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 Amalekite 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)

Symbols matter. Our lives are full of them. Stop signs. Green lights. The letters that spell out words. Moses raised the staff that had been his tool as a shepherd—that had become a sign of God’s work in his life—over his head while the Israelite’s fought. That uplifted staff served as a symbol of God’s watchful care over his people during their first battle. Aaron and Hur joined together with Moses, demonstrating unity of purpose with God in the fight against their enemies.

The staff was not magic, nor were Moses’ hands. It was God who was at war against the Amalekites. Moses didn’t credit Joshua, the staff, Aaron, Hur or himself for the victory. It was God who had saved the people that day in answer to the prayers symbolized by their upraised hands holding Moses’ staff.

God told him that the job was not yet done, however. The day was to be commemorated and remembered, because a time would come in the future when the last of the Amalekites would be relegated to history. The fulfillment of God’s promise came during the reign of Israel’s first king, Saul.

Symbols and commemorations help us remember what God has done in our lives. They prepare us, giving us the strength to face what our futures hold.

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