Our Greatest Enemy: Not the Devil, but the Amalekites 我们最大的敌人：不是魔鬼，而是亚玛力人

"There they come, the Amalekites,
with a call for a battle against us, here in the land of Reph'idim. What are we to do, Moses?!"

Fear swirled up in the hearts of the Israelites as the enemies approached closer and closer.

"Joshua, choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."

in a voice that sparked no fear but only authority and confidence, Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did as he said.

Sounds of ferocious battle cries and swords-clashing dominated the land of Reph'idim,

bathing the land in blood and scent of many deaths.

Moses, Aaron and Hur scrambled up the hill,

gaining a perfect view of the battlefield from that high plane.

The Power of the Almighty Commander, the Lord was now manifested,

whenever Moses held up his hand,

the victory fell to the Israelites.

Soon, Moses' hands grew tired, and were let down,

the Israelites were slain and slaughtered, revealing a sign of obvious defeat.

Swiftly, Aaron and Hur placed a stone for Moses to sit, and lifted up his hands, till Sundown.

Joshua mowed down the Amalekites with the edge of the sword.

Victory belonged to the Israelites, and the Lord uttered these words to Moses,

"... that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven!"

Story Elaborated from Exodus 17:8 - 15

God wanted to annihilate all Amalekites, but why did God seem so ruthless to this particular race? Gen36:12 states that this race of Amalek was no ordinary people, they were descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright to satisfy his fleshly desires.

Esau - the Bible describes him as a man submitted to his fleshly desires and lust.
the Amalekites - illustrated as a people of craftiness and deceitfulness who always warred against the Israelites; related to Esau, related to fleshly desires.

PREFIGURATION
The Amalekites prefigure a perpetual enemy of a greater threat

to us than the devil, ---- fleshly desires and lust inside ourselves!

An enemy greater than the Devil,

oh dear,

how are we to destroy it then?

In fact, the answer lies in the story above, too!

The story itself prefigures a way for us to defeat our own fleshly desires:

1. at first, Moses told Joshua to choose men to fight... This is an action of a systematic strategy-planning. A systematic life cultivates a good character in our life of faith.
2. Moses held the rod of God --- This shows that Moses persisted in his faith towards the rod (power promised by God), that is God's Words. Key to Victory against our fleshly desires is to hold firm to God's Words.
3. Moses was on the hill to gain a clear view and he saw everything ahead of him. Standing on spiritual high grounds, gaining a perfect sight to know our enemies and ourselves well.
4. Hands up = victory; Hands down = Defeat --- why did God want Moses to undergo such big deal of trouble before gaining triumph? In fact, this signifies Prayer. Prayer = victory; NO prayer = defeat
5. Aaron and Hur supported Moses --- Spiritual Partners are important in spiritual battles
   
   

Sabbath sermon in GombakTjc 18/7/09
God bless

[出埃及记 17：8-15]

神要消灭所有亚玛力人。为什么神对这个种族那么残忍呢？创36:12 说到亚玛力不是平凡人，他们是以扫的子孙，就是那为了满足自己肉体的情欲而把长子名份卖掉的人。
以扫- 是一位服从肉体情欲的人。
亚玛力人-狡猾的，不诚实的人，还常常攻打以色列人。他和以扫有关联，和肉体情欲也有关系。

预表
亚玛力人预表我们的敌人

他比魔鬼带来更大的威胁——我们自己肉体的情欲

一个比魔鬼更厉害的敌人，

我们要怎样打败他呢？
答案就在这故事里面。

1) [出17:9] 摩西吩咐约书亚去选人出来和亚玛力人争战。这是一个有规律的策略计划。在信心的生活中，有规律的人生能培养出一个好特性
2）[出17:9] 摩西拿着神的仗——摩西对神的仗坚持着他的信心，神的仗=神的力量，神的话。得胜的钥匙就是神的话，我们当紧紧地握着神的话。
3）[出17:9] 摩西站在山顶上为了能清楚地看到整个战场。——站在属灵高原以得到完美的视野，了解到敌人和自己。
4）[出17:11] 举手=得胜，垂手=失败！——祷告=得胜，没祷告=失败。
5）[出17:12] 亚伦与户珥扶着摩西的手。——属灵同伴在我们属灵争战中非常重要。

鹅麦教会的安息日聚会18/7/09
愿神祝福