in the eager efforts which he makes to
attain to that perfection of character which he sees in his Lord.
III. Jehovah is our
joy. When we make demonstration of our enthusiasm, we raise a whole forest of
flagstaffs, and fix on each an appropriate banner. Let it be the commemoration
of some victory, or the welcome to some foreign prince visiting our shores, and
the whole city is gay with flags, while the emblems of many nationalities are
seen fluttering
in friendly fellowship from the mastheads of the ships in harbour. So we are
reminded, by the inscription on this altar, that “the joy of the Lord” is “the
strength” of the Christian. His life is one of constant gladness; his
characteristic is what I may call a calm enthusiasm, or, to use the phrase of
Jonathan Edwards, a “quiet rapture.”
IV. God is the protector
of His people. There is nothing of which a nation is so jealous as the honour
of its flag, and he who is in reality a citizen has a right to the protection
of the government. Great Britain has few prouder chapters in her recent history
than that which tells of the expedition to Abyssinia some years ago. A great
force was landed on the Red Sea shore; a large, troublesome, and dangerous
march of many days was made into an enemy’s country; a fierce assault was
successfully attempted on a hitherto impregnable fortress; many lives were
lost, and fifty millions of dollars were spent--and all for what? Because a
brutal tyrant was keeping in horrid imprisonment two or three men who had a
right to the protection of the British flag; and you can hardly conceive what
an outburst of joy broke forth from the nation when the news came that they had
been set free, and that the insulting monarch had been made to bite the dust.
But what is the power of the British Empire, in comparison with Omnipotence?
Yet he who sincerely raises this banner has God’s pledge that He will protect
him (see John 10:28-29; John 16:33; Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 54:17). (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The Lord my banner
I. In the first
place, this covenant banner is a wonderful banner when looked at with reference
to its antiquity. It is very easy indeed to tell, for ourselves individually,
when we were first made acquainted with this banner. With some it was in the
lessons of earliest childhood. With others, it was later on in life, when our
knowledge of it began. When this banner was first unfurled, for any of our race
to gaze upon, it is easy enough to tell. We go back to the garden of Eden. But this is only the
date of its first unfolding. The design of it was not first formed then. To get
at this, we must go back far, far beyond that distant date. That takes us
indeed to the farthest shores of time. Standing there we gaze upon the ocean
that lies before us. It is the shoreless ocean of an unmeasured eternity. Far
back in its hidden depths the design of this banner was formed.
II. But now, let us
take another look at this banner, and we shall see that it is not less
wonderful in its material than in its antiquity. The material of which our
flags or banners are ordinarily composed is a coarse woollen substance known as
bunting. True, we sometimes see banners made of more costly materials, as silk
or satin. And gold and silver, and jems and jewels, are not unfrequently
employed to enrich and adorn the material employed in making the banner. These
things, of course, very greatly enhance the value of the banners on which they
are employed. But when we speak of the Lord as our banner, and think of His
revealed truth as the material of which this banner is composed, and then
contrast it with the material of which our ordinary banners are made, how
unspeakable the difference! Jehovah-nissi--the Lord my banner. All the names,
or titles, or symbols applied to God in Scripture, are the elements of truth
that make Him known. And so it is when He is spoken of as the covenant banner,
unfurled over His people. The folds of this banner are woven out of the truth
of His blessed word--“the truth as it is in Jesus.” This constitutes the
material of which this banner is composed.
III. But in the
third place, it is a wonderful banner when we consider the mottoes inscribed
upon it. The banner of England has in French the words--“God and my duty.” The
idea thus embodied is, “My duty to God--and my duty to my country.” This simply
expresses what should be the foremost thought and desire with every Christian
patriot. And the mottoes on the banners of other nations are of a similar
character. They are expressive, for the most part, of some sentiment of honour,
or some principle of duty to the country over which they float. But the
contrast is very striking, when we compare this banner of the covenant with
other banners in regard to the mottoes which they bear. Each other banner bears
but a single motto--while this bears many: those mainly refer to some matter of
personal obligation and duty--while these refer to matters of high and glorious
privilege. Every page of the volume of revealed truth may be regarded as a
distinct fold of this covenant banner; and emblazoned on each fold is one or
more of these inspiring mottoes.
IV. It is a
wonderful banner, in the fourth place, when considered with reference to its
influence on the hearts and lives of men. Doubtless the flag of every nation
has a history, in this respect, that would be deeply interesting if the
incidents connected with it could be collected and written out. But who can
tell how many hearts have been stirred, and how many enterprises of great pith
and moment have been started, and led on to successful issues, by the influence
of this blessed banner? Every motto emblazoned on its waving folds, or, in
other words, every passage of saving truth within the leaves of the Bible, has
a history of its own. How wanderers have been reclaimed!--how slumbering
consciences have been aroused!--how anxious inquiries have been directed!--how
depraved hearts have been renewed!--how sorrowing spirits have been
comforted!--how listless energies have been quickened and consecrated!--how
useless lives have been ennobled land lost souls have been saved, through the
influence of the mottoes on this banner--or of particular passages of God’s
Word--who can tell!
V. And then,
lastly, this is a wonderful banner in view of its durability. This is a quality
which cannot be imparted to our national banners. The materials of which they
are made is frail--and subject to decay. But how different it is with the
banner of the covenant of our salvation! This is something which the hand of
violence cannot rend. Time, with his effacing finger, can make no impression
upon it. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Jehovah-nissi
Jehovah my banner. We acknowledge and honour Him as such four
ways.
1. By voluntarily and inflexibly adhering to Him as our Leader and
Commander.
2. By confessing Him the author of every success with which we have
been crowned.
3. By our courageously trusting in Him to enable us to overcome in
every future conflict.
4. By looking to Him for the remuneration of victory at last. As
Jehovah’s banner floated over the triumphant host, bearing the sweet and
heart-sustaining inscription just explained, so should the assurance of victory
be as complete as the sense of forgiveness, seeing both alike are founded upon
the great fact
that Jesus died and rose again. (A. Nevin, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》