May 5, 2022, Day 1 of Week 6 Daily Dose of Hope

Daily Dose of Hope
May 5, 2024
Day 1 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 16-18; Ephesians 4
 
Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, New Hope Church’s devotional that complements our Bible reading plan.  I hope you enjoyed your two days off; now it’s time to get back to it.  Let’s start with our Old Testament reading from Exodus.
 
Well, the Israelites have begun the road trip of all road trips!!!  It’s only the middle of the second month and the Israelites are already complaining!  Just think about it.  It’s been what, roughly forty-five days, and they are already saying that Moses and Aaron should have left them in bondage in Egypt.  I can’t help but think this points to how much the people have forgotten; they have forgotten how God provides; they have forgotten God’s miraculous hand.  They saw miracles in Egypt with the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, but they are a people who has been displaced for generations.  It’s going to take some time before they really understand who and whose they are. 
 
It’s easy to get exasperated when we read about the Israelites trekking through the desert.  This won’t be the only time we find ourselves frustrated with them.  Over and over again, as we read through Exodus, we will ask these questions:  Why are they so impatient?  Why do they think the grass is always greener on the other side?  Why are they so quick to forget God?  Why do they not trust God when they have seen his miracles and goodness?  Why, why, why??? 
 
While we might not like to admit it, aren’t we just like the Israelites?  I think of how often I’ve gotten frustrated with God’s timing or forgotten God’s work in my life.  We are all quick to complain.  We are also forgetful. 
 
And yet God is still faithful.  He is faithful to us, just as he was faithful to the Israelites.  Despite their grumbling, God provided manna for them in the morning and quail at night.  They didn’t have to hunt for their food or grind grain for flour.  God provided.  When they complained about lack of water, God provided water from a rock.  When the Amalekites attacked, God provided.  At every turn, God provided.  How has God provided for you, even when you grumbled and complained?
 
Let’s chat just briefly about the Amalekite battle.  This is the first of many battles that the Israelites will be called to fight.  But this was no ordinary battle.  It wasn’t going to be won with fancy weapons or fighting skill.  In fact, we quickly learn that the outcome didn’t rest on the Israelite army’s strength or weakness at all.  Rather, victory rested in Moses lifting his arms.  When Moses lifted his hands to heaven, in a symbolic act of prayer and surrender to God, then the Israelites started winning the fight.  If Moses’ arms were to fall, they would take losses.  Thus, Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms for him.  They found a nice big rock for Moses to sit on and they each took an arm.  It took a number of hours, but Joshua and the Israelite army thoroughly defeated the Amalekites. 
 
This may not have been the intent of the passage but I can’t help but draw the analogy between this battle and our lives as followers of Christ.  When we are walking closely with Jesus, surrendered and prayerful, then things tend to go smoother.  We remember to whom we belong.  We make better choices; we demonstrate more wisdom, peace, and mercy toward others.  But we are human - we get distracted!  We listen to the wrong voices, we get caught up in other things (health issues, grief, fatigue, frustration, bitterness, etc.) and the end result is we move away from God.  This is why we need Aaron and Hurs in our life.  We need Christian friends to hold up our arms when we get tired.  We need people to walk alongside us, help us persevere, and remind us who we are.  Y’all, I need you to help hold my arms up.  Sometimes they just get tired.  I’m sure y