Unity

When you think of Moses, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? You would not be alone if your thoughts immediately go to his leadership. Our minds are flooded with images of his heroic deeds. Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses leading the Israelites through the wilderness, Moses at the Red Sea, and Moses coming down Mount Sinai with two stone tablets. These are all well known and great examples of leadership, but in Exodus the 17th chapter we see a different side of Moses. It’s easy to think of our biblical heroes as superheroes, but they were human just like us. In this chapter we see the human in Moses, and we see him get tired.

The children of Israel have left the land of Egypt and are making their way through the wilderness. They are on their way to Mount Sinai. During their wilderness journey the Israelites ran into the Amalekites, but they had a common goal, and they couldn’t have accomplished it without God and unity.

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. - Exodus 17:8-14

This experience is another lesson we can learn from. These verses, the 12th verse particularly, show us another aspect of Moses' leadership: when he got tired and couldn’t do it on his own, he had the willingness to accept the assistance of others.

One of the common temptations in leadership is submitting to the pressure of having to "have it all together." We may be tempted to hide our fears and weaknesses, feeling that we need to be strong for others. We may find it difficult to trust others with our insecurities and doubts, believing that this would somehow make us unqualified leaders. To truly grow as leaders, we must, like Moses, be willing to embrace the support of trusted friends and advisors.

Are you facing a battle and feeling alone or misunderstood? So often, when we face a hardship, we’re quick to feel alone, defeated, misunderstood, and targeted. These are the things satan uses to keep us from seeing God in the midst of our worries.

As a church family, we should strive for unity and we should never feel alone. We should want to surround ourselves with each other in times of weakness. We all need people to lift our hands when we no longer have the strength to lift them up ourselves, and our church family, like Aaron and Hur with Moses, can be there to help. Don’t let pride, shame or fear keep you from seeing God’s loving hand through others.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brethren to dwell together in unity! - Psalms 133:1