LESSON #1: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE FLESH AND THE SPIRIT



“Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.” (Exodus 17:8) The battle between Amalek and Israel in Rephidim depicts the battle between the flesh and the Spirit (spirit) in the life of the believer. The desires of the flesh are always in conflict with the desires of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17)


LESSON #2: THE WEAKNESS OF OUR WILL



God wants us to always fulfill the desires of the Spirit, not the desires of the flesh. But, why do we often fulfill the desires of the flesh more than the desires of the Spirit? Our problem is we do not understand how the flesh and the Spirit work. We think that we can use the determination of our will to fulfill the desires of the Spirit or to resist the desires of the flesh. We do not realize that our will is not strong enough to do that. The apostle Paul wrote, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19) Even if we want to fulfill the desires of the Spirit, we are powerless to do so. Likewise, even though we do not want to fulfill the desires of the flesh, we are powerless to resist them.


LESSON #3: LIFTING UP AND PUTTING DOWN THE ROD OF GOD



“And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some 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 as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And, so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” (Exodus 17:9-11) When Amalek was fighting against Israel in Rephidim, Moses went up to the top of the hill and raised up his hand, holding the rod of God. When he held up his hand, Israel was stronger than Amalek. But when he let down his hand, Amalek was stronger than Israel. Why? It was because God fought for Israel when Moses lifted up the rod of God in his hand and God did not fight for Israel when he put down the rod of God in his hand.


LESSON #4: WORSHIP WITH AUTHORITY



If the determination of our will is not strong enough to fulfill the desires of the Spirit or to resist the desires of the flesh, then what can do it? Worship with authority. Moses going up to the hill and holding up the rod of God in his hand when Amalek was fighting against Israel represents worship with authority. When there is worship with authority, the desires of the Spirit will be stronger than the desires of the flesh. If there is no worship with authority, then what will happen is the opposite, the desires of the flesh will be stronger than the desires of the Spirit.


LESSON #5: STRONG AND LOUD WORSHIP



Worship with authority is not gentle and quiet, but strong and loud. This kind of worship is necessary in spiritual warfare, such as the battle between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh. To worship with authority requires great spiritual strength and endurance because it takes a lot of spiritual energy. The great shout of the children of Israel when the priests blew the trumpet on the seventh day after they marched around the wall of Jericho seven times on that day is a kind of worship with authority (Joshua 6:20).


LESSON #6: THE LIMITATION OF OUR SPIRIT IN SPIRITUAL BATTLE



“But Moses’ hands became heavy; so, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” (Exodus 17:12) The fight between Amalek and Israel did not end shortly. So that Israel would always be stronger than Amalek, Moses had to continue to lift up his hands. But after a while Moses' hands became heavy. Therefore, Aaron and Hur then supported Moses' hands, one on one side and the other on the other side, so that his hands were steady until the sun went down. The battle between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh is an ongoing battle. In order for the desires of the Spirit to always be stronger than the desires of the flesh in our lives, we must continue to worship God with authority. However, both the strength and endurance of our spirit are limited. After some time doing this worship, we often feel spiritually tired, so we stop before the desires of the Spirit can really conquer the desires of the flesh. Our spirit needs support from our soul and our body.


LESSON #7: SUPPORT BOTH FROM OUR SOUL AND OUR BODY



Moses was supported by Aaron and Hur during the fight between Amalek and Israel. Moses represents our spirit, whereas Aaron and Hur represent our soul and our body in the battle between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh. Our spirit needs support from our soul as well as from our body to worship God with authority continuously until the desires of the Spirit conquer the desires of the flesh in our lives. How do we make our soul as well as our body support our spirit in worship? By self-denial. We deny both our soul and our body from their needs for the things of the world. The Lord Jesus said, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)


LESSON #8: THE WORD OF GOD AS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT



“So, Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” (Exodus 17:13) As we continue to worship God with authority, we will eventually receive the word of God that is sharp as the edge of the sword. This Word of God serves as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) that will utterly put to death the desires of the flesh. The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)


LESSON #9: THE LORD IS MY BANNER



“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner.” (Exodus 17:14-15) What does it mean? After we are able to put to death the desires of the flesh with the sword of the Spirit, God will lead us to destroy other things related to our flesh, such as sickness, infirmity, and death. We will truly realize that it is God who enables us to conquer our flesh, therefore, we will worship Him as ‘The-Lord-Is-My-Banner’ of victory or ‘YHWH Nissi’.