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Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. (Exodus 17:8-13 ESV)
It was not long after Israel's miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt, that another opponent swoops down on them. The Amalekites are determined to exterminate the vulnerable Isrealites before they can go anywhere. During the battle it is seen that as Moses holds aloft the staff of God, the Israelites prevail. When his arms droop, the enemy prevails. Two key figures assist Moses: Aaron (the high priest) and Hur (whose name means "whiteness"). They come alongside Moses and literally prop up him and his arms throughout the long day of warfare.

At one level the message might be that we need people to help hold up our weary arms in times of weakness, and that is true. At a deeper level the message is that we need, and God provides, divine help to support us in the battle against the enemy of our souls. It is not that we don't want victory -- we do, and we seem to do well early on -- but as the fight drags on, we grow weary and cease to make use of God's resources in the battle. We get tired and give up. We lose the will to win.

God has given us two divinely-powerful Helpers (or, intercessor, supporter, advocate) to lean upon: the High Priest Jesus (Romans 8:34) and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27):

"For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words... Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." (Romans 3:26, 34)
Being a Christian means facing spiritual conflict. This may be demonic, or worldly (social opposition, peer pressure), or from inside of us, from our own sinful flesh. Weariness is a danger in our warfare, and God graciously provides support for us. We need to keep our arms lifted up to victory, and prop ourselves on God's faithful Helpers.

Are you leaning on God's divine support for you? People may help, but God is the source of true strength for failing arms. Are you prevailing and seeing a supernatural ability to keep on keeping-on? That comes from the Lord. Give thanks to God for his unfailing support for you in the day of battle.
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