His hand was aching and even though he switched the staff from hand to hand, he couldn’t help but feel the tension and cramps in the muscles of his shoulders as the rest of his body struggled with exhaustion. Though he’d like to put the thing down for a bit, it caused a far bigger problem to do so. This was a life and death matter! As Moses held that staff up, his people would prevail in the war, but when he lowered it, the enemy prevailed. Knowing this meant the death of more of his brothers must have put a huge mental and emotional strain on him as well.
And 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. 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
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It doesn’t record how long the battle took only that it went until sundown, so it could have been hours or almost the entire day! At one point, Moses got tired and couldn’t keep the staff up any longer on his own, but the battle was not finished. Could God have given Moses supernatural endurance, or helped him hold it longer? Yes, but obviously He didn’t want to… because He didn’t. So what was Moses to do? Aaron and Hur, who climbed the hill with him, placed a stone as a seat and then stood on either side of Moses to help support his weary hands.
A lot of times we try to keep going under the strains and pressure of life, and we wonder why it’s so difficult, we feel like we aren’t going to make it and God feels so far away. Could it be that we have too much pride to ask for assistance or support from others? I remember being in the worst time of my life and calling my friends daily just to survive until the next day. I also asked anyone willing- to pray for us. These people helped me stay sane and reminded me that I am not alone. Maybe they didn’t physically hold up my hands but they surely kept up the rest of me!
In the same regard, we should be active in helping others to endure. That means we should be willing to strengthen our brothers and sisters by whatever means available. Prayers are good but are sometimes used as an easy way out. “Well, I prayed for them didn’t I?” Words of encouragement can help, but I think sometimes just listening is the best thing we can do for someone. Our time is perhaps the hardest to give up because we have ‘so many more important things to do’, and we just don’t want to take the time to listen, especially time and again.
How long should we support one another? (support- to sustain; to keep from fainting or sinking; to support the courage or spirits) Well, Aaron and Hur supported Moses until the enemy was overthrown; in other words, as long as it took. Make no mistake, I’m not saying we should allow a person to continue wallowing in self pity and such, but not all problems are resolved in one or two sittings. We need to stand together and when hands start trembling under the weight of this life, stand together and stay the hands!