“Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner”
~ Exodus 17:15
Hi James and Ellen,
Why do you like to snuggle up in your ma’s or in your dad’s lap? When you are sitting in your ma’s lap or in your dad’s lap, you feel protected. Why do you like to have your ma and dad do things for you? When your ma and dad do things for you, you know that they are thinking of you. You know that they want to help you and please you. Your grandmaa really liked to hold you when you were tiny babies – just like your grandmaa used to like to hold your dad and your Aunt Lynn when they were babies. Do you think that God has you both sitting on his lap right now? You probably are laughing right now that grandpaa would ask you that question. Do you think that God wants to protect you? Do you think that God wants to help you? You can see your ma and dad. You can see your grandmaa and grandpaa. You cannot see God but God is there with you right now. Your dad can explain to you how God can do this. Today – in Exodus 17, we read about how God both helped His people and protected His people. What do you do when your ma and/or your dad do not pay any attention to you when you want their attention? You may do something bad. You may grumble or complain or even cry. That is what the people of Israel did. God’s specially chosen people – the Israelites, had been living as slaves in Egypt. Because God had promised Abraham a long time before this that the land where Abraham was living – which is called Israel today but which was called Canaan then, would always be his, God was having the Israelite guys, gals and kids leave Egypt to go to where Abraham had once called home. Abraham’s extended family had ended up in Egypt about six hundred years earlier to escape a terrible famine that was decimating Canaan. The Israelites were not able to just pack a couple of suitcases and leave Egypt. God had to convince the Egyptians to let the Israelites leave their country. To get to Israel from Egypt, the Israelites had to walk through a desert. There were kids like you who left Egypt with their folks as well as old people like your grandmaa and grandpaa. A desert is a very hot, miserable place. It is hard to find water in a desert. You cannot live long without water. What do you think the people started to do? They began to grumble – just like you probably do after you told your ma or your dad that you want some candy and your ma or your dad told you that you could not have any. God had chosen Moses to lead his specially chosen people. The people complained to Moses. The people were not happy anymore with Moses for taking them out of Egypt – where they had left homes and where they had been living okay. What did Moses do? Moses went directly to God – to complain to God about His people.
God would listen to Moses when Moses talked with Him. God told Moses to hit a rock with his staff and water would come out of it. That is exactly what happened in a place called Horeb. God is always ready to help us; we just have to ask him for His help. Even though we may not like doing it, we need to learn to ask others for their help, too. Your grandpaa likes to fish. Your dad likes to fish, too. One day when your grandpaa was living in Bolivia, he and a real good friend – Raul Pedraza and his nephew Felix, went to the Yapacany to fish. Your dad and your grandpaa went fishing together one other time in the Yapacany. They had a fun day. This time Raul, Felix and your grandpaa were going to spend all night fishing. They took food with them to eat. It was going to be a fun time. They went in a boat to a place about a mile or so away to where another river meets the Yapacany. The boat left them on the sandy point between the Yapacany and the other river. Even though they did not catch any fish, they had a good time being together. About four in the morning, a storm began to build up near them. They could see lots of lightening and hear booming thunder. They decided they were not in a good place if the storm got closer and if it started to rain. They were in the open plus if it really rained, the rivers would start rising and . . . they decided to walk back to where they first got into the boat. To get back they had to cross the river that connects with the Yapacany. The river seemed to be about as wide as from your house to the house where your Aunt Lynn lives. After Felix found a long tree limb, he began to walk through the water. Felix used the tree limb to help balance himself in the fast moving water. Raul found another tree limb and he began to walk through the water. Even though the river was not deep, the water was moving so fast it was making small waves. Your grandpaa got about as far as your house’s door to the street when he stopped. The bottom of the river was sandy. When your grandpaa stopped, the water – which was at about his knees, began to pull the sand away from under his feet. The water was in seconds almost to your grandpaa’s waist. Your grandpaa cannot swim. The water was trying to push him over and . . . what do you think your grandpaa did? Your grandpaa yelled really loud for help. Felix came back with his long limb and pulled your grandpaa out of the hole. Your grandpaa hung unto the stick all the way to the other side of the river. This is what God wants us to do with Him. He wants us to call to Him for help and then to hold on to Him until we get to where He wants us to be.
Right after God had water come out of that rock in Horeb for the Israelite guys, gals and kids to drink, God had Amalek attack His specially chosen people. God helped His people win the battle by having Moses hold up his arms. As long as Moses had his arms raised, the Israelites won. When Moses lowered his arms, the Israelites would lose Moses needed Aaron’s and Hur’s help to hold up his arms in order for the Israelites to win the battle. Verse 15 has Moses communicating his gratitude to God for His help. “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner”.
Exodus 17 (12)