"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword" (Ex. 17:11-13).
While Joshua led the fight against the Amalekites down in the valley, Moses stood on the hill above holding up the rod of God. As long as he held up the rod of God in his hand, Israel prevailed against the enemy. But when Moses got tired and lowered his hands the enemy prevailed. Therefore Aaron and Hur put a stone under him so he could sit down and also came along side of him to help hold up the rod of God in his hand. As a result, Israel was victorious over the enemy. But although God ultimately gave his people the victory, Israel still had to fight and fight hard. God is not going to do for us what we are to do ourselves. God is not going to bless laziness. But at the same time we can't do for ourselves what only God can do.
The picture of Moses holding up the rod of God is symbolic of our need to depend upon God. As Moses held up the rod of God the people were being held up by God against their enemy. We can do the same thing for others today through prayer. One of the best things that a leader can do for those he's called to lead is to pray for them. And one of the best things we can do for leaders is to pray for them too. We need our leaders to lead with the power of God. But they are still human and life beats them up like it beats up those who they lead. Hold up your leaders with love and prayer. We will all be better off for it. Amen!
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