No Man is an Island

In case you were wondering, I do my daily reading from the Life Journal reading plan with the SOAP devotional model (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer). It's a great plan that takes you through the Old Testament once and New Testament twice per year. The journals are relatively inexpensive, or you can find the reading plan online. I use YouVersion's Bible app on my iPhone (and I believe it is also available for BB or Android) that includes this particular reading plan, as well as many others, and allows you to switch translations conveniently. As I stated in a previous post, my trusty bible that I have been using for about 12 years is The Student Bible NIV published by Zondervan.

Reading: Exodus 17-20, Acts 3

Ex. 17:11-12 "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 until sunset."

So, in this story we find the Israelites in a battle against the Amalekites after being attacked for simply being who they were. God had promised the Israelites that the Amalekites' land was part of the territory they would inherit as the promised land. Either the Amalekites caught wind of this little bit of info, or they just didn't like the Israelites hanging out near their land, so they attacked them. Now, since God was with the Israelites on this thing (because they were following what He had said to do), God told Moses that they would win this battle. The only catch was that Moses had to stand up on a hill over where the fighting was going on, and hold up the staff he had used to part the Red Sea.

What? Not only does that not make any sense, it seems rather silly. How could Moses holding a big stick over his head possibly make the difference in a full on battle? I mean, were the Amalekites supposed to be intimidated by the stick? But, sure enough, whenever Moses held up the stick, the Israelites were winning, and whenever he put his arms down (how would you like to hold a stick up all day?) the Israelites started to lose the battle. Around this point, everyone started to get the idea that, silly or not, holding the stick up was the thing to do if they didn't want to see all their people get killed.

To me, it really seems like God sometimes asks us to do silly or ridiculous things in order to test our faith. Do we believe that He is who He says He is, so that something so absurd as holding up a stick could actually mean the difference between success and failure on the battlefield? To us it seems crazy and useless, but God just likes to show off like that sometimes. It was painfully clear that it was God's hand and not the strength of the Israelites that was winning the battle. How else would something so insignificant as a guy holding big stick on a hill make a true impact on the outcome?

So, Moses, being the (mostly) obedient guy that he was, resolves himself to hold the staff up above his head for the rest of the day while the battle is raging on. He's following God's calling for him in that situation. But...it starts to get tough...I mean, I guess most guys were pretty buff back then having to do lots of manual labor, but even still, holding that stick up all day long was a hard task. But God told Moses to do it, it's not like God said anyone could hold the staff up, God had told Moses that he had to do it. So, he's standing there, and his arms are probably shaking like crazy, and he's trying so hard to do what God says, but his body is beginning to give out on him...

That's when his brother Aaron and his friend Hur step in. They gave him a rock to sit on (I guess it's better than nothing, can't be too picky out in the desert), and then each of them got on either side and helped him hold his arms up. (If any of you have ever read or seen the last scene of Lord of the Rings when Sam is carrying Frodo up the mountain to destroy the ring...this is the kind of scene that comes to mind...)

The funny thing is, it doesn't say that Moses asked them for help, it just says that they did it. I kind of see Moses as a one man show, at least in his own mind. He is the one who God speaks to, so he kind of takes it on himself to do everything, unless God tells him specifically to give the task to someone else. That kind of burden has got to be heavier than anything I could imagine. And you can see in Ex. 18 when his father-in-law Jethro comes to visit that it wasn't just these epically dramatic scenes he was taking all upon himself, it was the entire governing of the Israelite people...singlehandedly. I really think that Moses got so caught up in trying to do exactly what God said, that he completely blinded himself to the support and community that God had built up around him.

We weren't meant to do this alone. We were not made to be solitary beings. God knows that we cannot always be strong, that there will be times (usually at the really important times) that we will begin to falter and need support from people we trust. That's why building and maintaining relationships are so important. It's tough, because it really creates opportunity for hurt and betrayal, but it's necessary. We cannot love others the way that God loves us without becoming vulnerable. It's all in the package deal, community was created for us to experience communion with one another and to build each other up. And through our interactions with each other we can get a glimpse of the heart that God has toward us. God has amazing things planned for all of us, but just because we have a specific calling does not mean that we have to accomplish it solo. Even those leaders at the top (like Moses) need bros like Aaron and Hur to come along side them and help hold their arms up while the battle is raging on. In the end, it didn't matter that Moses had help, the Israelites won the battle and all the glory went to God (where it was deserved).

So...what does this mean for me?
Has God asked me to do something that seems ridiculous out of faith?
Am I so caught up in one aspect of my task that it's preventing me from seeing the big picture?
When in my life do I need to ask for help?
Where am I receiving discipleship and counsel from?
Am I afraid of letting people help me because I am afraid of letting them see my weakness?
Is it pride or ignorance that make me think that I have to do it all on my own?
Is there anyone around me I could offer some help to? It could be physical help, or it could just be a listening ear or the blessing of quiet company...

Dear father, please reveal to me the people you have put in place in my life to support me in my calling and make it clear to me when it is time to ask for help (or give help to others).