Jehovah NissiSample

Moses and the Israelites had to learn that the outcome of the battle is not solely determined by what transpires on the ground.

As Joshua and his forces went out to face Amalek’s army, Moses climbed an adjacent hill and lifted up the staff of God over the battle occurring on the ground. It quickly became evident that the upraised staff was the key to the progress of the battle: 

“So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed” (Exodus 17:11).

But why was this staff so important? Moses’s outstretched staff represented the presence and power of God. When Moses and the Israelites exited from Egypt and faced the dead end of the Red Sea, God spoke to Moses saying, 

“As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.”

As Moses stretched out the staff, the text then explained, “The Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land” (Exodus 14:16,21). Just as at the Red Sea, Moses’s outstretched staff was a symbol of Israel’s dependence on God’s deliverance. Moses’s intercession on the hill was an act of prayerful dependence and reliance on God’s power that mirrored David’s cry in his fight against Goliath: 

“The Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands,” (1 Samuel 17:47).

We frequently face our struggles by foolishly trusting in our skills, education, and connections while completely remaining unaware of the unseen spiritual battles that are the root cause of our defeat. We trudge away nursing the wounds from our defeat without ever having learned to say, as King David did, 

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7 NIV).

If you'd like to hear more about the power of God in every situation of your life, download a copy of a sermon from Dr. Tony Evans. Simply click here.