Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day.
Time is interesting to think about. We have the past, present and future. We believe God created the world about 6,000 years ago.
Everything from now back to then is history.
It is important for us to understand and learn from the past.
Now we have a very short moment called the present.
This moment is precious, and what we do now has consequences.
The future lies out before us unknown. We don't know if we have two days, two years, or 200 years. Only God knows. And he also knows exactly what will happen in the future.
Three simple words, past, present, future. And they each play a part in God's story.
You see, God overrules history. Think of history as his story.
God is the author, and he knows what is happening every moment in every place. We can't grasp how this can be done, and we are astounded by our powerful God.
With God, the past, present and future are sure they will happen exactly as he planned. Today's story is one example from history of how God was involved and helped the children of Israel win one of their first battles. Turn to Exodus 17 and we will hear more about this great God.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Earthly rulers and politicians make big promises.
They have big plans, but they often find them hard to carry out. And they find that their promises are hard to keep. In fact, some of them don't intend to keep their promises.
But leaders rise and fall. They come and go. They're somewhat like the ebb and flow of the sea.
Behind all of history is the God of the universe. But you know, most of the rulers of the kingdoms of the world, they don't pay any attention to him.
In our world today, governments rise and fall regularly.
Some of them are changed by elections, some by military coup, and some by conquest from a foreign power.
Even the greatest empires of the world all had a limited lifetime.
Some lasted hundreds of years.
But today they are all gone, relegated to what we call the ash heap of history.
In their day, those world powers thought they were invincible. But they didn't understand that God had raised them up in order to accomplish his purposes.
It was he who was moving in the kingdoms of men to prepare the world for the fulfillment of his plans.
And so the Bible tells us that God rules in the kingdoms of men.
Many years ago, in the country of Babylon, there was a proud king named Nebuchadnezzar. You might remember the story.
He felt what he had accomplished in his kingdom was because of how great he was. He was a rather smart man to Be sure. But he didn't give God any credit.
And because he was so proud and did not give God credit, then the Lord sent him out with the beasts of the field for seven years. He lost his mind. He lost his ability to reason. He couldn't think like a rational human being. And so he was out there with the oxen in the field, eating the grass just like they did until he learned the Bible says that God rules.
So when he came back to his throne and his reason returned to him, he made a decree throughout all his kingdom that men should honor the God of heaven. Because he rules in the kingdom of men.
God rules in the kingdoms of men, whether they acknowledge him or whether they don't.
And we'll find some help in understanding how God overrules in history as we look at Exodus chapter 17 and verses 8 to 16.
Listen as I read that text, that's Exodus 17, beginning with verse 8.
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, choose out men from among us and go out and fight with Amalek.
Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur held 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.
And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. For he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek. From generation to generation, from this text, we can gain several insights into how God rules in the kingdoms of men.
These insights emerge from this particular battle between Amalek and the people of Israel.
The first insight comes to us from the call to battle.
Amalek had attacked Israel and fought with them in Rephidim.
Amalek was a descendant of Esau.
Now remember, the Bible tells us that There had been conflict between Esau and Jacob ever since the boys were born, even while their father Isaac still lived. So this was an old problem that was surfacing again.
In order to meet this provocation, this attack by the Amalekites, Moses ordered Joshua to set up a military organization and mobilize the army.
Now, this is the first mention in the Bible that the men of Israel were to engage in battle.
They probably had no experience in warfare, and they probably had little, if any, military equipment. But God told Moses to get the men ready for battle.
Now, there is the account of how Abraham armed his servants and fought the Canaanite kings to rescue Lot, his nephew. But that was a very small group of men compared to this experience.
So here Joshua was commanded by Moses to choose out men, organize them into an army, and then fight with Amalek.
And then Moses said he would go up on top of the hill and notice what he was going to take with him up on that hilltop. He said, I'm going to the top of the hill, and I will have the rod of God in my hand.
So the rod of God symbolized God's authority that had been delegated to Moses. And it also symbolized the fact that God rules and overrules in human history.
So there was careful administration. Joshua did exactly what Moses told him to do.
Moses did what he had promised Joshua he would do. The orders were carried out, and the cooperation was complete. The call to battle had been given.
And then the second insight comes from the conquest in the battle.
We read that Moses took his position on the hill and he lifted his hands in intercession to God. And when he did that, Israel prevailed. That means they were defeating the Amalekites.
But when Moses hands got heavy and he lowered them, then Amalek began to prevail.
Most likely the men on the battlefield never knew what Moses was doing up on that hill.
They may have thought that the battle ebbed and flowed by the ability of the soldiers on the field. But you know something? What Moses did on that hill was more important than what Joshua did on the battlefield.
Now, surely there was cooperation that was necessary.
But when Moses prayed and lifted his hands to the Lord, the forces of Israel were successful.
But Moses was human. He got weary. He got tired.
Moses was interceding, and intercession is work. So they took a stone and set it up, and they had him sit on it. That elevated him. So Aaron and Hur could stand one on each side and hold up his hands until the sun went down for that day.
Now, As I said, what happened on that hill was more important in many respects than what happened on the battlefield.
Because Moses was faithful in prayer and because his hands were held up in intercession to the God of the universe, Joshua's forces on the battlefield were successful.
That should convince us that God overrules in history.
And it should also convince us of the power of intercessory prayer in winning the spiritual battles that you and I face.
And then here's the final insight that follows naturally.
The memorial of the battle.
After the victory, the Lord said, write this for a memorial so the succeeding generations might understand how God rules and overrules in history.
I'm confident that Moses put that in a document, that he was up there on the hill praying when the forces were on the battlefield with Amalek.
Now, when you and I fight major battles in life and the Lord delivers us, it's good for us to have some kind of a memorial to that event.
That memorial serves as a reminder to us of God's provision. And it can also be a conversation starter for our children and grandchildren when they ask, what's the reason for that. We can then share with them the experience of how God delivered us in our time of difficulty.
Furthermore, there was a prediction in that memorial document. The Lord said to Moses, I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Now, I want you to understand something. God doesn't act by whim.
He knows everything, and he operates by a certain divine law.
He is merciful to those who seek him, but he also renders just judgment to those who turn against him.
And that is the reason for this pronouncement against Amalek. Amalek did not worship the true God.
That is why this prediction was included in the memorial record of this battle.
Moses wrote the memorial, and he built a praise altar. He named it Jehovah Nissi, which means, the Lord is my banner.
Moses echoed what God said by making this remark. Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
That banner was very important. It was a symbol of God's victory to both Israel and the Amalekites.
Every time it was lifted up, people would remember the great victory that God had provided.
Don't ever forget that God is against those who oppose him.
This is important.
God is merciful to those who seek his face, but to those who turn against him and go their own way, he has constant conflict.
This same truth is contained in the New Testament. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 3:16 18 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
You see, that's God's mercy being extended to those who believe on Him. But now listen to verse 18 he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
So there is the promise of judgment for those who turn against God and reject his love.
As you read the scriptures, you should see how God overrules history, shaping and preparing the world for his plans as human history moves to the end that he has determined.
Since God is the ruler of history, he is certainly concerned about every person.
Be assured, without him we fail, but with him we triumph.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: Thanks J. Mark for this teaching and thank you for joining us. We trust our time together has been a blessing. If you would like this teaching or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. Here are a few ways you can contact us. The best way is via email.
Our email is hopeheraldsofhope.org if you don't have email, you could send us a letter. Our address is HopeFor Today, Box 3, Breezewood, PA 15533. Or you can connect with us on our website. Our website is heraldsofhope.org on our website you will find more teaching like this and other helpful resources. Please look around while you're there. If you go to the Connect tab, you can message us directly.
Again, Our website is heraldsofhope.org thank you so much for being with us. We look forward to next week and hope you will join us then. As we continue our study in Exodus, I will part with an encouraging thought From Joel, Chapter 2 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, I am the Lord your God, and there is no other blessings as you serve our great King.
