Our Old Testament reading is an interesting story of Moses and the Israelites as they travel through the desert on the way to the promised land. This battle with the Amalekites is one of many that they must wage as they leave Egypt.
It was not unusual to come across bands of nomads who controlled the caravan routes out of Egypt on the way to Arabia. The Amalekites lived in the area called the Negeb, a vast piece of land that was very rugged and covers southern Palestine and the northeast shoulder of the Sinai Peninsula. It would change hands many times over the years.
What is unique in our scripture verses today is that we do not hear from the Lord or see His involvement in the battle. These verses only refer to Moses, Joshua, Aaron and Hur. Moses has already appointed Joshua to be his successor and now command the army of the military that they will need when the later battle with the Canaanites.
Moses directed Joshua to engage the Amalekites in battle after he was standing on a hill nearby, holding he staff of God raised in his hands. As long as he held the staff high the Israelites had the better of the battle. When his arms grew tired and started to lower, the Amalekites had the better of the battle. When his arms grew tired Aaron and Hur help hold them up till Joshua was able to defeat the Amalekites by sundown. It is after the battle has been won that we hear the Lord tell Moses to write down the defeat of the Amalekites and to remind Joshua that the Lord will wipe out the memory of Amalek.
The symbology of the raised staff is not the first time we have seen this action by Moses. When the Israelites first fled Egypt, Moses raised his staff to part the Red Sea so they could cross the area on dry ground.
We continue with 2
nd Timothy this week and we hear one verse in particular that is often referenced. It begins with verse 16 where Paul writes “All scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, correction and training in holiness.”
Paul is reminding Timothy of what he had been taught from his youth, that sacred scripture and faith in Jesus Christ are the two things that will give him the wisdom he needs for salvation.
Paul then gives Timothy the charge, the solemn commission to proclaim the word; whether it is convenient or inconvenient; to convince, reprimand, and encourage through patience and teaching. Paul knows that Timothy will see many who will reject the teachings of Jesus and that he must persist at all costs.
Jesus uses many parables for teaching those who follow Him. We have seen this in many of our recent gospel passages. The parable today is one where Jesus gives them the teaching before the parable. It usually the other way around. We hear the parable and we wait for Jesus to explain it, or we are led to draw the conclusions ourselves.
The teaching today is part of Jesus teaching His disciples to pray always. We have many examples of Jesus in prayer, expecting His disciples to follow His lead. The judge is a hard man who has no fear of man or the Lord. He sounds like Amalek from our Old Testament reading today who did not fear the Lord.
The widow shows her persistence against the judge to provide a just decision, which would favor her. The judge knows he would never be left alone by the widow and decides to render a decision in her favor.
We see in all our readings that persistence is required, from the Israelites who battle the Amalekites and Moses keeping his arms raised, to Timothy who is commissioned by Paul to be persistent in proclaiming scripture and Jesus Christ, and Jesus telling His disciples to be persistent in prayer.
What closes out the gospel today is the statement where Jesus asks if the Son of Man, when He comes, will find faith of earth. We must be persistent in our faith, our proclamation of the Word of the Lord, and in our prayer so we can say yes, He will see that faith.