For the Christians Worrying about Israel

“Then Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop.  Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed.  But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” (Exodus 17: 8-13, AMP)

The first war Israel had to fight after becoming a free nation of people is seen in the latter half of Exodus 17. Their enemy, Amalek, and his army attacked the nation of Israel unprovoked and in a reprehensible way. 

Instead of attacking Israel’s camp head on, they attacked them from the back. In ancient times, the elders, leaders, and strongest among a group would be out in front, leading the way and providing the protection needed for their more vulnerable members located in the back. Taking up the rear were usually women, children, elderly, and the infirm. For Amalek to surprise attack Israel and target their defenseless citizens was not only below the belt but despicable and cowardly. 

We know the Amalekites did this from Deuteronomy 25:17, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.” (NIV)

So Amalek took the low road and brutally assaulted Israel’s most vulnerable people groups. Coincidentally, the Amalekites were a nation descended from Esau– y’know, the brother of Jacob, who stole his birthright to God’s covenant with Abraham? Even generations later, the fallout of that decision was directly affecting Israel, where distant cousins of their nation– a nation in its own right– would attack them so aggressively. 

If you’ve been keeping up with current events, is this story sounding eerily familiar?

The funny thing is, throughout the Old Testament, history repeats itself for the Jews over and over again. They grumble against God, God provides, they grumble again. They turn away from God, God judging Israel, Israel repenting, and living in an era of prosperity before the cycle starts again. And after recent events, it can feel like that cycle is still in motion. But while it might seem unsettling that history is repeating itself and the world is as dark as it’s ever been, it is also comforting that God has left behind passages that help us form a response when similar things happen in the modern world.

In the face of the events with Israel, Hamas, Palestine, and the uncertainty of how that conflict will affect the rest of the world, we can look to Israel’s war with Amalek for encouragement. The first thing I see in this story is that while the physical battle was important, prayer was more imperative. Moses, the leader of Israel chosen by God, wasn’t on the front lines of battle like any other king, pharaoh or general might be. Instead, he stood on a hilltop where he could see the battle, and he assumed a position of prayer.

In times like these, people can tend to be cynical. We face a world that tells us to save our prayers, enraged over the fact that they don’t believe prayer does a thing for them. They can’t fathom how prayer pushes the needle on a situation the way physical action does. What they don’t understand is that while great atrocities happen in our physical world, there is just as much happening past what our eyes can see. And yes, God knows the outcome of it all, even who will win between Israel and Palestine today– but just because God has already decided that outcome, doesn’t excuse us from praying passionately and fervently like it was a matter between life and death. 

That’s what Moses did, and so that’s what we should do. We should pray as if life and death hinged on our labor of prayer. We should intercede for both Israel and Palestine. We should ask God to show His mercy on the innocent and pour out His wrath upon His enemies and people that could orchestrate such deep horrors against another human being. 

We should work hard from a position of prayer, just the way Moses did: hands lifted to the Lord. Just as importantly, we need to make sure that as the Church, we come together in prayer and intercession. It’s not good for us to be apart and compartmentalized in our own worlds during times like these. What good do we do as the Bride of Christ and a light to this world, if all we are doing is scrolling through social media, allowing our minds and hearts to be bogged down by grief and sorrow? 

Put down your phones, friends. Lay down your social media. Get together with your small groups, church community, and family and pray together. Because like Moses, if you choose to take up that spiritual battle by yourself, without the strength and support of like-minded Christians, you will grow weary quickly. But if you have a community coming alongside of you to hold up your hands and encourage you to continue to pray into the battle– even when it’s a half a world away– you will be able to endure that call to prayer to its completion. 

And finally, we need to make sure we’re pairing our prayer with practical action. Taking up a strategy of prayer doesn’t mean we get to be silent in the face of evil. Moses might have prayed, but Joshua still had to fight on behalf of Israel to come out victorious over the Amalekites. Like Charles Spurgeon said, “Prayer is a downright mockery if it does not lead us into the practical use of means likely to promote the ends for which we pray.”

For us in America, that means standing up for what’s right: condemning terrorism and political ideology that allows for anti-semitism and genocide. No homeland on earth is worth the senseless killing of other people, let alone children, the elderly, and the ill. Prayer is addressing battle in the spiritual, and God is more than capable of fighting for us, but we need to make sure that we don’t use that as an excuse to not battle against evil when it crosses our paths. 

Your prayers are more than hot air, friend. Your intercession may not be valued by people and principalities of this world, but it is a matter of life and death in the spiritual realm. We serve a God who hears each and every one of them. In times like these, where fallen man reveals that it can carry out the most deplorable of acts, it is even more important to not only pray, but to come together as the Church and hold each other’s hands up in the face of such grief.

And be sure to fight by faith not just on your knees in a posture of prayer, but in confronting and battling in a practical means that aligns with the ends for which we pray. Don’t just say it or pray it. Live it. Defend it. Fight it tooth and nail.

The world doesn’t need apathetic Christians. Now more than ever, it needs the Church to loudly defend the Gospel and what is right.