Now, will you turn with me, please, to the book of Exodus and chapter seventeen. Exodus chapter seventeen. And they went up, beginning from the eldest to the youngest. And I assume that since our brother Jim was speaking about these, uh, great men from other lands, and then he made reference to his own slightness of build. He was actually thinking of our size. Exodus chapter seventeen. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massa and Meribah because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not? 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 discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi, for, he said, because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Now, as always, we look to the Lord for his blessing upon the reading of his word. Now, you'll notice that our present chapter commences with this word, this conjunction, and. And so we appreciate right from the outset that chapter seventeen is closely connected with the preceding chapter. And in fact, the opening of our chapter presents to us a scene that is similar to that found at the beginning of chapter sixteen. And Israel once again came face to face with a trial of faith, and their dependency upon God was once again tested. This time, of course, it was not a question of a lack of food, but the absence of water. And I want to emphasize at the beginning of the ministry in this part of the session that the path of faith is always the path of trial. And it may be that there are those present in the company who at this point in time are really passing through times of difficulty. And I just want to say to you, there are things that cross our paths, and we never, never thought that they would happen to us. We find them happening to others, but we never thought that they would come our way, and now they've come our way, and we have to face up to the trial of faith. Now, there are two clear sections i- in this chapter. Verses one to seven are concerned with the smitten rock. And then the remaining verses, verses eight to sixteen, those verses are taken up with war with Amalek. Now, I do want you to, to notice three particular words that come before us in verse eight. And if you forget everything else that I say in the ministry this afternoon, I do want you to remember these words: Then came Amalek. Then came Amalek. The first seven verses, the smitten rock. Verses eight to sixteen, war with Amalek. Now let's focus attention then upon these first seven verses. In verse one, our attention is drawn to a place, and so I think we could write over verse one, Rephidim. The children journeyed, the children of Israel journeyed and pitched at Rephidim. So verse one is telling us about Rephidim. Then in verses two and three, we have emphasized murmuring. Now, of course, there's no murmuring among the people of God i- in this particular local, but just in case there may be some from other areas where there is murmuring among the saints of God, well, we need to take account of what is said in verses two and three, We have the idea of murmuring. It specifically says, does it not, in verse three, and the people murmured against Moses. Then in verse four, we simply have Moses and the Lord. Notice the language, it says Moses cried unto the Lord, Moses and the Lord. And then very simply, in verses five and six, we are told of the giving of the water by the Lord. The instruction is this, thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it. The giving of water by the Lord. And then to close this first section, in verse seven, we have the memorial of Massa and Meribah. And he called the name of the place Massa and Meribah. Now let's come back and look at these sections in a little more detail. First of all, Rephidim. The congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin. So once again, the children of Israel move forward, but they move forward only to meet other difficulties. But we must remember that all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition. So we read in the first epistle to the Corinthians and chapter ten. So you will understand that there is a special interest attaching to all of the wilderness experiences of the children of Israel, and we have to see that they were written for our, for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition. The people came into the various circumstances recorded in these chapters by divine leading. So, so here we are told that it was according to the commandment of the Lord that they journeyed and pitched in Rephidim. So they didn't come into this phase of testing because of failure or disobedience on their part. It was God's way to bring them into circumstances of need. Why was that? He brought them, I believe, into circumstances of need that they might learn his grace in supplying that need. Now this, this name, Rephidim, it actually means resting place. In other words, in fact, it's a plural word, resting places. In other words, it, it was a place where rest could be anticipated. And yet we shall learn that for Israel, Rephidim simply did not live up to its name. It certainly wasn't a place where rest was anticipated, because we're told that there was no water for the people. No water for the people to drink. But surely, th- this would present no difficulty to the one who could divide the waters of the Red Sea asunder. And bear in mind that the Lord knew full well that there was no water at Rephidim, and yet he had directed that very place. So there in verse one we have Rephidim. Now in verses two and three we come to this issue of murmuring. Now the problem of the lack of water had been faced before in the wilderness of Shur. We read of that in chapter fifteen. And yet bear in mind that on that occasion, the Lord had met the need of his people. But here in Exodus chapter seventeen at Rephidim, there was no crying to the Lord on their part. Instead, they cried to his servant Moses. I'd like to point out that three words, three particular words, are used here to describe the behavior of the children of Israel. First of all, we see in verse two the expression, the people did chide with Moses. Th- this word chide, it, it really carries with it the idea of, of contending a- and complaining. Indeed, it has the thought of open strife. And they were doing so in an angry manner, and they were blaming Moses for bringing them there, and they were reproaching and condemning him as being the cause of all their trouble. And when they said to Moses, give us water that we may drink, it was perhaps because they had seen him work so many wonders, so many miracles, that they had actually come to the conclusion that it was in his power to miraculously obtain water for them. Give us water that we may drink. The first word then, the people did chide with Moses. Number two, again the second verse. Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? Now, may I please emphasize that this was a most serious offense. Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? They were putting the Lord to the test. Not, I hasten to add, on the basis of faith, but they were putting the Lord to the test on the basis of unbelief. And they were calling into question both his goodness and his faithfulness. Oh, I trust that if we're called upon to pass through trials and testing, that we never, never call to question the goodness and the faithfulness of God. He is unchanging. But they were calling into question his goodness and his faithfulness. Indeed, they were actually questioning whether the Lord was with them or not. The second word, tempt. Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? But then thirdly, we come to verse three, and here we have our word murmured. The people murmured against Moses. Now, the word murmur in, in our i- English language is what we call an onomatopoeic word. In other words, the, the, the very word itself, murmur, it, it, it really conveys its meaning. So it's spoken of as an onomatopoeic word. And, and evidently here it was a grudge, and indeed this, this word indicates a grudge that remains with an individual, and it leads to a state of perpetual complaining and grumbling. You know, ingratitude to the Lord himself, despite all the blessings he gives, is sadly a common problem among the people of God. Brethren, we should be a thankful people. And of course, one of the features that mark unbelievers, it- it- it's in Romans chapter one, is it not? Neither were thankful. So we ought to be thankful, and we ought to count unreservedly upon his goodness and upon his faithfulness that these people were murmuring, not only tempting the Lord, not only chiding with Moses, but the people murmured against Moses. Now, very quickly, verse four, Moses and the Lord. Moses cried unto the Lord, and I believe the use of that word cried indicates the earnestness of the prayer of this man of God. In other words, he now did for the people what they were unwilling to do for themselves. A- a- and he cries to the Lord, and he says, what shall I do unto, perhaps more accurately, what shall I do with this people? Will you see here, brethren, that Moses is owning that he did not know how to handle the crisis? And I wonder, brethren, particularly those of you who have responsibility in a local assembly, I- I wonder whether circumstances have arisen even in recent days, and- and really you've just not known how to handle the matter. Well, I- I- I'm so thankful that I can recommend that you turn to the Lord in these circumstances. We cannot lean to our own devices, and Moses, he cried to the Lord. He didn't know how to handle the crisis. And how often we should be spared much sorrowful regret if instead of replying on the spur of the moment, as Moses could have done in these circumstances, instead of doing that to those who would malign us, we first sought the Lord and just asked very simply, what shall I do? You see, it says they be almost ready to stone me. Bear in mind that in verse three we are specifically told, and the people thirsted there for water. Now, it may be that, uh, sometimes we say, I'm thirsty, and, uh, on other occasions we might say, well, I'm hungry, and perhaps some of you are looking forward to the tea, but, but can I suggest, brethren, that, that really, and I look around, we, we haven't really known what it is to thirst, and we haven't really known what it is to hunger in the physical sense, not like this. The people thirsted there for water. You see, the point I'm trying to make is that thirst can drive men and women, real thirst can drive them to extreme actions. And let's make no mistake, Moses was in a position of real danger. The people be almost ready to stone me. Now bear in mind, this is chapter seventeen. Bear in mind what happened in chapter sixteen. You see, the children of Israel, they had actually seen manna descending from heaven in order to feed a multitude in the wilderness. But now they were almost ready to stone Moses for bringing them up out of the land of Egypt. And it says here, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst. I tell you, nothing, nothing can exceed the desperate wickedness and unbelief of the human heart. Nothing can exceed that, save the superabounding grace of God. And I'm so thankful that we read that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. I remind you that it wasn't on this occasion because of their failure, not because of their disobedience, but because of the Lord's command that they were brought to Rephidim. And it was in order that in their circumstances of extremity, he might display his grace. Verses five and six, very quickly. Here we have the giving of the water by the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses. Moses had cried unto the Lord. And now the answer come. Now I'm going to say this, and we need to weigh these things in our minds. The answer comes, and it will always come to those who cry to him in their need. But I must add this, as far as Moses was concerned, the answer seemed to come immediately. But it may be that, that we have been waiting upon God in relation to certain issues, certain matters, and we've not just been waiting for months, we've been waiting for years. And if I may go off at a tangent, it's probably about eighteen twenty months ago, my, my wife and I, we went into a Christian book sh- I don't like giving the, the appellation Christian to bookshops and other things, but you, you know what I m- you know what I mean by a Christian bookshop? It's not one who's been con- been converted. Well, some of these shops have been converted from other things, but you understand. A Christian bookshop. And this, this particular bookshop in Leicester, it's actually associated with, with, with, uh, what we would call an evangelical church. And it was evident when we, we went i- into the shop that across the road there was a funeral taking place in this church building. And the lady behind the, the desk in the shop, she said, yes, indeed, the man who's being buried was a hundred, one years of age. Hm? hundred one. I don't know whether there's anyone here of that age, but but there was a hundred one years of a- and she said he was converted a fortnight before he died. You see, one side of the family, his sister, and and those associated with that part of the family, they'd been preaching at him and praying for him for donkey's years. And in the goodness of God, he retained his reasoning faculties. And he was saved a fortnight before he was, now I say, called home at the age of one hundred and one years. Now, I know, I know I faint in prayer, and I know I give up so easily, but I suggest, brethren, that that should be a great encouragement for us. Maybe loved ones you've been praying for for many, many, many years, and you think, you think the situation is absolutely impossible. Well, all things are possible with God. So, so Moses received the answer, but he received it almost immediately. Now, please observe that the instructions that are given to Moses are quite specific. And this now brings us to one of the many Old Testament types of Christ. Now, I know there are those who, who very sadly, uh, pour cold water on any suggestion of the typical teaching of the Word of God. Now, can I suggest that if that be the case, they're sadly, sadly missing out on a lot of instruction and a lot of lovely things that are said in the Old Testament that always serve to amplify the truth that is presented in the New Testament. And if there's anyone here this afternoon who has doubts concerning the, the typical teaching of the Word of God, I, I say that we have clear New Testament authority for regarding this as a type of Christ. I've already alluded to one Corinthians chapter ten. and remember that in those early verses of that chapter, we read specifically, that rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. The rock was to be smitten. Verse six, thou shalt smite the rock. And this speaks of the death of the Lord Jesus. Now, you will note the order of the typical teaching of Exodus chapters sixteen and seventeen, Because in chapter sixteen we have that which speaks of the incarnation of Christ. I- I'm going over, of course, to John chapter six to establish that. The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven. So we have that in chapter sixteen which speaks of the incarnation of Christ. But now when we come to chapter seventeen, we have that which foreshadows the death of Christ. And Christ himself must, absolutely essential it is, he must descend from heaven if he were to become the bread of life to his people. And then secondly, he must be smitten by divine judgment if he were to provide the water of life to them. So chapter seventeen follows on from chapter sixteen. Now, there are certain details here which enable us to establish the interpretation of the smiting of the rock as a type of the death of Christ. Number 1. The rock was to be smitten with the rod of Moses. Not the rod of Aaron, but the rod of Moses. Thy rod, take in thine hand and go. You see, the rod in the hand of Moses had been a symbol of judgment, because it goes on to say, wherewith thou smotest the river. And so we see here in type the stroke of divine judgment falling upon Christ, upon the cross, the smitten rock. Secondly, the Lord, that is Jehovah, the Lord himself, he stood on the rock whilst it was smitten. Says here, doesn't it? Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock Horeb. And so the Lord himself identifies himself with the very act. And then thirdly, Moses was to take with him the elders of Israel. We learned that in verse five. And the act of the smiting of the rock was to be carried out in the sight of the elders of Israel, verse six. So the truth of what took place, what transpired at Horeb, would have to be faithfully declared to the people. And let's not forget that the Lord Jesus, prior to his ascension, but after his resurrection, he said to his own, and ye are witnesses of these things. So the rock was smitten, and the water gushed forth. You say, well, it doesn't say it gushed forth in our present passage. You know, I, I enjoy reading such psalms as Psalm seventy eight, Psalm one hundred and five, because they trace the history o- o- of the children of Israel, and things are put so succinctly. And it's in those passages that we read that the waters gushed out. Psalm seventy eight: behold, he smote the rock that the waters gushed out. Psalm one hundred and five: he opened the rock and the waters gushed out. And so the very rod whose stroke was judgment to the Egyptians was now used in grace, because here we have emphasized the grace of God to meet the need of his people in these circumstances, and it was used in grace to bring the refreshing streams of water to the many thousands of the children of Israel. Well, now that we're in this line of, uh, typical teaching, we, we really ought to say a word about the waters gushing forth, because the water flowing, uh, from that smitten rock, it is obviously a beautiful type of the Holy Spirit. Now, I stand to be corrected on this, but, but this, I believe, is, is the first distinct type o- of the gift of the Spirit in the book of Exodus. I- it is interesting, of course, is it not, when we come over to Acts chapter two, that the Holy Spirit is said to have been shed forth, or if you like, poured out. So the gift of the Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit was consequent upon the death and exaltation of Christ. And that is clear from his own words. We're now in John chapter seven. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly, out of his innermost being, shall flow rivers of living water. Note the parenthesis given by the Spirit of God, as John pens these words, that this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Exodus chapter sixteen and Exodus chapter seventeen go together. The incarnation of Christ, the death of Christ. And so likewise, we find that John chapter six and John chapter seven go together because in John chapter six we have the bread of life, and in ex- sorry, in John chapter six we have the bread of life, and in John chapter seven we see the ho- the Lord Jesus announcing the coming gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm not deliberately doing the Passover on verse seven, but I want to come on to the latter section. So we now come to the second main division o- of the chapter, that is verses eight to sixteen. And, uh, these verses are concerned with war with Amalek. Verse eight, and it's these words that I want to impress upon your minds, and, uh, you to hear these words ringing in your ears. Then came Amalek. Then came Amalek. War against Amalek, the coming of Amalek. At the beginning of verse nine, we read of Moses and Joshua. Moses said unto Joshua. We shall see in a moment, this is the first reference to Joshua in our Bible. Moses and Joshua. Then in the longer section, the latter part of verse nine going down to verse thirteen, we have the battle with Amalek. Notice the expressions, latter part of verse nine, fight with Amalek. Verse ten, Joshua fought with Amalek. Verse thirteen, Joshua discomforted Amalek. You wouldn't disagree with me, those verses are concerned with the battle with Amalek. And then in the closing verses, verses fourteen to sixteen, we have the memorial of the, uh, m- the memorial to the battle, write this, verse fourteen, for a memorial in a book. Let's think then of the coming of Amalek. Then came Amalek. Now, Amalek was a near kinsman of Israel according to the flesh. And as we look back in the history given in our Bible, we find that he was born, and that is Amalek himself, he was born to the son of Esau named Eliphaz, and he was born by Timna, a concubine. But by now had increased to a strong, warlike people. It's interesting that, that the word Amalek means a people that licks up. So he had increased into a strong, warlike people. Balaam, that, that enigmatic character, Balaam, he speaks of, of the Amalekites as being the first, really the idea is the chief of the nations. Now you must observe, brethren, here in this verse, that the unprovoked attack came from Amalek and not from Israel. Now we can look at this battle in relation to the children of Israel, but we can also look at this battle as a picture, as a type of the war in which every believer is engaged. Now notice these things. As long as the people were in Egyptian bondage, they had no fighting to do. No reference to any fighting while the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt. And so we learn that warfare is unknown in days of bondage. Secondly, deliverance from Pharaoh must precede war with Amalek. Thirdly, Amalek is a foe of a redeemed and pilgrim people. And I sincerely believe that this war in Rephidim with Israel foreshadows that conflict that is known only to those who have been redeemed by God, delivered from the authority of darkness, and delivered from this present evil world. In other words, we must emphasize that Amalek is a picture of the flesh. And when we speak of the flesh, incidentally, you know, I, I think sometimes we, we, we give titles to things that are not really scriptural titles, you know, we speak about the old nature, but but it's better to speak about the flesh, and so people know what we're speaking about. So it's the flesh. In other words, that fallen, evil, corrupt nature of man. It's the seat of sin in man. Now let's bear in mind that the unconverted, they are under the dominion, the complete dominion of the flesh. They serve its lusts, and they do its will. And the flesh, therefore, does not fight against its subjects. It completely dominates and rules over them. But at conversion, as we've been reminded so clearly in the former part of the meeting, at conversion, the Holy Spirit takes up his abode within the believer. I often think, you know, I look back to that night when I was converted, because I was saved by God's grace out of the world. I was saved in a gospel meeting, you know? Did you know that people can be saved in gospel meetings? I was saved, and I can not only tell you the date, I can almost tell you the time. It was about ten past seven on that particular evening. So I was saved in a gospel meeting. And, you know, I knew, I knew that my sins were forgiven, and I knew that I had a place in heaven, but I want to say this, there were a lot of other things that I came into the good of, but I didn't appreciate them then, and there's a sense in which I'm still learning them now, and perhaps I didn't even think about the Holy Spirit taking up residence within me, but I soon learned that that was a truth. So irrespective of whether I appreciated or appreciated it or not, the Holy Spirit did take up his residence the moment I was saved. And the moment that conversion takes place and the Holy Spirit takes up his abode within the believer, a strange conflict begins. And that is something that is hitherto unknown to the individual. Now let's please appreciate this, that the flesh within the believer has not died. It has not ceased to function, and the presence of the Spirit of God neither eradicates nor somehow absorbs the flesh. The flesh may not be expelled, and the flesh can never, never be improved. Now let me, let me try to put things here in context. You see, the newborn soul really would, would need to feed upon the manna. That's Exodus chapter sixteen. feed upon Christ. I haven't time to develop that. You know, I think we sometimes use expressions like feeding upon Christ, and we don't really, you know, explain to young believers what that means, but I'm afraid I haven't time to elaborate on that at the present time. But, but, but the, the newborn soul would desire to feed upon the manna, Christ, and to drink of the water from the rock, a- a- and d- and to do so in peace. But the flesh will not allow the newborn soul to do that. Because we learn from Galatians chapter five that the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these two are contrary the one to the other. Now you'll notice, it was not Israel that attacked Amalek. It was Amalek that fought with Israel. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel. So we thus read first of all in Galatians chapter five, not the spirit lusteth against the flesh, but first of all we read the flesh lusteth against the spirit. Now I'm speak- maybe speaking to someone here, uh, this afternoon, and you're finding a great problem with the flesh. And since you were saved, that conflict between the flesh and the spirit, it begins in earnest. And I wonder, I wonder whether some old habit has begun to assert its power. Perhaps some, some evil suggestion flashes across the mind. Some fleshly lust demands to be indulged in. It's interesting, isn't it, that Peter, in his first epistle in chapter two, he speaks of fleshly lust that war against the soul. It may be that there's some root of bitterness. I'm using that scriptural expression, that some root of bitterness springs up. And let me, let me please point out that the flesh will always oppose, but the flesh need not oppress. The flesh will always wage warfare, but the flesh need never conquer. Now quickly coming, uh, to the following verses. Moses and Joshua, verse nine, the beginning of the verse. I- I mentioned that for the first time Joshua i- i- is named in scripture. Evidently, he was already well known to Moses. A- and- and I do want- I do want to emphasize, I don't want you to miss this part of the message, because here we have in this part of the chapter the conditions for victory over the enemy. There's no thought of surrender. Th- there's certainly no thought of compromise. It's not a question of trying to make peace with the foe. And I'm telling you that courage is needed. You know, Christianity is courage. You know, being prepared to go against the tide. Christianity is not cowardice, Christianity is courage. A- and, and you'll notice that Moses says, choose us out men and go and fight with Amalek. You know, I was thinking of that expression in one Corinthians chapter sixteen, quit you like men, choose you out men. Now verses nine to thirteen, because here we have, here we have the, the conditions for victory. The battle with Amalek. And the manner in which victory was won has in it all important lessons for the people of God. And you'll see here that the battlefield has its upper sphere and its lower sphere. On the top of the hill, Moses held the rod of God in his hand. And down below, Joshua used the sword. So the respective actions of Moses and Joshua are really pointing out to us the provisions which God has made for us to combat the flesh. Now, quite a few things have been written on these verses that I'm not entirely happy about. I cannot, brethren, see here in Moses a type of Christ, not at this particular stage. Moses' hands were heavy. No failure on the part of Christ. And I'm convinced in my own mind that in Moses upon the hill, we have a picture of the believer in communion with his God. And while he abides there, with his hands lifted up, and hands lifted up in conscious need, the power of God is made available to him. And that power of God symbolized by the rod is exercised on his behalf. And you'll notice that, that Israel's success against Amalek was determined by the uplifted hands of Moses. When Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed. And, uh, the uplifted hands are emblematic of prayer. You say, brother, you're not trying to introduce charismatic practices into the assemblies in this locality. I think you know me a little better than that, but but you we must realize that, uh, I will therefore that men, the male persons, pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands. Well, well, I I think, brethren, it the emphasis is upon holy hands, uh uh clean hands, undefiled by sin, and and that's the Godward aspect, without wrath, manward, and without doubting selfward. But but you'll find in other s- uh, passages, particularly in the Psalms, the, the idea of the uplifted hands is, is emblematic of prayer. But Moses' hands were heavy, and how soon we weary of supplicating God, and therefore the Lord himself. I think I mentioned this in passing yesterday evening when we were looking at Psalm sixteen— The, the Lord spake a parable, Luke chapter eighteen, unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Well, well, Moses' hands needed to be lifted up. But Moses was not left to himself. Aaron and Hur, H-U-R, were with him. And Aaron and Hur stayed up, Mr. Darby says, supported his hands. Now, Aaron was the head of Israel's priesthood, and so plainly speaks of our great high priest. Now, let's bear in mind that as far as the Hebrew epistle is concerned, the priesthood of Christ is after the pattern of Aaron, but it's after the order of Melchizedek. And so Aaron was the head of Israel's priesthood. It's directing our thoughts to our great high priest. He ever lives to make intercession for us, and you can rest assured that the believer's cause is well represented there by the antitypical Aaron, whose words to his people is this, are these. I will strengthen thee. Thinking of this up, staying up the hands. I will strengthen thee. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Now, her, H-U-R, it it it means light, and I'm just suggesting to you that that, that is the emblem of divine holiness, and so points us to the Holy Spirit of God. And so we have the other comforter. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And so I'm, I- I'm happy to tell you, brethren, from the word of God, that God himself in his grace, he has fully provided for us, and we are supported on either side with one intercessor with God for us, and another intercessor from God within us. And with that, we as believers have power to prevail. But the picture isn't complete, because the typical picture is only completed for us by what is said in verse thirteen. Jo- Joshua discomforted. Don't, don't pronounce that discomforted, discomforted. In, in other words, Joshua broke the power of Amalek, and he broke the power of Amalek with the edge of the sword. Well, I don't have to count the border, uh, to remind you that the sword i- i- is really pointing us to the... i- i- it's quick and it's powerful and it's sharper than any two-edged sword. And so I want to remind you, brethren, that it's not, not by prayer alone that we can combat the flesh. The word of God is also needed. Thy word have I hid in mine heart. Please don't refer these words to the Lord Jesus, that I might not sin against thee, but, but it should be true of ourselves. Thy word have I hid in my heart. We need to store up the word of God in our minds, of course we do. Younger, younger believers, children here this afternoon, you know, it's good, good to learn the scriptures by heart, but we need to know the scriptures in our heart by meditation. I said that yesterday evening as well. And uh, and, and, and we need to have an appreciation of the word of God. As I close, I just want to remind you that this warfare is not imaginary. This warfare is real, and if we want to know victory, we've been thinking about the truth of separation, and a vital truth it is, practical separation. But here we need to know how to combat the flesh. Trust the Lord will bless his word to our hearts for his name's sake.