YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

“THE TARMAC ROARED WITH THE ENGINES OF REFUELING TANKERS and reconnaissance jets taking off.

"I paused, climbing the stairs to my place. The President had just ordered me to go to war. The troops were ready. The question in my mind was, am I ready?

"Watching a huge gray jet lumber down the runway and climb into the desert sky, I felt a deep well of confidence. But strangely, I did not think of my seasoning in combat, my years as a commanding officer, or the military education I'd received in my career.

"Instead, my thoughts cast back to the small towns of the American Southwest where I'd grown up. It was this environment, my family, my friends, and my faith that had formed my values, my character. It was these elements that had made me who I was, years before I ever put on the uniform of a soldier.

"Success in the campaign ahead would depend more on character, sense of purpose, and values - the nation's, the President's, my own, and the troops' - than on raw military power." (An American Soldier, General Tommy Franks).

Like it or not, world history is filled with wars. "The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.

"So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 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 till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekites' army with the sword.

"Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’

"Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, 'For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation'" (Exodus 17:8-16 NIV Study Bible).

War is nasty. It maims and it kills. Judging from history, it has been a necessary evil down through the ages. Nations just aren't willing to accept the blessings God gives them within their borders and leave well enough alone. General Tommy Franks said, "Success in the campaign ahead would depend more on character, sense of purpose, and values - the nation's, the President's, my own, and the troops' - than on raw military power." So where do character, sense of purpose, and values fit in to this war between the Israelites and the Amalekites?

The battle with Amalek was the first attempt, outside of Egypt, to interfere with Israel's march to Canaan. As a result, God commanded that Amalekites be exterminated. But why? "You must never forget what the people of Amalek did to you as you came from Egypt. Remember that they fought with you and struck down those who were faint and weary and lagging behind, with no respect or fear of God. Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the Promised Land, you are utterly to destroy the name of Amalek from under heaven. Never forget this" (Deuteronomy 25:17-19 TLB).

When the US finds a wounded enemy, we treat him. Yet the Amalekites struck down the faint and weary and the people who had a difficult time keeping up with the crowd. This was such a low thing that God said they should utterly be destroyed. Those people lacked that character, that sense of purpose, and the values that General Franks spoke of.

When a nation is at war, there should be a national unified front that supports its troops. That's what General Franks meant when he spoke of the nation's and the President's character, sense of purpose, and values being required for success in war. Moses and his men had that. But there came a point when Moses simply couldn't hold his hands up, as he prayed for victory. Aaron and Hur gave him the support he needed and held up his hands. These were men of character with a sense of purpose and values. They understood the importance of working together as a team at a time like this, so they held up Moses' hands as he prayed.

You might ask, how could a loving God tell the Israelites to utterly destroy the Amalekites? Isn't human life sacred? Sacred simply means "devoted to God." "If human life is devoted to God, then God has the right to decide that, in certain cases, life is forfeited. He did exactly that when He mandated the death penalty for murderers. It was left to the civil authority to carry it out - " (Capital Punishment: A Christian Dilemma, by Ronald L.Dart). He also had the right to decide that the Amalekites be utterly destroyed.