The Lord who Protects

I love health and safety, just for the news stories it results in: Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council have been telling residents to remove garden gnomes because they are a safety hazard. This Christmas staff at West Norfolk Council were told to remove tinsel from their computer screens because it's a fire-hazard. Binmen working for Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire have been banned from crossing the road. One in six schools have out-lawed pupils playing conkers in the playground because of nut allergies. As ridiculous as those stories are, safety is pretty big business – even in the real world outside local authorities.

We probably all spend not an insignificant amount of money on insurance. When buying a car there's always the consideration of how safe it is – will it protect me in a crash. We might try and protect ourselves financially through savings. In a similar way we can view education and our career as protection – a protected income. These things all have their place, but if we view them as our ultimate source of protection – they become like a god to us – what we trust in above all else. This is how people live who don't know the forgiveness of Jesus – who don't know peace with God. Actually it's how we all have a tendency to live, to put our trust, to make our god, to seek our protection in.

The story we're looking at tonight should be a remedy to just that.

So after a couple of weeks off we're returning to our series in Exodus tonight. A brief recap: We began by reflecting on God's miraculous delivery of the Israelites from slavery through the Red Sea. The Israelites sadly soon forgot God's power and started moaning about the food situation – God graciously provides for them in the form manna. Hunger then turns to thirst and again the Israelites grumble – again, God graciously provides water from a rock.

The Israelites seem to be slow to learn how big and good their God is. Well this evening their problems shift from problems within to enemies outside. So far in Exodus it has all been about God – The Lord delivers his people, The Lord provides for his people, The Lord is patient with his people and the theme continues this evening as 'The Lord Protects His People'.

Lets read through the passage again.

We're going to think about God's protection of his people under three headings: firstly, 'An Inescapable Conflict', secondly 'A Sovereign God' and finally 'A Weak Intercessor'.

1. An Inescapable Conflict

So first of all 'An Inescapable Conflict'. Read again with me verse 8:

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

So the Israelites are in the desert and the Amalekites come and attack them. There's another passage that expands on this and sheds a bit more light onto it. Deuteronomy chapter 25 (17-18) says this:

Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.

The Israelites are clearly a bit worse for ware. And of the million or so (Exodus 12:37) that left Egypt the ones that are particularly 'weary and worn out' are at the back of their massive convoy. So what the Amalekites do is swoop down and attack the weakest, the most vulnerable – those exposed and lagging behind.

The picture painted is a bit like one of those nature programs. Where hyenas are tracking a group of wildebeest and as night starts to fall they target and isolate a single wildebeest that has fallen behind due to just being smaller and weaker.

But of course, in our story, the victims are not wildebeest but people – men, women and children no doubt. In any case, this was not a fight the Israelites picked or even walked into. It was a battle thrust upon them – the Amalekites are clearly the instigators. It is an inescapable conflict. The Israelites are left with no choice but to defend themselves from attack – which is precisely what they do and they win.

So in the Israelites first ever battle as a nation they come out victorious, but notice also the closing verses of this passage, read with me verses 14 and 15:

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."

These verses tell us two things about the conflict with the Amalekites: The conflict with the Amalekites will continue – verse 15: "The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." But this conflict will not last forever – verse 14: "I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." And both of these things do happen. After the Israelites get to the promised land, time and time again they fight battles with the Amalekites. They eventually get squashed by King David (2 Sam 8). Which brings about the second prophecy of the Amalekites being 'blotted out'. Which is of course true. When the Olympics take place later this year, you wont see many events with participants from the Nation of Amalek. Amalek is no more.

But of course, there is a sense in which the conflict facing God's people began well before this first battle with the Amalekites and continues even now in 2012.

Right back in Genesis chapter three, after the fall, the serpent is cursed by God with these words (Genesis 3:15):

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers…

There is, right back at the start of the world in which we still live, there is the promise of enmity, of conflict, between the devil and God's people. It is a conflict which we read about right through the Bible. It takes different forms – Cain, Noah's neighbours, Egypt, Canaan, Babylon, Pharisees, Romans and so on. But it is the same conflict.

Now we tend to think about the battles we face as Christians as being internal. Satan tells us lies, discourages us, causes us to struggle with sin and temptation, and so on. But the Bible also tell us that Satan, who is constantly at work to bring about the downfall of God's people, also works through external forces, like the Amalekites.

You probably heard in the news of the bomb attacks across northern Nigeria in churches on Christmas day where over 40 people were killed. The persecution of Christians in Nigeria has continued into the New Year with the muslim group Boko Harem telling Christians that they have to leave northern Nigeria. And many hundreds of Christians are now having to flee their homes. You see, in many of the northern states of Nigeria, Christians are not well protected by the law or the police – sharia law is effectively in force. The same is true in many, many other places across the world – believers under physical threat.

This is how the devil works in these countries because that is where God's people are weak – they are not protected by the police or government as they should be and so that is where the devil targets his aggression.

The Bible says that we have as much in common with those believers, in Christ, as we do with one another here this evening. And so if you are not already I would urge you support the work of overseas mission, particularly in countries where Christians are clearly being persecuted. One good organisation that can help you in this is called Barnabas Fund.

In this country we enjoy freedoms many churches around the world can only dream of. We are blessed with an amazing heritage, a fair legal system and a pretty good set of laws. But there's not guarantee things will stay this way.

On Friday, the National Secular Society successfully sued Bideford Town Council for choosing to hold prayers at the start of it's meetings. It is seen as somewhat of a landmark case and could have implications across the country. Robert Pigott, Relgious Affairs Corrospondant for the BBC, said this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-16980025):

By and large, judges have been unsympathetic to the Christian case… The tide has been flowing pretty firmly against Christianity in public life and it's caused huge concerns for the churches. They say it's being driven out of public life.

And so in our country the devil is still at work – hitting us where we are weakest – some of which is our own making.

For decades Christians have backed away from active involvement in public life, preferring the comfort of churches. Not that Christians aren't involved in the public sphere, they just prefer not bring their Christianity with them. We'll talk about God and Jesus in the safety of these four walls but rarely dare to 'impose' our worldview elsewhere. Consequently it's in the public areas of politics, the media and education, for example, that the devil is having an absolute field day. He pedals the lie that church, religion and spirituality have their place in giving us 'values' but are in no way factual or something that should affect all of society and all of culture. The devil attacks us where we are weakest.

There are organisations such as The Christian Institute which seeking to do something about this, but sadly it falls a long way down the priority list for many churches.

The Israelites were in an inescapable conflict and so are we. And if we are truly to see God as our protection we have to accept that this is the case – we need protecting. The Bible says (1 Peter 5:8):

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The devil is real and constantly seeking to bring about the downfall of God's people – that's us. And more often than not satan uses human agents, whether they know it or not, to attack the church. We are in an inescapable conflict – just like the Israelites the battle is upon us whether we like it or not and if we must fight back.

All of which raises the obvious question – how?

2. A Sovereign God

Which brings me to my second point – 'A Sovereign God'. Let's read together from verse nine:

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 Amalekite army with the sword.

This is the bit which makes the story so remarkable. Joshua picks his best men and heads off to engage the Amalekites, while Moses goes off on a jolly up a hill. But it's Moses, up a hill, with his staff, that is having a greatest bearing on the battle! It's absolutely clear – verse 11:

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

So what does this mean? Is Moses so incredibly scary that whenever he stands up the Amalekites keel over in fright? Does he have unbelievably smelly armpits that the Israelites have become resistant to? Or is Moses in fact God himself exercising his divine power?

Well just look what happens after the battle is won. How will it be remembered? Moses builds an alter, or memorial, – something that will stand as reminder to what happened on this day. And he calls what? Verse 8. 'Moses is our banner'? No.

Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.

Now when we think of the word banner, we probably have in mind some sort of fabric drape. The intended meaning is closer to a standard used in battle – a rallying point and also a declaration of identity – an emblem: "The Lord is my Banner."

In this context the point is that this victory was all about God – it was his doing. It is God's power at work, through Moses on the hill.

Knowing that, return to the battle scene in your minds for a minute.

You've got Joshua – a very good soldier and the pick of his men. They obviously would have had armour and weapons. They would have been employing strategies and tactics to try and overcome the Amalekites. And of course the Amalekites would have been doing the same. Warfare is not simple. There would have been commanders ordering their men and generals like Joshua surveying the whole battle field – sending troops where they were needed. This wouldn't have just been a random melee of action.

And yet it is none of these things which ultimately have a bearing on who the victor will be. God is controlling the outcome through Moses on the hill. God is sovereign.

I don't know if you've ever seen a properly set model railway before. Even for normal people, who have little interest in trains, it's really quite impressive. The intricate scenery, trains clicking and clacking along their lines, points changing, trucks and carriages being shunted around sidings – it's all quite fixating. Which is of course exactly what you do isn't it? You stare at all the trains running around and completely forget that it's all being controlled by the middle-aged man standing by the controls. The trains, carriages, track and scenery obviously all play their part – but it's the person at the controls who really has the power.

That is a very poor illustration of God's sovereignty. But of course every illustration is a very poor reflection of God's sovereignty. Because it is the very sovereignty of God that makes him who he is - so different from everything else in this world. It is one of, if not the, defining characteristics of the God we worship.

It is the sovereign power of God that was at work through Moses in the battle with the Amalekites. And it is the same sovereign power of God that is at work in us and in our world today. Psalm 115 (verse 3) says:

Our God is in heaven;  he does whatever pleases him.

Yet how often we, a bit like the model railway, we just become fixated with what's happening around us, good or bad. Our hearts and minds are more set upon what we can see, than the God in heaven.

But notice in our story that Joshua and his men still very much have their role to play. They must pick up their swords and go out and fight. If the didn't the Israelites would have been overrun. They still had to do their duty.

That should be our approach today – remembering our duty and God's sovereignty.

The Christian who affirms the sovereignty of God without actively serving him through church involvement, prayer, evangelism, holy living, and whatever other duties he may have is a fatalist who is sinning against God and denying the truths of the Bible.

In contrast, the Christian does all those things but refuses to believe in a sovereign, all-powerful, involved, big God is a stress-head who thinks everything depends on them and is also denying the truths of the Bible.

We, must affirm God's complete sovereignty and do our duty. That means we must in our minds make a very clear distinction between that which is our duty and that which is beyond our control. Sometimes the car will break down, the train will be late, the colleague will be grumpy, the boss unfair and the weather cold. God is sovereign.

Applying this to our last point – how are we to fight against the devil's schemes? We must be diligent to do our duty – to be faithful in our witness, faithful to God's Word, faithful in making disciples, faithful in living holy, sanctified lives. But we must also trust in God's sovereignty. Culture may be against us, the media may be against us, the politicians may be against us, the police may even be against us, but God is sovereign and "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28).

God is sovereign even over the actions of the devil. Satan cannot do more than he is permitted to. And one day the Lord will call time on his wicked schemes – Revelation chapter 20 (v10) says:

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur… [to] be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

We have no reason to fear the devil or his work – because God is sovereign.

3. A Weak Intercessor

Thirdly, and finally 'A Weak Intercessor' – let's read again from verse ten, and notice the role of Moses:

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.

God is completely sovereign, all powerful, but he chooses to work through Moses. Moses, as it were, stands between God and the Israelites. And this picks up on a theme from the last few Exodus passages we've been looking at. The Israelites are hungry, they complain to Moses, Moses talks to God, God tells Moses what he's going to do, Moses tells the Israelites. The Israelites are thirsty, they complain to Moses, Moses talks to God, God tells Moses what he's going to do, Moses tells the Israelites. And this pattern repeats itself throughout the life of Moses and the book of Exodus.

Here, in our passage this evening, Moses' intercession is less verbal and more visual. He stands between God and the Israelites. It is almost as if Moses is a conduit of God's sovereign power.

Then you have the slightly bizarre goings-on of verse 12:

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.

Some people get very excited about this all happening so God can teach us about the importance teamwork. But I think what's really going on here is that God doesn't want anyone getting the wrong idea of where the power lies. Moses is the intercessor – but he's a pretty weak intercessor. I don't know how big and heavy his staff was but while his mate Joshua and his finest men are slugging it out against the Amalekites, all Moses needs to do it keep his staff up – but he can't. He needs a big old rock to sit down on and Aaron and Hur to quite literally give him a hand.

Moses is a weak intercessor.

However, in glorious comparison, the Gospel of Mark (16:19) ends with these words, after Jesus has risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, it says:

[Jesus] was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God

Moses was a good man, a faithful man, but he is just a man like you and me. Jesus Christ was perfect. He suffered for our sin on the cross, conquered death in rising from the dead and then ascends into heaven and is seated in the very throne room of God. It is in this amazing setting that we have Jesus as our intercessor, as we heard read from Hebrews earlier.

Moses is no longer the intercessor between God and his people. In fact no-one is apart from Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). And so to be separated from Jesus is to be separated from God. And while this evening we've been talking about protection, if you reject Jesus, you are in great danger. Those who 'call on the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 2:21) can live without fearing anything, but those who reject Jesus as their Lord will one day find that they can turn to nothing for protection.

Jesus is our strong intercessor, our strong mediator. Jesus rose from the dead conquering death, conquering sin. And so Christians can live, truly live, knowing that satan's hold on them has been broken (2 Thes 3:3).

Moses on a hill, wasn't strong enough to hold up his staff.

Jesus on a hill, was strong enough hang upon a cross and take upon himself the sins of the world. How we should rejoice that he is our intercessor – our bridge between God and man.

We are in an inescapable conflict. But the one we serve is the sovereign God of the whole universe and because of the intercession of Jesus – he is for us. That is what makes us his people – whom he protects.