Christ the Rock: Spiritual Warfare & The Battle with Amalek

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. And it's good to have everybody back with us, and I'm going to have the studio audience turn once again to Exodus chapter 17. For those of you joining with us on television, we announced last week, and we'll announce now for the next few weeks at least, that we finally are getting our lessons in Genesis in printed form. We've got the first two or three half hours put from the VCR into the print, and we're going to offer them to anybody who will write for them for a small stipend of $2, which will at least cover our expenses. We aren't trying to make any money on any of these things. And then for those of you who realized, we had an all-day seminar at Tahlequah a couple weeks ago, and one of the gentlemen there made a VCR of it. Now, it's not intended to be professional, but it is interesting, we think. And they have put it on tape, and they're reproducing them, and they're offering them for anyone who will ask for it, for a $10 offering to the ministry. So there again, no one is going to make anything on it, per se, for themselves. And that four hours covers everything from Genesis through Revelation in an overview. But I think, again, you'll be able to glean something from it. So if you'd like either one of these, call us or write to us, and we'll try to get it to you as soon as possible. Now then, if you'll go back with me to Exodus chapter 17, we come out of chapter 16 where they have been given the manna. And as we mentioned last week, how that the Sabbath was instituted so that they would pick up twice as much on the sixth day, Friday, in order to have enough so that they wouldn't have to work on the seventh. Now we come into chapter 17, and remember that, if you can picture this in your mind, I was going to bring a professional map along, and I just plumb forgot how that is. We're all human. But anyway, if you can picture the Sinai Peninsula, and as the children of Israel now are making their way down that peninsula toward Mount Sinai, which most Bible scholars feel was down toward the southern end of the peninsula. And on their way now, they have gotten hungry and murmured, and God gave them the manna. Now again, remembering the heat and the climate of that area of the world, now in the month of May, they run out of water, and they're thirsty. Now pick that up in Exodus chapter 17, and all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin, and according to the commandment of the Lord, and they pitched in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore, the people did chide, or began to argue with Moses, and said, Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide, or why argue you with me? Wherefore, do you tempt, or test the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and they murmured. And they said, Wherefore is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Now that must have been quite a group of people for Moses to put up with. And in fact, at one point in time, he says, God, these aren't my people. They're yours, but they're not mine. But nevertheless, he was very human, and I can see where he got exasperated. All right, now verse 4. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They almost are ready to stone me. Now verse 5. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee the elders of Israel, thy rod wherewith you smote the river. Take it in thy hand, and go. And now verse 6. Here's one of the, I think, one of the glorious verses in all of Scripture. Behold, Jehovah says, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb. Now Horeb and Mount Sinai, remember, are one and the same. And underline the word rock, if you don't mind marking your Bible. Behold, I will stand before thee upon the rock in Horeb. Thou shalt smite, or strike the rock, that is, with his rod, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. Now, of course, God was also aware of the fact that there weren't only several million people, but what else? All their livestock. And so all this water. I think you have a veritable river that just flows down through that desert floor, and they all had plenty to drink. Now we have to identify the term rock. And again, I'd like to have you come back to the New Testament. Come up to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And always remember that all through Scripture, whenever the word rock is used in any kind of a symbolic setting, it only refers to one person. And who is it? Jesus the Christ. He is always the rock. Or in another place, He's called the stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. So whenever there is a symbolic use of that term, rock or stone, now here it is in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. We might as well start with verse 1 to pick up what I call the flow. Moreover, brethren, Paul writes to the Gentiles again at Corinth, Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, that is, you know, the cloud that symbolized the very presence of Jehovah by day and that fire by night. They were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and did all eat the same spiritual food, that is, the manna that we covered last week, and they did all drink the same spiritual drink, that is, the water that came out of that rock after Moses struck it, for they drank of that spiritual rock. Now the word rock is capitalized significantly because this rock goes on now, the rock that followed them, and that rock was who? Christ. And so always remember it. In fact, let me take you back even to Matthew, and it's a verse that has, I think, been twisted all out of context in order to make it say something that it doesn't, again simply because people do not maintain a biblical rule of order, and that is that when a word is used in a particular way, it is never used out of that context. Now in Matthew chapter 16, Matthew 16, it's a portion that most of you are well acquainted with. I use it so often to point out Peter's confession, what was his mode of salvation, and that, of course, was up in verse 16 where he comes to the conclusion, Thou art the Christ, Matthew 16. Now verse 16, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, period. And then verse 17, Jesus answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father which also is in heaven. And again, that's that same intimation, that we cannot comprehend spiritual truths unless God opens our understanding. That's just part and parcel of it. Now that doesn't take away our free will, that doesn't make us bound to a decision by God that we're going to go to hell or we're going to go to heaven, but nevertheless, before we can comprehend spiritual truths, God has to open our understanding, even as Jesus said, God did with Peter, Flesh and blood hath not revealed unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And then verse 18, this is the verse I want you to see, And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock. Now there is the perfect example of using the term symbolically. Who is the rock, Peter or Christ? Well, Christ is all the way through Scripture. Then how can it break and suddenly make Peter the rock? Well, it doesn't. The rock referred to here, upon which he will, future tense, build his church, is the rock, the only rock of Scripture, and that is Christ Himself. Now then, if you'll come back to Exodus chapter 17, where this rock has been smitten. Now there's a great lesson in that as well. For you and I, again, on this side of the work of the cross, and when I use the term work of the cross, remember, I'm always talking about His death, burial, and resurrection. Why or how do you and I appropriate that finished work? Well, by faith, isn't it? It's by faith that we appropriate that which has been done on our behalf. But in order for us to appropriate these things by faith, what had to happen to Christ first? He had to suffer. He had to die. He was, according to the Old Testament term then, he was what? He was smitten, see? He was smitten for our offenses. Now keep that word in your mind, because down the road a ways, when we get into the book of Numbers, you're all aware of the account where again the children of Israel are murmuring and complaining that they haven't got water, and Moses has about come to the end of his patience. And you remember, he takes his rod, and contrary to God's instruction, instead of speaking to it, he does what? He strikes it, and you don't smite Christ twice. He has been smitten, and the word in Hebrew over and over is once. And this he did once. He went to the cross once. He does not go again and again and again. And so we always have to remember some of these basic truths of Scripture, that he was smitten for our offenses, but only once. And now after his having been smitten, and he has arisen from the dead victorious over sin and death, now we don't appropriate anything more by another crucifixion, but now we appropriate it how? Fellowship, speaking, see? Communication. That's why God has given us the whole power of prayer, that we can now speak with him. We can praise him. We can petition, and all these things, not through another smiting, but by speaking to him. All right, now if you'll come back with me then to Exodus chapter 17. And so he smites the rock. Out comes all this water. And now you come down to verse 8. Then came Amalek. Now you've all heard about the Amalekites all the way back to your Sunday school days. And who were the Amalekites? Well, Amalek, of course, was a grandson of Esau, who was the one that had all his problems with Jacob. And so the Amalekites became the continuous enemy of the nation of Israel. Why do you suppose Amalek, or the Amalekites, begin to do battle with the Israelites at this point in time? Now we know that they have, like I said, they've been a burr under their saddle for all through their history. But why at this particular time do you think the Amalekites come up to do battle with Israel? Well, remember the setting. They're out there in a desert. There's precious little water, and it is a tremendous commodity. And what do the Amalekites see? Oh, they see this abundance of water that has just been flowing out as a result of Israel's having smitten the rock, see? And so now it becomes a warfare over the water that God has provided. And then you bring this into your own everyday experience. See, now many of these things, like Paul says, are written for our learning, not for our doctrine so much, but for our learning, just practical experience. Just as soon as a person comes into that right relationship with God, we become what we call born again, or we become a child of God, and we partake of that living water. What does the old flesh do? Hey, it begins the war, see? And the flesh wars against that new nature. And the Amalekites are a picture of that, I think. They're a picture now of the flesh warring against the spiritual. And so back here, of course, we're not in grace. We're still in God dealing with the nation of Israel, and shortly we'll be under law. But back here they could fight physical battles and so forth, even though God comes in and helps them. But you see, now when we get into our economy, how do we fight our battles? Spiritually, see? We don't fight them with guns and swords. We fight them in the realm of the Spirit. All right, now, if you will, read on with me, beginning with verse 8. Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose out men, and go out. Fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did. Then verse 11, And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed when he let it down. Amalek prevailed. You all know the story. And then when, verse 12, Moses' hands were heavy, they took a stone, put it under him, he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other. And then verse 13, And as long as they held up old Moses' arms, Israel won the battle, and of course finally brought it to fruition. And verse 13, Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name Jehovah Nissi. Now, I'm just thinking of a verse. I'm going to have you come back with me, if you will. I think it's in Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 14. And the reason the verse just came to mind, I think somebody asked me about it perhaps at that Saturday seminar when we were talking somewhat about the book of Revelation and the battle of Armageddon somehow. And I think we use these verses in Zechariah chapter 14, and that's why I'm having you look at it a minute now. In Zechariah 14, let's again begin with verse 1. Y'all got it? Zechariah 14, verse 1, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh. Now, this is prophecy, remember. This is the very battle that the book of Revelation talks about, the battle of Armageddon when Christ returns. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and I spoil, shall be divided in the midst of thee, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. Now, you got the picture? If you've been reading the news lately, the world is just funneling arms and rockets and everything else of warfare materiel into the Middle East. And I don't think they know why. Of course, it's good economics. Do you realize, I read here a while back, the nation of Czechoslovakia, that little nation in Eastern Europe, over 80 percent, if I remember right, over 80 percent of its basic production income comes from what do you suppose? War material. War material. Tanks, guns, rockets, what have you. Well, now, can you imagine what that would do to the economy of a nation, just all of a sudden shut off any nation buying that stuff? It would just wreck it. And they're not alone. I think we see the same thing even in our own America. How much of our economy rests on defense contracts? Well, there's only one area of the world that's got the money to buy it all, and where is it? Well, the Middle East, with all their oil money. So it's just a constant flow from all the nations of the world selling all of this war material to the Middle East. Well, there's more to it than economics, of course. The sovereign God is still in control. But the day is coming when all the nations of the world are going to be gathered there, of course, for this last final battle, which we call Armageddon. And, of course, now Zechariah is talking about it here. Verse 2 again, For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city, Jerusalem, shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished, which is typical of war. And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And then verse 3, Then shall the Lord... Now remember, the Lord in the Old Testament is Jehovah, but in the New it's Christ. So then, according to Revelation, Christ will return from glory. Verse 3, He shall go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. Now, I think that's just simply a reference to how many times in Israel's history did God literally fight their battles. Now, if you'll come back to Exodus, this is what made me think of Zechariah. Who really fought the battle against Amalek? Well, God did. God did. Oh, He used the Israeli men, of course. But you see, it was so providential that as long as Moses' arms were held up, the battle went on Israel's side, and if it fell, it went against them. And so God was in control, and this is the reason, then, in that closing verse of chapter 17, where Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi, which translated means, He is our banner. In other words, today, I guess we call it our flag, our marching flag. And it was God who fought the battle, and like I said, we've already seen it so often as you come up through Israel's history. Now then, chapter 18. I haven't got many minutes left, and I don't need many for chapter 18. But the thing I want to point out, and I've had one gentleman call the last few months, and he said, you're the first person that has helped me to see this concept all the way through Scripture, first the natural, and then the what? The spiritual. Now here, I think, is another good example. Here comes Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, a Midianite, remember, going way back when he fled from Egypt and he married the daughter of the Midianite priest? Well, this is Jethro, and now Jethro comes on the scene, and he sees this multitude of Israelites, and he sees them just besieging poor old Moses with one problem after another. And you read it in your own spare time. We're not going to take time here to read it verse by verse. But Jethro comes along, and he says, now Moses, there's no way one man can do all of this alone. He said, you've got to set up a system of dealing with their problems. And so now, if you'll come down with me to verse 14. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, what is this that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning even? That is, with their problems. And Moses said unto his father-in-law, because the people come unto me to inquire of God, when they have a matter they come to me, and I judge between one another, and I do make them know the statutes of God and His laws. Now verse 17, and Moses' father-in-law said, the thing that thou doest is not good. Now, he says, you'll surely wear away. Moses, this is going to kill you, we'd say today. And it's too much. Now verse 19, Jethro, this Midianite priest, I'm not going to accuse him of being a pagan, but I do not believe he is a believer in the God of Abraham, although he also is a relative of Abraham. But Jethro says in verse, where I just lost myself. Yeah, in verse 19, and he says, hearken now to my voice, I will give thee counsel. I will tell you how to do this. And God be with thee. But has God had anything to say here? Now watch the chapter and see if you can find any place in there where it says, and the Lord said. The Lord is out of the picture here completely. This is strictly a man speaking in the energy of the flesh, even though it sounds very logical. There's nothing all that basically wrong with what Jethro is advising. Now look on down for a few more verses. Verse 20, Jethro says to Moses, thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shall show them the way wherein they must walk. You got to show them the work that they must do. Moreover, verse 21, you must provide out of all the people able men, see, such as fear God. Sounds good, doesn't it? Nothing wrong with that. Such as fear God, men of truth, who hate covetousness, and place such men over them to be rulers of thousands and hundreds and fifties and rulers. Now remember I told you when they came out of Egypt, they already had organization. They came out with their armies. You remember the word? And so it isn't that they are just a bunch of rabble. They've already got a relatively good system by tribes and so forth. But nevertheless, everything that old Jethro says just rings true. It just sounds so good. And then verse 24, so Moses, what's the next word? Harkened. See, this spiritual man Moses, who is on such close relationship with his God, listens to this, I'm going to call him pagan, I hope I'm not wrong, this pagan Midianite priest, Moses harkened to the voice of his father -in-law and did all that he said. And he does just exactly that. He begins to pick out men and all that. But remember, God hasn't said a word about it. This is all in the energy of the flesh. Now let's see what God does about it. This is the natural. Now let's see the spiritual. Turn with me to Numbers chapter 11, Numbers chapter 11, and drop down to verse 15. Numbers 11, chapter 15. I'd like to wait until you've all got it. And again, I trust those of you watching on television have your Bible with you because, as we maintain, there's only one way you can learn these things, and that is by reading it from the book yourself. Numbers 11, drop down to verse 15, and he says, If thou will deal thus with me, kill me. In other words, well, I guess I should have even gone up a couple verses early. Verse 14, Moses says, I am not able to bear all this people alone. In spite of all the advice that he got from Jethro, put it into motion, Moses said, I still can't handle them. I can't bear it. It's too heavy for me. Verse 15, If thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretch. In other words, Moses had come to the end of his rope, hadn't he? Then verse 16, now here's the spiritual remedy. And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel. Now you remember, seven is the number of God, and it always indicates that this is God's doing, and so we got a ten times seven. Seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom now knowest to be elders of the people, and officers over them, and bring them to the tabernacle. Now remember, by now the priesthood has been established. The tabernacle is in the midst of the camp. And that they were to come to the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And now verse 17. Here comes the spiritual answer to the same dilemma. And I will come down and talk with thee there. I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee. Now all of that power for leadership and everything that Moses has had, God is going to take some of it from him. And he says, I'll take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them, the seventy. And they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For you have wept in the ears of the Lord, who shall give us flesh to eat, and so on and so forth. Now then, do you see the difference? Now God has literally said, I'm going to come down, I'm going to empower these seventy men, that they will have the same qualities of a spiritual leadership that you have had from the beginning. And you see, none of that was indicated back there when Jethro came on the scene with his high moral example, no doubt. But nevertheless, it was natural, it was of the flesh. Now then, come back to Exodus once again. And verse 27, that final verse of the chapter. And Moses let his father-in-law depart. In other words, he had given his advice, Moses took it for what it was worth, which wasn't much, and it isn't long after that God now comes back and says, this is the way we're going to do it. I will come down, and I will give these seventy men the power. All right, we've only got a half a minute left, so let's just take a brief dip into chapter 19, and we'll come right back to it again next week. Now then, in the third month. You see how time is going by? They came out of Egypt in April, they've been moving down through the month of May, down towards Sinai, and now by the time we get to the month of June, they are gathered around the mountain, and God is preparing everything now to give them the law and then the tabernacle. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the Scriptures and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember, all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.