The first battle.

Today in church, a very special passage was read. It was exodus 17:8. It described the first battle that the Israelite fought after they escaped from Egypt. "Firsts" are usually very significant in the bible. The principle of first mentions, theologians call it, sets the tone God sees a certain principal throughout the entire bible.

In this battle "...While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them...."

Rephidim means rest, while Amalek (The term may be divided into amal - to toil, and the letter kuf, with the meaning 'ejection of the life-spirit' e.g. katal - to kill with removal of life-spirit.) means 'becoming dispirited through loss of spirit as a result of hard labour and continuous toil'. Such detachment is negative in nature.

In other words, this verse reads: ...while the people of Israel were still at rest, the warriors of toil attacked them.

Can you see it? Here the bible records for us, that the first battle of that the Israelite fought was against toil - works of flesh. When I saw that in church, my whole spiritual being was shaken - this is no coincidence indeed. The bible has hidden this wisdom for me - that today, my first spiritual battle is fought at rephidim - the battle is fought at REST against works.

And how did the people of Israelite win that battle? Apparently, they won the battle by holding up a staff on a hill.

"...on the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage...."

Now, staff's are made from trees. And on a hill, far away, hung a man on a tree (see hebrew) on top of a hill. This is a picture of Jesus' finish work. Lifting up the staff is synonymous with declaring His finished work. Just as Jesus has once spoken "... Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life...."

The picture is so consistent, my goodness. It is as if history repeats it self! No wonder God says, the OT is a foreshadow of things to come.

As Jesus was lifted up by Moses, His people had victory. It was a glorious battle. But the story did not end there. After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

This point of view from God is very shocking to me indeed. Because it sounds as if God HATES toilsome labour and He has a personal vendetta against it. When God says WAR I He means WAR.

The truth in this story has been repeated several times since the days of moses. Perhaps the last time was the story of Mary and Martha. Mary has chosen that ONE thing which shall not be taken away from her - sitting at the foot of jesus & listening to him. (yes, it's seen as one thing). The WAR ended with Jesus when he finally SAT down on the right hand of the Father.

This sermon has deep impact for me. Because at this point of my life, I have been working really hard. I think sometime a few weeks ago, I transited from working-hard-from-rest to toilsome-striving. The former brings joy to me and the latter sucks life out of me. I think many of us can relate to that feeling at one time or another. And the fact that almost every christian can relate to 'loss of spirit due to toilsome work' - amalek - is a scary one. It is the very idea God hates. The thought of it sends me to prayers.

This story also opened up a question of how we disciple new believers. (what should we teach them to get them ready for the 'real christian life' ?) I think my direction is clear from now on - it is to tell about them about this rest. That their righteousness is founded on faith on Jesus. That after all, is that ONE thing that is needed - and it shall not be taken away from us.

What are some of the things that were taught to you as a new christian? Did you find it helpful or not helpful? Would love to hear them in the comment section below.