Moses' Hands

Narrator: Chris Genthree
“Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Ex. 17:8-138Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exodus 17:8‑13)).
In this passage we find that Joshua, at the commandment of Moses, goes out at the head of men chosen for the battle. Joshua brings before us Christ leading His people into conflict in the energy of the Spirit of God. The battle is the Lord’s, for without Him we cannot expect victory. We must count on the Lord in every situation, instead of relying on the energy and schemes of men. There can be no successful warfare with the enemy apart from the energy of the Spirit of God. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:44And he must needs go through Samaria. (John 4:4)).
We see Joshua leading his men below in the plain, as Moses goes up with Aaron and Hur to the top of the hill. Moses in this way is a type of Christ in heaven in intercession for His people. He leads His people in the energy of the Spirit below, but maintains them by His intercession above in the presence of God. Apart from His priestly intercession they have no power against the enemy, and the energy of the Spirit is in relation to this intercession. Paul could say, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:3434Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)).
Aaron — the Great High Priest
But no one man is a perfect type of Christ, and thus Aaron and Hur are needed too. Moses’ hands were heavy, and he was helped by Aaron and Hur. Aaron, although not formally set apart for the priesthood at this time, is, no doubt, a type of Christ as our great High Priest. Because of all that Christ has gone through, He is able to intercede for us. He has experienced in this world all that a sinless man could experience and thus is able to be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:1515For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)). If we avail ourselves of His priesthood and are willing to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:1616Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)), we will indeed “receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable help” (Heb. 4:1616Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) JND).
Hur — the Advocate
We see also that Hur is needed, and his name means “white” or “purity.” He is a type of Christ as our Advocate, for we read in 1 John 2:11And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: (John 2:1), “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” If we realized more our weakness and infirmity and availed ourselves of Christ’s priesthood more often, we would not sin. However, if we sin, we find that we have an advocate in Christ—one who meets us in our need. The word translated “advocate” is the same as that which is translated “comforter” in John’s Gospel, and it literally means “one who takes charge of and looks after all of our affairs.” We cannot fight the battle with sin on our conscience, and God never supposes that the believer must sin because he is weak. However, God has graciously made provision if we sin. The same One who bore our sins on the cross now goes to God, in righteousness, to act for our restoration. Every possible situation is covered, and victory is assured! The Spirit of God is our Comforter or Advocate down here, for He was sent down when the Lord Jesus was glorified in heaven. But how wonderful to realize that the Lord Jesus is also our Comforter or Advocate up there, acting for us if we sin.
The Two Hands
There is a beautiful detail to be noticed here. When reference is first made to Moses, it says that “when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed.” Only one hand is mentioned, although it took Aaron and Hur together to hold up his hands, in the plural. In type, this brings before us a precious truth concerning the priesthood and advocacy of the Lord Jesus. We do not always come to the throne of grace to avail ourselves of the priestly functions of the Lord Jesus, for we do not always feel our need. We do not feel our weakness, and, as a result, our hand may fall down and miss the Lord’s ever faithful hand of priesthood. Then Amalek, a picture of the energy of the flesh in the believer, may prevail. But the other hand, the hand typical of advocacy is still uplifted; it never fails. We do not need to ask the Lord to come to our aid in His capacity as advocate, for He does this without our asking. We are told to come boldly unto the throne of grace, but if we sin, it simply says that “we have an advocate with the Father.” As soon as we sin, even if we have not realized the full extent of our failure before God, Christ as our Advocate begins to act in order to restore us. How blessed, and how reassuring! Truly “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him” (Heb. 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25))!
W. J. Prost