Uplifted

“So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”

 —Exodus 17:10-13

How little we know of the power of praise! God is found in the praises of His people and He communicates Himself to us as we praise. As the Psalmist declared, “Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel”—Psalm 22:3. God is found in the praise of His people. Which is why the Psalmist continually said, “Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!”—Psalm 150:2. God commands us to praise Him because God wants to communicate Himself to us. And when we praise Him, He manifests Himself and we have victory.

In Exodus 17, we have Joshua, the leader of the Jewish army going into battle against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill to survey the battle. We are told that whenever Moses held up of his hands, Israel would prevail in battle. But, whenever Moses put his hands down, Amalek prevailed. Standing up with arms raised for an extended period of time proved to be exhausting, and Moses was unable to do it without assistance. So, Hur and Aaron found a rock for him to sit on, and then they took his arms and held them up until the sun went down—and because of Moses, Joshua defeated Amalek.

The story of Moses’ arms uplifted is given for our benefit that we might know the power of praise. As long as we continually praise the Lord, we have victory. But, when we fail to praise Him, we face defeat. We cannot continually praise alone either. Just as Moses needed Aaron and Hur, so too do we need other believers to come alongside us and help us to worship when we are weary.

Are you experiencing defeat right now? Lift your hands high and sing to the Lord in worship! Are you weary? Pray to the Lord to bring other believers into your life to come alongside you to help you praise! And may God communicate Himself to us through our praises that He might receive glory and we might receive joy! Amen.