Exodus 17:8 – We are engaged in a spiritual battle

The journey of the children of Israel is a type of our spiritual journey. It is a picture of the process of our salvation in Christ. In this journey, there are many battles we have to encounter. Each one is permitted by God whose intention is to make every one of us a more complete person in Christ. We need to note that the battles we wage against start internally where God began by shaping our attitude. He wants to get us to rely and depend on Him, thereby building trust and obedience. Like how He dealt with the whining, complaining and murmuring of the Israelites, He will also deal with our spirit of discontent and help us to know that He is always with us in our journey. Then there will come times when we have to battle external forces. Whether the dealing is with our inner life or outer life, without a doubt prayer needs to play a key role in our life. In Exodus 17:8 we see the Amalekites came to attack the children of Israel. For no apparent reason or for whatever reason we are not told. The Amalekites, the descendants of Esau, attacked them. The Amalekites are like the forces of darkness that will come to disrupt our walk with God. Their aim is to prevent us from entering into our God-given promises in Christ. We need to be alert to their attack and learn to adopt the best battle strategy to thwart them in taking us down.  

The war the Israelites had to engage in now was no longer an internal but an external one. We notice from their earlier experience that the source that led them to bicker and murmur against the Lord and Moses, their God-appointed leader, started from within them. But in this battle with the Amalekites, the attack came from outside of them. And the attack was sudden, unexpected and unprovoked. So far as we know, this was the first external battle they had to fight since coming out of Egypt. This incident took place at Rephidim. And Moses in recalling this battle in Deuteronomy 25:17-18 said, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God.” The Amalekites is a type of the devil’s cohorts of demons. These enemies of our soul, at the command of Satan, always attack us when we are tired and weary. This reminds us to maintain our spiritual vibrancy at all times, to connect with the Lord and to stay alert. Remember, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking the weaker moment in our life to devour us. Like the Amalekites, Satan and his cohorts of demons have no regard for God and His people. He will always go for those who are weaker and defenceless.    

This battle that the Israelites engaged with the Amalekites at Rephidim is a picture of the spiritual warfare that the people of God will encounter in their walk. Their deliverance from Egypt is a picture of the salvation we have obtained in Christ. And now in Christ, we have embarked on a spiritual journey. Though our ultimate victory has already been secured in Christ, we need to know that the devil will not leave us alone. He will come to disrupt our journey, to dislodge us from our peace and security. So, our journey with Christ will constantly be waylaid by Satan’s diabolical forces. What we often have to encounter will be sudden and unannounced. This is the battle Paul described in Ephesians 6:12. He said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” 

We need to know that though the malady of the battle is felt in the physical realm, the battle we engage in is in the realm of the unseen. To win the battle, we need to identify the real enemy. And Paul is right, our real enemies are not the people we thought have given us all the headaches, miseries and troubles. They are actually the devil and his cohorts of scheming and diabolical demons who are on assignment. They will keep attacking us to cause us to do some stupid things and bring disrepute in our walk to dishonour God. The strategy to win is to be aware of the enemies’ presence but not to be so demon conscious until we think that they could overtake the goal God has for our life. Never lose sight of God, Who in the person of the Holy Spirit is fighting with us to win the ongoing battle. Know that the devil may be prowling around us, but let’s focus on God!