READING FOR JULY 4, 2024: EXODUS 17, COLOSSIANS 4, PSALM 64 EXODUS 17 The text says God directed the people to a place where there was no water. By following the Lord’s direction at each stage, His people ended up in a place that appeared hopeless. Does this happen to us? Of course it does. What can we learn from this story? First, don’t assume it is anyone’s fault, as the people did about Moses. Don’t assume the motive is to destroy us, as the people did with Moses. Don’t assume that the circumstances cannot change in surprising ways that will bring glory to God. Fearing he might be stoned, Moses immediately went to God, as we should when in grave danger.
God had the solution for Moses, and a lesson for us. God told Moses to involve the elders. This will be the standard approach in the New Testament church. God told Moses to strike a particular rock at Horeb so the people could drink the water flowing from it. Here is the greater meaning of the rock, which Moses could not have known: Our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea; and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us.” (1 Cor. 10:1-6). The main point of this entire event was to teach US! Paying Attention?
Soon afterwards, Israel engaged the Amalek people in their first military battle. Amalek was mentioned in Genesis 36 and on the genealogical chart from May 22, 2024. He was a descendent of Esau and, as stated in the text, his descendants frequently battled Israel. The strategy God employed was to station Moses on top of a hill. As long as he kept his hands raised above his head, Israel had the advantage. Whenever his hands came down, Amalek prevailed. Try this experiment. See if we can keep both of our hands raised up high about our heads for three minutes. Unless we are in Olympic-level shape, we cannot do it. At 80 years old, Moses could not either. So, Aaron and Hur each took an arm to support Moses and God gave Joshua, Moses eventual successor, the victory.
Any principles that apply to us? It is likely that raising our arms represents prayer: “I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands” (1 Tim. 2:8). Even Jesus sought support while He prayed: “He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’ And He went a little beyond them and fell on His face and prayed” (Matt. 26:38-39). Even though it was God who made the difference, the people still had to stand and engage in the battle: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). The fact that God commanded Moses to have these events written down suggests they are meant to be remembered and the lessons applied in subsequent generations. TO US.
READING FOR JULY 4, 2024 CONTINUED: COLOSSIANS 4, PSALM 64 COLOSSIANS 4 The first verse completes the previous section about appropriate behavior among believers. Bosses need to treat their workers fairly with the awareness that they themselves are accountable to God. Paul then directs the Colossians to pray 1) devotedly or perhaps regularly scheduled, 2) alertly or not with lethargy, and 3) thankfully. This requires equal parts passion and discipline. If we were Paul and in prison, what prayer request might we make? Paul requested that he have opportunities to share the Gospel and do so more clearly. Let’s pray this for each other as well as for teachers, pastors, and missionaries.
Paul’s guidance to the church is similar. He said in their interactions with nonbelievers they should wisely take advantage of every opportunity to (the context suggests) share the Gospel, while being prepared to answer questions graciously. As we will learn, this isn’t Paul’s guidance only to this church but includes others as well, maybe Yorktown Methodist Church. Paul’s final greetings reveal some ponderable details:
- Mark was Barnebas’s cousin and finally got out of Paul’s doghouse (see Acts 15:36-40).
- During Paul’s current prison stay, only three Jewish Christians were helpful. (He seems disappointed.)
- Epaphras, apparently a Colossian, fervently prayed that they would mature and know God’s will.
- Luke, Paul’s travel companion and author of the books of Luke and Acts, was a physician by trade.
- Paul wanted this letter sent to Laodicea and wanted Colosse to read the letter first sent to Laodicea.
- Paul apparently dictated the bulk of this letter but wrote out the greeting section himself.
- For some reason, Paul wanted the entire church to remind Archippus to complete his ministry.
PSALM 64 David’s request to God was unusually precise: saving from the מִפַּ֥חַד (translated fear or dread) of his enemies. Of course, his enemies were a problem, but perhaps a larger problem was his fear of them. Some may remember FDR’s famous words: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Same idea. These enemies were involved in a conspiracy against David. Their weapons were primarily words uttered in a concealed way, perhaps like cyberbullying that takes place today. They believed they were not identifiable and that their plan to bring David down was foolproof. Some of us have been targeted like this and can testify along with David about how debilitating this can be.
Beginning with verse 7, David says that God, not him, will take up the battle. David is assured that his enemies’ downfall will be sudden and that their own words will help bring them down. Their identities will be secret or respected no longer. People will instead fear the Lord and use words in good ways: to declare God’s great works. The righteous who take refuge in God will be glad. There is a happy ending coming, in God’s time, for those placing trust in the Lord.
