The Pentateuch Exodus

Water from the Rock & Amalekite Defeat

Discover Jesus as: Deliverer Exodus 16-18 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 36 of 730
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INTRO

Exodus is the story of the Israelites “exiting” slavery. So far, we’ve seen God part the Red Sea, the Israelites praise God for this miracle, and God’s provision for the people.

TEACHING

Exodus 17:1: The Israelites numbered 2 million people and had 40 stops on their wilderness journey (Numbers 33). Constable said, “They wanted [God] to act as they dictated, rather than waiting for Him to provide as He had promised.” The Israelites were testing the Lord instead of having the Lord test them.1(1 Corinthians 10:9–10).

Exodus 17:3: The Israelites’ hearts were still in Egypt. They forgot who God is and what He’d done. Wiersbe says every experience can “become either a test that can make us better or a temptation that can make us worse.”2Any situation can be used for His glory (Romans 8:28)!

Exodus 17:4: This became a pattern: tough situation, people complained, and Moses took his difficulties to the Lord. As a leader, Moses was consistent: in the midst of their complaints, he went to the Lord on their behalf (Exodus 32:30); he went to the tent to meet with the Lord (Exodus 33:8); and he prayed for the people when things got tough (Numbers 11:2). Moses was the deliverer. God used him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, and he pointed people to God’s presence. When we face hard times, we should point people to God’s presence (Psalm 46:1).

Exodus 17:5–7: Moses’ staff turned into a snake and turned the Nile to blood in Egypt. Moses stood before the people with the elders and God stood on the rock at Horeb. Massah meant testing or proof; Meribah meant murmuring or dissatisfaction. Many passages recorded the grumbling and complaining of the Israelites. (Exodus 15; 16; 17; Numbers 14; 16; 17.) Yet God met their needs every time (Psalms 78:15–16; 105:41). It took one night for the Israelites to get out of Egypt but 40 years to get Egypt out of the Israelites.

Exodus 17:8–9: Amalek came and fought against Israel. God promised to give them the land, but He didn’t promise to just hand it over to them. They were going to have to fight to take it. The Amalekites were pirate-like people (v. 8). This is the first reference to Joshua. He will be mentioned 200 times. Moses was already beginning to entrust the deliverer mentality to Joshua (v. 9). A true leader will always empower others.

Exodus 17:10: Joshua didn’t complain. He did what Moses told him to do. Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. Moses and Aaron were the sons of Amram and Jochebed. Hur was the son of Caleb and Ephrath (1 Chronicles 2:19). He could have been the grandfather of Bezalel (Exodus 31:2), the architect of the tabernacle. Aaron and Moses were Levites. Hur was in the lineage of Judah. The Levites and Judah were working together. Josephus claimed that Hur could have been the husband of Miriam.3

Exodus 17:11–12: Moses’ hands dictated the outcome. When Moses sat down, Aaron and Hur held his hands up. Josephus called the Amalekites the most warlike of the nearby nations.4The Israelites’ first fight was with the toughest opponent possible.

We can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). Victory is not dependent on us but on God. I love the image that Moses is praying. We need to be interceding for the Lord to be victorious. This must have been a tiring process for Moses’ strength to have left him, because even when he was old, he was known to be strong (Deuteronomy 34:7). Zwemer called prayer “the gymnasium to the soul.”5We too are told to lift up our hands to the Lord (Psalms 28:2; 44:20; 63:4).

Exodus 17:13: Because of Moses, Aaron, and Hur’s intercession, Joshua defeated the Amalekites. It was a team effort. Josephus wrote that no Hebrews died, but an innumerable number of Amalekites perished.6The Israelites were not seasoned fighters. This was a miracle! Intercession was essential! Moses is a type of Christ, as a picture of Jesus’ intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). The Holy Spirit also intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:26–27).

Exodus 17:14: God wanted Joshua to remember this moment. Moses was instructed to write things down three times in Exodus and two times in Numbers. The Israelites had a tendency to forget. What God told Moses to write down had not fully come to fruition yet. It was a prophecy. God was going to blot out their memory later.

Exodus 17:15–16: Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner”. The Lord would be at war with Amalek from generation to generation. Scripture records five other times Israel fought the Amalekites (Numbers 14; Judges 6; 1 Samuel 15; 30; 2 Samuel 8). The prophecy seems to be fulfilled in 1 Chronicles 4:42–43. Exodus 17 is a picture of Moses being the deliverer.

Exodus 18: Jethro and the rest of Moses’ family came to Moses. They got caught up on all God had done for the people. Aaron and the elders ate a meal with Moses’ family. Jethro noticed that Moses was tired, so he told Moses to surround himself with other leaders. Moses did what his father-in-law said, as any humble leader should do.

CLOSING

God is in the business of setting people free, and He loves to use you and me to do it.

  1. Thomas Constable, Dr. Constable’s Expository (Study) Notes: Exodus, p. 152; available online athttps://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/exodus.pdf

  2. Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered (Exodus): Finding Freedom by Following God. (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook) p. 104

  3. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews. (via BibleStudyTools.com). Book 3, Chapter 2.

  4. Josephus.

  5. Samuel M. Zwemer, quoted in Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook), p.176.

  6. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 2; available via BibleStudyTools.com.

Questions

  1. What did the Lord provide for the Israelites in Exodus 16? What was their response? (Exodus 16:20, 27; Numbers 11:4–6) Can you think of a time when you responded to the Lord’s provision like the Israelites?
  2. How does manna in Exodus 16 foreshadow Christ? According to John 6:48–51, how does Jesus surpass manna from Heaven?
  3. Was the Rock of Horeb (Exodus 17:6) a foreshadowing of Christ? (Psalm 105:41; 1 Corinthians 10:1–4)
  4. Do you see Moses lifting up his hands on behalf of the Israelites in Exodus 17:10–16 as a picture of prayer? What does lifting hands to the Lord represent? (Psalms 28:2; 63:4; 141:2) Do you ever lift your hands in prayer? Why or why not?
  5. How do you see Moses as a deliverer for the Israelites in Exodus 16—18? Can you think of any parallels to Christ as Deliverer?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Exodus 16—18 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Exodus 18:18-19a

“You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you.”

Moses’s arms were heavy: literally and figuratively. He could no longer lead the people alone. Aaron helped him to speak. Hur and Aaron supported his hands during the battle with Amalek. Then the Lord sent his father-in-law, Jethro, to advise him in the area of delegation and leadership. Jethro came from the outside and assessed the situation from his perspective.

Moses received assistance with humility. Are you facing a task too heavy for you? Are you overwhelmed? You are not alone. Seek the Lord. He will send you the help and insight you need when the task seems too big. Receive it, and God will be with you.

“You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you.”

— Exodus 18:18–19a

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Exodus 18:24 — “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.”
  • Psalm 34:17 — “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.”
  • Matthew 11:28 — “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”