Even Moses Needed Someone to Hold His Arms Up

Exodus 17:8-16 and the LORD who is our banner

By Pastor John Erickson

Imagine a plain scrap of fabric being burned.

You might wonder why anyone would bother. But a piece of ordinary cloth probably isn't going to stir up very strong emotions.

Now imagine that fabric is a flag that means something deeply important to you.

Different story, isn't it?

The fabric may be exactly the same material, but the symbol represents something much bigger.

We rally around symbols. Flags. Teams. Causes. Things that communicate, This is who we are. This is what matters to us.

In Exodus 17, Moses gives an altar a name that reveals something about God: Yahweh Nissi, "The LORD is my banner."

And I think the story behind it is worth our attention.

A Battle in the Wilderness

Israel has been brought out of Egypt and is traveling through the wilderness when the Amalekites attack.

Moses tells Joshua to choose men and go fight. Meanwhile, Moses will stand on a hill with the staff of God in his hand.

Joshua goes into battle, and Moses raises the staff.

Then something unusual happens.

When Moses' hands are raised, Israel has the advantage. When his hands grow tired and fall, Amalek begins to prevail.

I don't know about you, but if I were one of those soldiers looking up the hill, I'd be paying pretty close attention to that staff.

It would remind me that this battle is bigger than my ability to swing a sword.

Eventually Moses becomes exhausted. Aaron and Hur bring a stone for him to sit on and hold up his hands until sunset. Joshua's forces prevail.

Afterward Moses builds an altar and names it, "The LORD is my banner."

The Staff Wasn't Magic

We should be careful not to turn this into a lesson about finding the right religious object.

The staff itself didn't contain magical power. It was a visible reminder of the God who had led them through the sea, provided for them, and stayed with them in the wilderness.

A banner in the ancient world served as a rallying point. Before radios and GPS, a group needed a visible place to gather and a symbol identifying who they belonged to.

Israel's banner was not ultimately Moses' talent or Joshua's military strategy.

It was the LORD.

That's an important distinction because we put enormous pressure on our own abilities.

We look at the challenge in front of us and ask whether we're strong enough, smart enough, organized enough, or influential enough to win.

And those things matter in their proper place. Joshua still had to go fight. Moses still had to stand on the hill.

But they didn't have to pretend the outcome rested entirely on them.

Where Are You Fighting the Battle?

One thing that stands out to me is that the scene of action and the place of dependence aren't the same.

The soldiers are down in the valley. Moses is up on the hill.

From the valley, it would have been easy to think the battle was decided only by what was happening in front of them: the movement of the enemy, the strength of the men, the weapons in their hands.

But the story keeps pointing our attention upward.

Sometimes we spend all our energy fighting the battle in front of us and almost no time turning to God.

A difficult relationship? We plan exactly what we're going to say. A problem at work? We strategize. A family crisis? We immediately begin trying to control every possible outcome.

I'm not against a good plan. But what happens when our plans become the only thing we trust?

I think this story invites us to remember the one we're supposed to be rallying around.

Even Moses Needed Help

Here's something else I love: Moses got tired.

This is Moses we're talking about. The man God used to confront Pharaoh. The man who led Israel through the sea. Yet he couldn't keep his arms up all day by himself.

Aaron and Hur had to step in and hold them.

We can have this strange expectation that spiritual leaders should never get tired, never need encouragement, and never need anybody else's help.

But even Moses needed people standing beside him.

Sometimes your role in the battle is to hold up someone else's arms.

Maybe that looks like praying with them. Bringing a meal. Listening without trying to fix everything. Showing up when they're exhausted.

You don't have to be the person standing in front to make a meaningful difference.

What Banner Are You Flying?

I have used a Broncos sticker on the back of my truck. That little logo announces an allegiance before I have said a word. Around here, that may also invite a few comments from Seahawks fans.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a team. But a sticker makes the question concrete: what am I telling people matters most to me?

We all have things we put above everything else.

A career. A political cause. A favorite team. Our success. Our reputation. Even a good ministry can quietly become the thing we rally around instead of God.

And none of those things can carry the weight of being our ultimate source of identity and hope.

So what would it mean for Yahweh to be your banner?

I think it means remembering whose people we are before deciding which battle we're going to fight. It means dependence on God's strength rather than treating him as an emergency backup plan. And it means standing together, because nobody is meant to carry everything alone.

The LORD is my banner.

Not my abilities. Not my opinions. Not my reputation.

The LORD.