It is one of those “crazy” Old Testament stories that seem to create more questions than answers. Our story of God this week was the one in which God directs Israel to go to battle with the Amalekites, then has Moses go up on a hill and raise his hands. As long as his hands are up, they will win; if his arms drop, they will lose (Exodus 17). That seems... like a lot of pressure on Moses—and an incredibly high price on the army. God’s blessing and the people’s fate is tied to the arm strength of one old man, or so it would appear. Why would God require Moses’ hands be raised in order to give a blessing to the people he loves, especially as they fight against an evil enemy ingrained in practices that were abhorrent to all God was establishing in Israel? Why put that much pressure on the leader? These are difficult questions—questions that some may think paints God in a bad light.
But there are other difficult questions to be asked about this story: Why did Moses wear himself out lifting his hands in prayer? Why did Aaron and Hur seem to hold off on giving Moses help until he was so weak he could not continue on his own? It is not my intent to judge or cast aspersions on anyone in this text. Moses was one of the giants of our faith. He consistently said yes to God and led Israel faithfully out of bondage; he received the Ten Commandments, and even spoke with God. He is a great man in God’s story of bringing faith to people, but he was not a perfect man. He led God’s people well—no easy assignment—for forty years, but was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. So, I wonder if Moses struggled, as assuredly many leaders do, to let others come alongside and bear some of the burden of his leadership duties. His heart was pure. He was lifting his hands up so Joshua, and the men in the battle could see him on the hill and know he was interceding to God on their behalf. He was giving it his all. He was wearing himself out for the kingdom. He was not withholding any piece of himself. He was giving his whole heart to God. What could be better than that?
Could letting others share the burden be better? Perhaps Moses was giving more than God required. The Lord required prayer, as demonstrated by arms lifted up, but God was fine with letting others lift those arms. Could Moses have let the community carry the burden sooner than he did? The three men together were easily able to accomplish what Moses was unable to do by himself. What if, from the beginning, the three men had employed their strategic position in prayer? Would there have ever been a moment when Amalekites prevailed? We will never know, but we do know that when the men began to work together, they were able to satisfy God’s requirements.
So we are back to the seemingly arbitrary demand: Why did God require Moses to keep his hands in the air? The short answer is “I don’t know.” There are a lot of things in the Bible that get that response from me. When I was an atheist, this kind of thing drove me crazy. I wanted to figure it all out. When I found my way to belief, I actually began to take great comfort in the things I did not understand. If my faith always made sense to me, I would be very tempted to believe I invented it. The parts of the Bible I don’t get are strangely reassuring because they confirm to me that it is something other. It is not my invention, but God’s revelation. God’s “ways are not my ways” and when he requires something that seems “off the wall,” it makes me think that he knows something I don’t know. That’s a good thing. I want God to know lots of things that I don’t know. I want to see God respond in mysterious ways to truths I cannot see or comprehend. I love the mystery parts of him. I know he is good. I know he can be trusted. If he needed Moses to raise his hands so that a victory could be accomplished, then I am certain that the divine economy was well served by that action.
God tends to call his people to do seemingly crazy things in his name. But when we figure out how to do those crazy things together, spiritual communities form and truth and power are released. So let’s find ways to come alongside each other and do the things he is calling us to. As we do, blessings will most certainly follow.
And that’s all I have to say about that . . . for now.
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