Week of Monday, February 12– February 18
Stronger Together – Man as Battle Buddy
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. - Exodus 17:8-13 ESV
Every man needs a Battle Buddy who will love him enough to hold him up when his strength is failing. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway capture that love powerfully in the prologue to their great book about the Vietnam War, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young:
We were the children of the 1950s and we went where we were sent because we loved our country. … We went to war because our country asked us to go, because our new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, ordered us to go, but more importantly because we saw it as our duty to go. That is one kind of love. Another and far more transcendent love came to us unbidden on the battlefields, as it does on every battlefield in every war man has ever fought. We discovered in that depressing, hellish place, where death was our constant companion, that we loved each other. We killed for each other, we died for each other, and we wept for each other. And in time we came to love each other as brothers. In battle our world shrank to the man on our left and the man on our right and the enemy all around. We held each other’s lives in our hands and we learned to share our fears, our hopes, our dreams as readily as we shared what little else good came our way.
As Moses moved to his position on the top of the hill overlooking Joshua and his warriors, it was comforting to have Aaron and Hur close by. But when the struggle with the enemy continued throughout the day, the weariness of the struggle began to take its toll on Moses. When the need was the greatest, the strong support of those closest to Moses made the difference! With his strength failing, they held up his hands. That hill was indeed part of the battlefield as well!
A man of God standing faithfully alongside another man of God is a powerful force and a desperately needed example. The battles of life rage daily and in a host of settings and scenarios, but one thing is true throughout: the presence of a Battle Buddy in the heat of the battle is a priceless commodity! If you have experienced the powerful presence of a Battle Buddy at your side in the heat of life’s challenging conflict, then you know the value of these verses of Scripture! Stand strong with a friend!
- Do you have a friend in mind who’s fighting for his life, his family, or his marriage? Stand with him!
- Do you have a Battle Buddy that you can call on when you need not stand alone? Make it a priority to find one today!
- Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you a brother in Christ who needs a Battle Buddy. Make every effort to stand with him as the battle rages.
Stronger Together – Man as Battle Buddy
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. - Exodus 17:8-13 ESV
Every man needs a Battle Buddy who will love him enough to hold him up when his strength is failing. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway capture that love powerfully in the prologue to their great book about the Vietnam War, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young:
We were the children of the 1950s and we went where we were sent because we loved our country. … We went to war because our country asked us to go, because our new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, ordered us to go, but more importantly because we saw it as our duty to go. That is one kind of love. Another and far more transcendent love came to us unbidden on the battlefields, as it does on every battlefield in every war man has ever fought. We discovered in that depressing, hellish place, where death was our constant companion, that we loved each other. We killed for each other, we died for each other, and we wept for each other. And in time we came to love each other as brothers. In battle our world shrank to the man on our left and the man on our right and the enemy all around. We held each other’s lives in our hands and we learned to share our fears, our hopes, our dreams as readily as we shared what little else good came our way.
As Moses moved to his position on the top of the hill overlooking Joshua and his warriors, it was comforting to have Aaron and Hur close by. But when the struggle with the enemy continued throughout the day, the weariness of the struggle began to take its toll on Moses. When the need was the greatest, the strong support of those closest to Moses made the difference! With his strength failing, they held up his hands. That hill was indeed part of the battlefield as well!
A man of God standing faithfully alongside another man of God is a powerful force and a desperately needed example. The battles of life rage daily and in a host of settings and scenarios, but one thing is true throughout: the presence of a Battle Buddy in the heat of the battle is a priceless commodity! If you have experienced the powerful presence of a Battle Buddy at your side in the heat of life’s challenging conflict, then you know the value of these verses of Scripture! Stand strong with a friend!
- Do you have a friend in mind who’s fighting for his life, his family, or his marriage? Stand with him!
- Do you have a Battle Buddy that you can call on when you need not stand alone? Make it a priority to find one today!
- Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you a brother in Christ who needs a Battle Buddy. Make every effort to stand with him as the battle rages.