"An Enemy with Many Faces"

Exodus 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

The wilderness journey of Israel was one marked by a variety of trials. Perhaps they thought that their fight was over when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea, but their enemy had more than one face. This time it was the Amalekites, and they were out to destroy the army of Israel that was led by Joshua. Under God's command, Moses stood on top of the hill and held up his staff. As long as his staff was held up, Joshua and Israel prevailed, but when he let his hand go down, then the army of Amalek gained the advantage. To me, this brings out the reality of spiritual warfare. Something was happening beyond the scope of the human eye that was making huge difference in the outcome of the battle. As Moses grew tired, Aaron and Hur helped to assure that God's command was carried out, and their obedience on the mountain resulted in a victory down in the valley. There are a few things that we can learn here. First, don't be surprised when you win one battle that you find yourself in a new one with different methods of attack. Secondly, never underestimate the power of simple obedience, even when it doesn't seem to relate to the battle that you are in. Finally, it never hurts to jump in and help carry the load that someone else is growing weary with. You never know, you might just make the difference in the outcome!