Partnering For Success
Exodus 17
KJV
11+ And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
It is undeniable that no one can single-handedly win any battle, a truth demonstrated by the record of how Israel won its battle against Amalek.
Fierce was the battle, strong were the enemies that it became necessary that an unconventional tactic has to be deployed. A tactic that involved three Moses, Aaron and Hur.
The initial arrangement was that Moses was to stand on top of a hill to be visible to the Israeli forces under the command of Joshua. He was to carry with him the rod of office
Read it ;
Exodus 17:9
NIV
[9] Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
[10] So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.
And so it was when Israel engaged the Amalekites, however, a strange phenomenon was observed as the battle went on; whenever Moses lowered his hands the Amalekites broke through the Israelite defence and killed many
Read it;
Exodus 17:11
NIV
[11] As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
Moses, human as he is got tired of standing and holding high his hands and so the two men Aaron and Hur came to his assistance by first finding him a huge stone on which he sat and then holding his hands high in place.
Read it ;
Exodus 17:12
NIV
[12] When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held their hands up---one on one side, one on the other---so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
Oh, what a lesson! Oh how we miss this to our loss
No one has it all. No one knows it all. No one can do it all. Success is teamwork. Success comes through collaboration. Success comes when we unite our forces, talents etc each contributing their quota.
Let us look at the role each played in winning the battle.
First God, though not mentioned yet He featured prominently in the success of Israel
It was He who ordained and empowered Moses. The rod/staff in Moses’ Hand was the sign of God’s presence with him and His authority which he wielded.
Second is Moses, as the leader he must be visible hence his position on top of the hill. For a team to be successful its leader must be visible at all times. A leader must inspire and encourage those he leads. This Moses did that day. He provided what is called today Inspirational leadership
Then thirdly, Aaron and Hur, these were subordinates, it was they who mooted the idea to get Moses seated comfortably. And also supported him by holding his two arms high in place so Israel could see and advance in the battle.
“They took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up---one on one side, one on the other---so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
There was no rivalry. There was no undermining, Aaron and Hur knew where they belonged. Aaron was an orator as we know from the pre-exodus account.
He was the spokesperson when they appeared before the pharaoh. But he never used this endowment to challenge or undermine the authority of Moses, instead, he collaborated with him.
Hur, we know very little about him but from the accounts, he was one of the trusted aides to Moses At one point placed Israel under his care along with Aaron during his absence. Read it
Exodus 24
KJV
14+ And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
He was a confidant of Moses and played this subordinate role with distinction. Can you as a confidant and an aide be trusted as Hur was?
To succeed in any endeavor there is a need for partnership. We must partner with one another to uplift the work of God. For this to become a reality we must recognize and know our place in the scheme of things.
The spirit of rivalry, competition, etc must never be part of the project. Pride and bloated egos must be buried.
Just like Israel, we shall win if those who lead us will cooperate, collaborate etc with each other.
We must also accept that in every human assembly, there must be a leader of leaders. “Primus inter pares” meaning “ first among equals “ It is from this Latin word that we got the term “Prime Minister” Failure to accept this arrangement is a recipe for failure
Aaron and Hur recognized this which led to the success of Israel!
A thought to share!
John Franklin Tamakloe