Vs. 3, “But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Oh Israel…how easy you forget. The Israelites take their grumbling up a notch by quarreling with Moses (vs. 2). Like the Red Sea incident, Moses uses the staff to divinely manipulate water (vs. 5-7). Question: Why the lack of faith? I recall driving through a desert and I thought that was hard. Imagine traveling through the desert on foot with over one million others? But these tough desert times were for their benefit (Exodus 20:20). In the second half of our chapter, we see Israel’s first military encounter (vs. 8-16). The Amalekites were probably descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12, 16). They would be thorns in Israel’s side as the years progressed (vs. 16). We are also introduced to Joshua the warrior who would battle the Amalekite as Moses would hold up his staff (vs 11-13)! Though we are not sure the original significance, we are certainly reminded that it was God who helped them win this battle!
Regarding application…Obedience. Vs. 10, “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.” The LORD could have easily just blotted out the Amalekites, but this time He chose to use the Israelites. There will be battles that we cannot avoid both physically and spiritually. God called on Joshua to help lead His people in battle. Joshua was able to round up the right people (vs. 9) to help him fight the enemy. Joshua was prepared. We also need to be prepared to obey when God calls us. Question: Are you ready?
