A Place Called Rephidim

“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” (Exodus 17:12 – KJV)

Each day brings with it new challenges; there is always another river to cross, another mountain to climb, and in the case of Moses on this day another battle to go through! The Children of Israel had journeyed from the wilderness of Sin to a place called Rephidim, which means “Resting place.” It would be here that the people would begin to murmur and complain that there was no water; even though primarily an oasis, at certain times of the year its copious streams would dry up. Evidently this was one of those times in question. However, the Lord would give the answer to the problem that Israel faced, and ultimately it was the answer for the entirety of the world. The world is thirsty and in dire need to drink from the waters of life, and as Moses smote the Rock, so was Jesus Christ smitten that everyone who is thirsty can come and drink of the waters of life freely (Exodus 17:6; John 7:37). The water from the Rock ran like rivers, and was enough to satisfy the thirst of three million people, but the water that flows from the cross is enough for the entirety of the World (Ps. 78:15-16; Rev. 22:17).

The people had received what they needed and now with their thirst quenched find themselves in the middle of a fight with Amalek. This is how it is when the believer comes to Christ. The Holy Spirit makes His entrance within ones heart and life, and now you are a target for the enemy, yet we must always remember that “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4 – KJV).

The Bible says, that “Moses hands were heavy,” in other words they were getting weak from lifting up the Rod of God. As long as Moses lifted up the Rod Israel would prevail against Amalek, but as his hands began to weaken, and the Rod begin to lower, the armies of Israel would begin to lose. What does this teach us? It teaches us that even the greatest man or woman of God has weaknesses, and needs assistance that can only come from God, and it can only come when we first decide to “rest.” Notice that when Moses sits down, he sits down on a “stone.” Christ is prefigured in Scripture as a Rock, or a stone, and in truth unless one puts all of their weight on him, so to speak they will be crushed (Ps. 61:2; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:44).

As soon as we see the great Law Giver resting on the stone we see that there are two others who are placed beside him to hold up his hands. The Scripture says that Aaron was on one side holding Moses hand, and Hur was on the other side. Aaron was the great High Priest, and Hur whose name means “lights,” speaks of the Holy Spirit. For the believer there are two primary ministries that each and every one of us need in our lives. #1. The Ministry of our Great High Priest Jesus Christ, and #2. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Heb. 8; 10:29). If we do not rest in Christ by trusting in his Finished Work on the Cross the benefits of these ministries will not be provided to us! (Rom. 8:1-3; 26, 31-34; Gal 2:21-3:4)

The Scripture says, that Moses hands were “steady," or rather that they were consistent. They did not move down, and then back up again, but remained consistent until the going down of the sun. The life that we have on this earth is short. There is so little time between our hello’s and our good byes, so little time between our good mornings, and our good nights; it is like the stay of the postman, who was here and now he is gone. If our lives for God are to remain “consistent” before God as Moses hands were then we need the work of our Great High Priest, and of the precious “comforter” the Holy Spirit. This is only brought about as we realize a "steady" faith in the finished work of Christ! (Gal. 3:1; 6:14)

God’s Luv and Best to you! In Christ Clint