So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  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.  So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:10-13

Moses was getting tired.  They’d been at this for hours.  Down in the valley, Joshua and his rag-tag group of former slaves were fighting for their lives against a seasoned Amalekite army.  Humanly speaking, they had little hope of victory.  What could shepherds and brickmakers do against trained men of war?  But they weren’t alone.  God had shown up in a big way.  Unbeknownst to the enemy, Moses was on a nearby hill overlooking the battle with arms raised in prayer and praise, holding the staff of God.  This was the same staff that at God had used to split the Red Sea like an overripe watermelon. And now as Moses held it up over the warring armies below, against all odds, Israel was prevailing.  God was using Moses and this staff to influence the outcome of the battle.  When he held it up, Israel won, but when he lowered his arms, the tide turned and Amalek began to win. But miraculous staff or not, a wooden staff gets heavy when you hold it up for an hour or two or three.  And Moses was running out of steam.

In rushed Aaron and Hur, Moses’ steadfast associates. They rolled up a large rock for Moses to sit on and then stood, one man on either side, holding up his hands until the sun set.  Israel won, not because they had a superior fighting force, but because they had an all-powerful God.

In last week’s blog entry, I noted that God used this incident early in Israel’s history to write directly into their spiritual DNA that victory happens when we fully rely on God and not on our own resources.  For as long as the nation existed, they would remember this object lesson- hands up (in prayer and praise), you win; hands down, you lose.

But I think there’s another lesson that God has for his people.  God certainly knew that it was physically impossible for Moses to hold up his hands for an entire day.   And yet that’s exactly what he required in order for Israel to win the battle. God anticipated and fully expected Moses to come to the end of his own strength and need to lean into others for help.  Sure, Moses could have tried to gut it out as his muscles cramped and shoulders strained (and maybe he did), but in the end, he would need help.  God designed it that way. The ONLY way he would ever be able to complete the task that God had given him was to rely on the strength of others.

To me, that’s an astounding thought. I tend to isolate or try to “go it alone.”  But God has intentionally designed my task and yours to require help. I can strain and moan and complain that the burdens are too heavy, or I can do what God intended all along and ask for help.  And rest assured, standing off in the wings there’s a brother and sister, or two, who would be honored to come along side and hold up your hands in the battle.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls  and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

So, who’s holding up your arms?  And the answer isn’t simply “Jesus.” No, God has placed us in community with each other and then structured our individual tasks so that they are almost impossible to complete on our own. We have to rely on other in order to finish the job. So, stop trying to hold up that staff all by yourself.  Life is hard enough, as it is; and Aaron and Hur would be happy to lend you a hand.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2