10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus17:8-13
So, who won the battle? Joshua, Joshua's army, Moses, Aaron and Hur, or God?
- Joshua: who led the army and who the Bible credits?
- Joshua's army: who actually did the fighting?
- Moses: Who prayed for them?
- Aaron and Hur: Whose support kept Moses focussed on his job?
- God
The obvious answer is God - and technically that is the correct answer.
The fascinating thing is that God chooses to work in a team.
- God didn't need Joshua, the army or Moses.
- God was teaching them about teamwork.
Sometimes we get to be the general, sometimes we get to be the footsoldiers, sometimes we get to be the ones doing background work (like prayer, admin, and caring) and sometimes we are the encouraging supporters.
Every person in the equation is important and every person in the equation needs to depend on God to help them play their part.
Sometimes the victory is credited to the general, and the encouragers are not necessarily acknowledged, but everyone is needed!
I'd like to end with a focus on the role of Aaron and Hur. Recognising the need to encourage and support others doesn't always come easily. With Moses it was easy to recognise that his arms got tired and there were visible results when his arms got tired.
It is not always easy to see when someone's battery is going flat and one can't always see the immediate and significant effects that the discouragement of someone who works "behind the scenes" can have.
Make time to encourage the faithful folk who work behind the scenes. It could make a big difference.
======================================================
EmmDevs will be taking a break for the school hols...
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
