8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
In preparing to study the names of God, I like to go back to the scripture. I've read this passage before. But today, God showed me something else. In verse 14, God tells Moses to write on a scroll. The part that caught me today was "and make sure that Joshua hears it,". Listen, I'm no scholar but this is what I know. When God says or does something, it is for a reason.
I began to ask; God why are you pointing this out to me now? What does it mean? God reminded me that Joshua followed Moses. The follower had to see what the Lord could do. The next generation had to know that the Lord would fight their battles. All they had to do was listen to the instructions. (Did you catch that? If not, go back and read the other posts on the Names of Jehovah.)
Sometimes we are so busy lecturing the next generation that we forget to forge a path for them to follow. I am reminded of an old commercial where the father is scolding the son for doing something wrong. The dad asks the son where he learned such behaviors. The son says "I got it by watching you." There is a shouting match between them up to this point. Once the son reveals that the dad was the culprit to his bad behavior, the dad's world shatters. The rejection and shame on his face is backed by such emotion that it stuns the viewer. Are we doing this to the next generation? We are showing them that going to church on Sunday is to prove that we are a good Christian?
We may want the next generation to come to church every Sunday but question is, what do they see? What are we teaching by example? Are we teaching them to stand on the Word of God? Are we teaching them to follow the path God (not us) has laid out for them? Are we ourselves being holy and righteous, upstanding citizens in the Kingdom? I recently ended a friendship where no growth was viable. Not because the other person was bad but because I am growing in another direction and the other person is happy where they are. What am I showing my son? To never stop growing even if those around aren't growing with you. Sometimes, you just have to leave people where they are AND be okay with it. Ask yourself this: why am I inviting someone to church? Is it to grow church membership or do I earnestly want the person to be saved and fellowship with the saints? Pride and salvation cannot walk hand in hand. Don't invite others to come to your church if its a hot mess and you yourself don't like to go. That's not about God. That's a movement to grow church membership. Care enough about others to invite them to the Kingdom. Whether they come to your church or not should be irrelevant.
I heard someone say that we are in pandemics - COVID, race relations, politics - all of it are separate pandemics, clashing together. I thought this was an astonishing way to describe the world today. When we think we are upholding the banner of God to show people that we are Christians, we are miss the meaning to the scripture. Don't treat God like a badge of honor. Don't misinterpret my meaning. When you are the light as God described, you don't have to show off to others. You just are. They see it without you wearing a cross, t-shirt, or any other paraphernalia because the light inside of you shines too bright to be a self-inflicted switch. In this world, during this time, be a true light.
Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
- Nakya