You might have expected that we'd go into the book of Deuteronomy tonight. It originally had been my intention to deal with the slaying of the rough hever in the valley in Deuteronomy chapter number twenty one. That, of course, is just a little picture. There's something of the millennium truth in that, a little picture of the land and the coming day and all that sort of thing. But then it did, I did think today that we had been dealing with sacrifices. Now, the cross is spoken about in the Pentateuch in a number of ways, eh, through sacrifices, through feasts, sometimes through people, and sometimes through events. And following Numbers chapter nineteen, there is an event, although that's not what we're going to deal with tonight. There is the, eh, plague that is followed by the raising of the brazen serpent, and that is a picture of the cross. And there are other events, and I thought, just to close a little series off, particularly with what follows it, that we should turn our attention to the book of Exodus. And, uh, we're going to look at another picture of the cross in the Pentateuch this evening from the seventeenth chapter of the book of Exodus. Exodus, please, and reading in chapter number seventeen. uh 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 Meriba, 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 hands, 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 other side, uh, 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 discomfited 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 the Lord will bless his word, and we will see that in the center of that event, there is a glorious picture of the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. And really, I did feel that we should cover one of these, just so that my young brethren and sisters will know that there is in the Pentateuch other pictures of the cross that are not linked particularly with sacrifice, but nevertheless are full of meaning and important as far as our understanding of the work of the cross is concerned. We dealt with the Passover on a previous occasion, and we noted that in the book of Exodus, there was after the Passover a progression of the dealings of God with his people. In chapter number twelve there was, of course, the great declaration, the great, eh, eh, chapter of salvation. And following the salvation of chapter number twelve, if you were to turn to chapter number fifteen, you would find that following salvation, the children of Israel embark on a period of education. For salvation is always followed by education. You might think that salvation is the end of the story, but salvation's day actually is only the beginning of the story. And so following salvation, there is a great period of education. Now that education starts with praise as they sing that tremendous song that I have already mentioned and called it the Song of Faith's Morning. And we get that in Exodus chapter number fifteen. and would we had tonight time to spend just a little on that great song of redemption. I simply want to notice that in the history of the children of Israel, we learn this, that there are some things that a believer knows instinctively the moment he or she is saved. There are some things that we need to be taught, some things that we need to, eh, have education in, but there are some things that we know instinctively. For instance, the Israelites in chapter number fifteen knew how to sing. It was the first song of the Bible. I don't think that they had, I was in Sunday evening, I was thinking about where there was a little bit of rehearsal and getting things ready and some singing going on. I don't think Moses arranged that down in Egypt before the Passover. I don't think they had singing lessons and somebody telling them that nice quiet way, just that they weren't doing it properly. No, in Exodus chapter number fifteen, they know how to sing, and the singing comes without any prior education. I tell you, the moment you get saved, you should be joyful and happy, and you shouldn't have that old face on you that you had on you before. There should be a bit of joy about you, and you shouldn't need to have somebody to come and tell you, I want you to straighten your face and smile because you're supposed to be happy now. I know these folks had joy in their soul, and in Exodus chapter fifteen they sang. So there was no difficulty. They knew how to sing. But I want you to notice secondly, they knew what to sing. There was in their soul just an understanding. Moses led this great, uh, song on the side of the Red Sea, but there was an understanding of what they had to sing, and this understanding took them right as far as planting them in the mountain of their inheritance. I take it to be that Moses is referring there ultimately to the house of God that would be amongst them. So they knew to sing, and they knew how to sing. And I suppose there is a third thing. They knew how to sing unitedly. They all sang together. There was a unity about them as they crossed the Red Sea, and there was a joy about them, and there was a knowledge about them right at the beginning. But that is the beginning of the education process. It's not the end, and, uh, things move on. Praise in the opening chapters of chapter fifteen, the opening verses of chapter fifteen, right down to verse twenty one. and then it is followed by problems. Problem after problem after problem. We notice, first of all, and I ask you just to keep in your mind, and I know you filed it away there, and I know you've been chewing over it for days, and I know it's been at the forefront of your mind because I asked you to keep it in your mind, was this very fact, that the, the word of the Lord that came to Moses was that the children of Israel had to go three days journey into the wilderness and there make a feast unto the Lord. Now, do you notice that it comes at the end, towards the end of chapter number fifteen, verse twenty two. They went out into the wilderness, and they went three days in the wilderness. So what should they have been doing? Out there in the wilderness, they should have been having their feast unto the Lord, but they didn't. When they were out there three days into the wilderness, there was no water. And so, instead of, instead of sacrifice, instead of feasting, instead of worship, there's nothing but worry. You sometimes get that in life. Instead of worship flowing from your soul, there's worry. There's no water. So the children of Israel now have a problem, no water. And the word of God tells us that the answer to that, eventually they came to bitter water. Now there was another education. Sometimes folks go through bitter experiences in life, not because of their, eh, failure, but because of their faithfulness. And here the water was bitter. Bitterness becau- because of, eh, f- faithfulness. And what happens? You know, you know the answer. Moses, of course, he takes, eh, a tree. And the word of God tells us that casting that into the water, why, it became sweet. And there, although that's not what we're dealing with tonight, is a little picture of the cross again. Now that is followed by the problem of no bread. One month out of Egypt, they've got no bread. And you know the answer to that is the manna come down from heaven. And we're not dealing with that tonight. That is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus, the bread of God that came down from heaven, a little picture of the Lord Jesus coming here to earth, and that is the manna. So you're building the picture now. The Lord Jesus coming from heaven to earth is pictured in the manna. And then we know, don't we, that, uh, the, uh, the manna, and then you know, don't you, that when we come here to chapter number seventeen, there's another problem. It's not now a shortage of bread, it is now a shortage of water. And this is where I want to take up the picture, and we will see this evening that that picture that starts with the bread of God come down from heaven continues right through chapter number seventeen. But the problem now is water. Now, we will just notice something. If you look, you will see that when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, there was only one place where it appeared to be that they had no problems. And that was the place that we find later on, and that there, there was that one problem, eh, one place where there was no problem. Now, the place where there was no problems is found at the end of chapter number fifteen, and it is quite simply that place called Elam. When they came to Elam, there were twelve wells of water and threescore and ten palm trees, and so there was no difficulty whatsoever there, and for some time they were at Elam. Now, if I had to take folks, if you had to be going on holiday and you got the choice of either coming to Amara or Anilam, I think you would choose Anilam. There was plenty of water, and there was palm trees, and it was a lovely place to be. It was the kind of place that when you turn up these holiday brochures and you look, you say, ah, this is the place for me. I'll go to Elam. I'll go to where, uh, uh, there's not a problem in the world, and there's not a shadow in the sky, and there's, there's nothing. It's just a beautiful place to be, no difficulties. Do you know this? It was the only place where they learned nothing new about God. Every other place was a place of difficulty, and every other place they learned something new about God. Now there's a lesson there, isn't there? I learn things about God in the days of difficulty, but when the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing, and when everything seems just to be right, somehow or other, I don't learn as much about God as I do when I'm faced with pressures and stress and difficulties. And so we've come now to this place, which is, of course, a place of difficulty. No water. Now, I want to divide our consideration this evening into two. I want to think about the water, and then I want to think about Amalek. Now, first of all, we will notice this. We will see, first of all, that in following them, in following, they are following the cloud, and this is the seventh halt since leaving the Red Sea behind them. The seventh, eh, halt since crossing the Red Sea. If you go to Numbers thirty three, you'll find that so. The seventh. Now, what did I say the number seven signified? It signified a perfect work in which God could rest. So what we're about to see in the seventeenth of Exodus is the picture of a perfect work in which God can rest. And so they're following. I notice this, that it's a recurring problem. They had been short of water after they left Egypt, and now they're short of water again. And so it is a recurring problem. Now, I want you to notice, please, that although it's a recurring problem, the answer God gives this time is different to the answer that God gave the first time. So that even in life, if I meet a recurring problem, God will not be limited to one single way of addressing that problem. God is a God of variety, and even although the problems may be similar, God's answer could be completely different, and it is here in Exodus seventeen, and I take it to be it is because they are ready now to learn a different lesson from a different answer that comes from heaven. So we're building the picture. Now, I want you to notice, please, not only the fact that they were following, I want you to notice the fact that they are also found failing. They start complaining. Here the children of Israel start complaining. Why chide ye with me? The word of God says that the people did chide with Moses. There's now open strife. They are openly complaining against Moses. And do you notice, eh, they murmur against Moses. Now I take it to be that murmuring is something that's stuck in their throat. It was something that was always there, murmuring. Uh, you probably don't have folks like that in North America. We say in the United Kingdom, they crake on, you know? Did you ever remember when I was a boy, the joy of a Sunday afternoon, the peak of the week, was to put on the gramophone and wind it up and put on old records such as Willie McCune and all that kind of thing, you know. And there was the Grumbler's Song. They grumbled on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. They grumbled on a Thursday too. They grumbled on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and they grumbled the whole week through. And sometimes when I meet folk, what that comes into my mind is the Grumbler's Song. And it doesn't matter what day of the week it is, they're doing the same thing. Well, it seems here that the children of Israel were like that. They were murmuring, they were grumbling. The thing was logic. There wa- there was a thing that they couldn't get rid of, and every time you met them, they were grumbling about it. And you notice it also says in verse number two that they tempted the Lord, they put the Lord to the test. Now, there are two ways that you can put the Lord to the test. You can put the Lord to the test in belief. In other words, what you do is you say, God has said, if I do that in de- in devotion, he will respond by doing that. That is the test of belief. I am prepared to take the step, knowing that he will give the answer, but you can tempt God in unbelief. And this is what happened at Massa and Meribah. So dreadful was the condition of the people that it was said later it must never, ever, ever happen again. They tempted the Lord, and in unbelief they challenged him. So keep that in mind. Now, that's them following and that's them failing. Now, I want you to come to the great answer that was given. The great answer that was given. The answer came from the Lord. Moses cried unto the Lord saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. Just think of that. They were almost ready to take up stones and to put Moses to death. Now, what was the answer? I want you to notice, please, how this problem was solved. Firstly, you know that he went to a rock and he smote the rock. Now, firstly, I want to ask a very, I'm going to ask three questions about this, smiting the rock. Firstly, what did he use to smite the rock? Well, it was the rod of judgment. He used the rod that had been used to smite the river Nile down in the land of Egypt, and that was a rod of judgment. Now, just think of that. The children of Israel knew that that was a rod of judgment. They were well aware of that, they understood that, and they knew that, that this was a rod of judgment. Now you can imagine the scene. These complaining, murmuring people who have put God to the test. They're standing there, and the word of God is quite clear. I, when he says, go on before the people. In other words, stand out in front of the people, and they see Moses moving out in front of them, carrying the rod of judgment. What do you think they expected? When the rod of judgment was lifted up over the Nile, judgment fell on that river. What did he expect them to do? I think what he expected them to do, or what they expected him to do, was to raise the rod of judgment over Israel. Now remember that. That would have been, in the minds of the people, this rod is associated with judging those who disobey. And they would expect them to raise the rod over a disobedient people. Now keep that in mind. And there must have been fear entered their heart as they saw Moses stride out carrying the rod of judgment. He is about, as he did in eh eh Exodus earlier, to act as the executor of God's righteous judgment. That is what he's going out as. The executor of God's righteous judgment. A people disobedient, complaining, moaning, testing God in unbelief, and he moves out in front of them with a rod that speaks of God's righteous judgment, and the people, they would be, I tell you, they would be fearful. They would think that death could only be the result. That's what ultimately had happened in Egypt. So he moves out with a rod. Now I want you to notice secondly, please, uh, where did he go? Where did he go? Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb. Ah, it's to stand before a rock, something that all the people could see, and he moves out, and he stands in front of the rock. They must have been expecting him to turn and raise the rod of judgment over Israel. That's where he went. Now, I want you to notice what he did. Observe, please, closely what he did. The word of God says, and thou shalt smite the rock. It's amazing, isn't it, that these stories are often told, eh, in Sunday school, and and folks have written little books about it. And you know, I've seen some of these children's books, and when you open them up, here's Moses, and there's a little rock, he's getting a wee tap. Just a wee tap. That word smite there, if you look, you'll see it's used in connection with Cain, very concernless anyone should slay him, etc. The word smite there is a word that is strong enough to indicate a mortal blow. It wasn't just a tap, it was a blow that would have brought death to a man. Now, the rabbis acknowledged this, so much so that they taught for some reason that this must have been a miraculous rod. And they even thought that it was a rod made of solid diamond. Now, I don't know whether diamond would have maintained, would w- would have been able to withstand so, I'm just telling you what what we learn in the writings of the rabbis. So if you take issue with it, don't take issue with me, go and take issue with the rabbis. Diamond, you see, and they say only that would have been so. It was a mortal blow. So he raised the rod of judgment. He did not hold over the rock. He smote the rock with a blow so hard that if it had been directed against a man, it would have caused death. He smote the rock. I tell you, what is the picture here? It is the picture of Calvary. It is a picture of the cross. It is a picture not of the cross redeeming out of Egypt. These were redeemed individuals. It was not a picture of a redemption story. Here, we will just see in a minute what it was. This rock is a picture of the cross, and as he smote the rock, it was a picture of the smiting of the Savior on the cross of Calvary. I tell you, here we have a picture again of a substitute, but not quite, we will see, in the sense that we think of as he he's dying for us, these sins as an unsaved sinner. We will see in a minute some of the fresh significance that we come from this smiting of the rock, a picture of the cross and the smiting of the Savior. You see, the fact of the matter is, Israel deserved the blow, but the blow fell on the rock. Israel deserved the judgment, but the judgment fell on the rock. So you've got the picture here, and in that, the great rock was smitten. You see, the cross covers not only the sins in the sense of salvation, but these are a redeemed people, and it covers all our sins. It's the substitute for them all. Even these as we are, as believers who submit, who bow, and we complain, and we sin, and we test the Lord and tempt the Lord. This is the cross dealing with our sins. Those of redeemed people. And I tell you, what a picture it was of Calvary, and what a picture it is of the cross. But we're not finished there. Oh, we're by no means finished. Well, you'd be surprised if we were 8 o'clock. We're not finished. I want you to notice what follows after that. The word of God says that, eh, there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. Well, the the water did come out. I'll come back to that in a minute. What's the picture of the water coming out? The picture of the water coming out is a picture of the day of Pentecost and the pouring out of the Spirit of God. So you're building a picture. The manna is the bread of God come down from heaven. The smitten rock is the cross of Calvary. The water pouring out is a picture of Pentecost. What a beautiful, eh, agreement there is between Moses writing Exodus and the account in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles. Do you see the whole thing coming together? A beautiful picture here, a foreshadowing of what would take place in another day. And the water pours out. Now you might think, well, the water came out a little bit. You've seen pictures of it, haven't they? And and there's a wee bit of water coming up, there wouldn't be enough to fill a thimble. And there's two million people. And then it might be a wee bit more, and you say, boy, they wouldn't get much out of that. So does the scripture actually tell us how much water came out? Well, it doesn't quantify it, but listen to the word of God says about the water coming out. It says, says in Psalm seventy eight, that the, the waters gushed out. Gushed out. If you were to turn your attention to Psalm 105, it says the waters flowed out in dry places like a river. It was a river that came out of the rock. And if you can go a little further to Isaiah forty eight, it says the waters gushed forth. So what you have really is rivers, streams in the desert, rivers coming, eh, gushing out of the rock at Horeb. What a beautiful picture of the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down. You see, in the water there was sufficient for everyone, and in the Holy Spirit coming down, there was sufficient for everyone. And the Holy Spirit here, the picture of it is of refreshing. The waters gushed out. Now, I want you to, to, you all know, don't you, that this happened again. This happened again. It happened in Numbers chapter twenty, and I want you to turn over, please, to Numbers chapter twenty because it happened again. Now you'll find it in Numbers twenty. Now this is why I go to this, because this follows the red heifer that we dealt with last night, and here we have it, and eh, we find it in verse number seven. Look at verse number two, there was no water, and the people chowed with Moses. Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord. And look at verse number eight, take the rod and gather thou the assembly together, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts to drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him, and he gathered the congregation, and Moses and Aaron gathered them together before the rock, and he said, Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? He lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice, and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank out of this rock. Now, what do you notice, please? The differences. There are three great differences. As a matter of fact, there are four great differences between Exodus chapter seventeen and Numbers twenty. Now, note them, please. The first thing I want you to notice was it was a different rod. In Numbers twenty, it was Aaron's rod that was laid up before the Lord. Now, Aaron's rod was not a rod of judgment. Aaron's rod was a rod of resurrection. It was the rod that budded, which confirmed that the priesthood went with Aaron. It was not a rod of judgment, it was a rod of, eh, of eh resurrection, a rod of blessing. The second thing I want you to notice, please, it was, of course, a different time. It was thirty eight years later. The same problem cropping up. Water. I learned this, that every generation has to learn God in their own generation. The lesson that had been taught in Exodus seventeen did not do for the next generation. The next generation had to learn God themselves. And that's a very vital lesson. Young believers, the knowledge that your elder brethren have and older saints have of the God of the Bible will not suffice for you. You have to learn of God yourself. You have to get into it and learn it yourself. These men, a generation later, had to learn what their fathers had learned. It had to be learned again. Now, what do you notice the third difference? It's just this. It was different acts that were asked. In Exodus seventeen, Moses had to smite the rock. In Numbers twenty, he had to speak to the rock. He had to speak to it. Now, what's the significance? In Exodus seventeen, it's the cross. Why has he not asked to smite the rock in Numbers twenty? Because the cross can only happen once. You can't have the cross twice. The cross can only happen once. He does not need to smite the rock again. The rock has been smitten in Exodus seventeen, and there's no need to smite it again. So what is he told? Speak to the rock, because the rock in Numbers twenty is Christ in resurrection. The rock in Numbers seventeen is Christ on the cross. I tell you, when we come into the presence of God now, we can speak to the rock. He's in resurrection. We can speak to him, and never again will he be smitten. So we're learning about the cross, but it's a once and for all death that will never and need never and can never be repeated. Now keep that in mind. Ah, but did you notice the fourth difference? The fourth difference, I suppose, was that Moses disobeyed. Instead of speaking to the rock, he smote the rock twice. He was disobedient, and he smote the rock twice. Now, read further down and you'll see what that cost him, but he smote it twice, and we can hardly, well, you might say from a human point of view. I tell you, they had harassed him for forty years, and he was the meekest man on the face of the earth, but then he turns around and says, ye rebels, must I bring you water out of this rock? I tell you, I'm not surprised that he did that. I'm surprised it took so long. The grace that that man showed, the meekest man on all the earth, and now just for a minute, ye rebels. I tell you this. God may say what God desires about his people. He has the right to do whatever he will. But I tell you this, we have no right to call them certain things. He had no right to call them rebels. And when we're dealing with speaking about the saints of God, we've got to be careful we don't call them what the Bible says we should never call. Disparaging comments and remarks, even when there's a difference of view. And so, but do you notice a fifth difference? Do you notice that in Exodus seventeen it does not tell you that water came out of the rock, but in Numbers twenty it does tell you that water came out of the rock. You deserve that. Well, you say to me, how do you know in Exodus seventeen that water came out of the rock? I know it because Psalm seventeen, Psalm one hundred and five, and Isaiah forty eight tells me. I also know, of course, that quite clearly from the text it's taken for granted that water came out of the rock, but in Numbers twenty, it actually says that the, the, the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. Why is it emphasized in Numbers twenty when it is not emphasized in E- Exodus chapter seventeen? Well, can I tell you why? The answer is this. There's two answers. One, God will honor his promise. But you see, supposing you come across a, a group of Christians and they say, why, you know, you want to see the blessing we are getting. You want to see the blessing we are getting. Matter of fact, if you came to our meetings, you wouldn't be able to hear yourself. Everybody's singing and praising the Lord and jumping about, and you want to see the place is full. And the place is, eh, I tell you, I remember being at a place in England, and and the man said to me, we're ready for revival. And boy, didn't they need it. And I said, how how what do you mean you're ready for revival? I was expecting to hear a great explanation of this, and he said, we've built an extension, and because of that, we're ready for revival. You see, that's no revival. Not at all. No. You see, folks might say to you, well, you see, the Lord is with us, and this is happening and that is happening. I learned this from Numbers twenty, that the blessing of God does not necessarily mean that we are pleasing God. The water came out. But the servant was disobedient. We saw the grace of God to a disobedient people with an obedient servant in Exodus seventeen. We see the grace of God to a disobedient servant and disobedient people in Numbers twenty. I tell you, when God blesses, we cannot go into the presence of God and thank him that he has rewarded our faithfulness. And in Numbers twenty, the blessing is indicated and spoken of so that we know that despite them, God blessed them. My brothers and sisters, it's up to us to be faithful, but when God blesses, God will bless when he will, who he will, where he will, and how he will. And if blessing comes, never go into the presence of God and thank God that he has rewarded your faithfulness. That just isn't true. He has blessed according to his sovereign good pleasure. And that's true in Numbers twenty. That's why it's mentioned. These clocks rush on again, don't they? Now, we really must, I suppose, go on now to Amalek. So there's a beautiful picture of the cross and a bu- beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus in resurrection, speak unto the rock. Now, what is being provided here, of course, is refreshment, eh, for the journey, and through the cross, of course, eh, we have that refreshment, and we have that continually through the work of the Holy Spirit. Now, then came Amalek. Then came Amalek. Can emphasize that, please. Then. When? Then. When was then? Then was as the water was coursing out of the rock. As the blessing was being enjoyed, and as the people were enjoying the blessing of God, at that very moment Amalek came calling. You come to ministry meetings and you enjoy them. Then comes Amalek. Whenever the blessing of God is experienced in your life, then comes Amalek. Then. Can I emphasize that? At that very point, as the water was being enjoyed and as it was coursing out of the rock. Now we know, of course, that this rock speaks of the Lord Jesus, and we know that that's clearly taught in the Epistle to the Corinthians, that this particular rock does speak of the Lord Jesus. Now, keep all that in mind. Now, I want you to see, eh, by the way, if you want to find out where that is, it's in one Corinthians chapter number ten. We are told, of course, they did all eat, uh, they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. Now, by the way, let me just give you, some folks actually think they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. They actually think that the rock moved as they moved through the wilderness. I don't think so. I don't think the rock moved as they moved through the wilderness. As a matter of fact, later they drank from other springs. We know that. The thought is not that the rock followed them, the thought is that Christ followed them. It was the spiritual rock that followed them. It was Christ who followed them. Christ was with them. So I take it to be in that Shekinah glory that he was there. He was there, and he followed them. Now, here we come at that very point, and so there's Amalek. Now, what does Amalek speak of? Amalek speaks of the flesh, and immediately the blessing of God is being seen, and we've enjoyed meetings together and all that kind of thing. Suddenly, Amalek appears. Then came Amalek, and he'll come. The flesh will come. Now, I want you to notice, please, at a time of blessing when it comes, do you notice that Moses said unto Joshua? Young believers, this is the first mention of Joshua in the Bible. You've never heard of him up until this point. This is the first mention. He was a young man, comparatively. He would be about forty or so. And at that very point, the very point when the crisis came, Moses laid his hands on the man. Now, I don't think Moses called a committee meeting and said, the who is, who is going to be the man to handle this crisis? Who is going to be the commander in chief of the army? I don't think he held a wee committee meeting and people said, well, eh, what, what about, what about Simeon? There's a man in the tribe who's a, well, he's showing potential, but he doesn't come to all the meetings, you know. Well, what about so and so? Well, he comes to the meetings, but he never shows any exercise, he never shows any desire for the things of God. No, isn't it remarkable that immediately there was the crisis, Moses immediately laid his hands on Joshua. Now, you young folks, here you are in the assembly in Stat Road. It's great to see you. Joshua had probably been preparing for a long time for this day. He didn't know he was preparing for that day, but he was fitting himself for the service of God, and the moment came when Moses laid his hands on him. Read the Gospel by Mark chapter number one, and you'll find this, that God does two things. He prepares the servant for the work, and he prepares the work for the servant. He prepares the servant for the work. You see that in Matthew chapter one, Mark chapter one. but he prepares the work for the servant, and there comes a day when the servant and the work meet and their paths cross. And here you have it in Exodus chapter seventeen. Uh, you know, you don't come into the meeting and say, let me just say this about Mark chapter one, by the way. You don't come into the meeting and you say, well, here I am, a young man, I tell you this. I'm going to be the ge- best gospel preacher in North America. That's me. I'm your man. I'm your man. As a matter of fact, if I'm preaching with anyone, I'll shine. I'm really your man, and with all due humility, I think I'm really the best around. And, you know, I- I'm humble about it. I don't say too much about it, but there's some people who are so undiscerning that they don't realize it. Now, I, I don't think that is how you do it. I don't think that's how you do it. It's the old story. I've said it often. You might think, for instance, that you're the best hospital visitor in the world. There's not another person in the north of America who's a hospital visitor like you. And you go and visit somebody, and after, after a word of encouragement for three and a half hours, you say, I'll come back tomorrow, and they say, I won't be here. You say, well, I thought you were in for a week. I was in for a week till you came. I'll be going out tomorrow before you come. You see? That's what I'm telling you. You're not a hospital visitor at all. By the way, if you do go hospital visit, don't stay all day. Make it brief and sharp. But listen. What do you do? Listen to what the Lord Jesus said. I'm thinking about Joshua preparing himself for this. What did the Lord Jesus say? He said to the disciples, what did he say? Come ye after me, and I will make you to become sinners of is eh fishers of men. Have you got what he said? He said this. You concentrate on following me, and let me make you what I want you to be. As simple as that. Come you, and I will. Come you after me, and I will make. That's the, that's the formula, you see. We determine to become a follower of Jesus Christ, and when we become a follower of Jesus Christ, he will make us what he wants us to be. So you got that? That was true of Joshua. He had been working. He had been a follower of Moses, and there came a day when Moses put his hand on him. After ministry meetings, we want young brethren and sisters to determine to be a follower of the Master and let him mold you and make you and change you and give you growth and give you experience in the things of God, so that at the end of the day, I mean, the assembly is a great school. Quickly in an assembly, it will become obvious to the brethren what you're gifted to do, what the Lord is fit. It'll become obvious what the Lord is fitting you to do, and if you work it, if you never work at it, they'll never see you at work, and as far as we're concerned, it's gift that's wasted. And so here we have this lesson. Now, I want you to notice, please. Following the attack of Amalek, there is a battle in the valley and a prayer meeting on the hill. You notice that? There's a prayer meeting on the hill and a battle in the valley. Now, some folks look at the hill as a place, a picture of the Lord Jesus in heaven. That's valid enough. What we're going to look at it tonight is just as a, a prayer meeting in the hill, and there's three men go up to the hill. Now, do you notice who these three men are? Do you notice who they are? Moses and Hur and Aaron. It's the first time Joshua's name is mentioned in the Bible. It's the first time Hur is mentioned. Now, Hur was an old man because he was Bezalel's grandfather. He was an old man. And here was, uh, Joshua, who was a young man. That tells me that here is an old man, and he's still serving God, and here is a young man, and he's starting his service for God. And they're both bringing themselves to the same task. The young man down in the valley, and you know, down in the valley there, he's, uh, he's doing battle with Amalek, but there is up in the mountain these three men, and they are maybe past the age of doing battle, but you see they are lifting. Look at the prayer, eh, attitude of these men. I want you to notice that. And Moses' hands, they took, eh, Moses, they held up his hands, and when he held up his hands, Israel prevailed, and when his a- arms came down, Amalek prevailed. And the two men held up his hands. So that when the hands were up, the hand was up, Israel was prevailing. It's a picture of a prayer meeting. Now, in what, what way is a picture of a prayer meeting? Just this, that when you actually here in Detroit pray for people in Africa or pray for people in North America or in Europe, you are actually helping them in their service, says Paul, ye also helping together by prayer. Prayer actively and consistently helps the servant. It's not just a case of praying here, and then that's it over. The prayer is goes up, and prayer actively helps those for whom you're praying. It is valuable, it is of value, and it certainly buoys up the servants and keeps them going. Here, it was necessary for the hand to be up, or else the battle went badly. So don't despise the prayer meeting. You know, somehow or other, folks think that as long as you attend, I- I'm not speaking about here, I don't know about it, but I know over in our land, as long as you attend the- the- the breaking of bread, that kind of keeps your, that kind of keeps your name on the roll. Kind of keeps you going. If you need a favour from the brethren, they can't you say no because you go to the breaking of bread. Going to the breaking of bread has not been in fellowship in an assembly. There needs to be a fellowship in all the gatherings of the asse- and here at the prayer meeting, a picture of it, there is power for God in the hands of a man held up. And that will suffice just for looking at that. And so, do you notice what happens? It says this, that his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Do you notice that? I can also say, by the way, do you notice what he does here? Uh, Moses, uh, goes up to the top of the mountain, and holding his hands up, I say, and I dare say we're right in saying, it's a sign of the authority of the man in prayer. He's holding his hands up, but they're up until the going down of the sun. And you might say to me, well, how long do we continue this ad- until the going down of the sun? That is just until life on earth has ended. Until opportunities are gone. What a beautiful prayer. Now, behind the children of Israel, as this is happening, the water is coming out of the rock. Still coming. As this is happening, that flow that started at Calvary is still coming out in blessing. There still is refreshment for the, those who are serving God in this way. In other words, the valley experience of Joshua, they were sustained by the water that was coming out of the rock. Calvary provided the sustenance for the strength of those who were down in the valley. And then the battle was won. It was written in a book. If you look at Joshua one, Joshua was the first man in the Bible who was told to live according to the book. The first man to live according to the book. But then Moses built an altar. I've got five minutes to tell you about this. He built an altar. Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner. The Lord my banner. He built an altar. It probably was an altar of earth, according to the instructions of Exodus twenty. So he built an altar. Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner. What did he mean by that, the Lord my banner? Well, we've said so often that, of old, the banners of a regiment, if they were captured in battle, the regiment was defeated. It was a shame and a scandal to have the banners captured. If you read history at all, you will know that in many battles there was a ferocious fight round about the banners. And sometimes, when the banner carrier fell, other men stood into the breach and lifted it high. The banner. You all know, of course, how important the banner, oh well, the Battle of Waterloo, eighteen fifteen. The banner. If you actually go to Edinburgh Castle, you'll see there, uh, one of the Imperial Eagles that was captured by a Scottish ensign at Waterloo. Rumour has it that he captured it because he thought it was made of gold, and when he got it, he found it was just painted gold. Maybe that was an in- an added incentive being a Scotsman, he was handing that gold, you know. But nevertheless, Insigneut his name was. But when the banner is lost, the regiment's defeated. What did the banner do? The Lord my banner. The Lord my banner. The banner did three things. It led into battle. It was a gathering point in the battle, and when it was lifted high, it was an encouragement in the battle. Now, the Lord is all of these things. He leads us into battle, he's the gathering point during the battle, and he encourages us in the midst of the battle. That's what he does. And it is a battle. Being a believer is a battle. But the Lord my banner. Your mind's running now. Your mind's running, and you're saying, I wonder if that's a wee link with Song of Songs six. And if you're wondering that, I'll say, aye, it is. Do you know what happens in Song of Songs five? For the third time, she loses him. Three times in the song, she loses him, and she loses him in Song of Songs five, and in Song of Songs six she finds him again. And what does he say? He says to her, I want to tell you this, you are terrible as an army with banners. I've said so often about that chapter that when you were courting your fiancé or your girlfriend and you're going to a meeting on Saturday night and you met her and you looked at her and you says, I want to tell you this, you're terrible as an army with banners. I don't know whether she'd appreciate it. It might make for a kind of cool night, you know? You know, these kind of nights when communication breaks down. Terrible. I want to tell you, darling, you're terrible as an army with banners. She would say, you feeling all right or, you know, has the, has the sun got to you? What did he mean when he said to her, you are terrible as an army with banners? An army with banners is an undefeated army. There was a time, actually, when the British were defeated in North America. You all know about, well, you all know about General Cornwallis, don't you? You see, we're Scots, we're no English. And do you know what they did? Well, you know what they did, didn't you? You know the tune they played. What was it? The world's turned upside down or something like that was the name of the tune that that they played. And as the British regiments marched past, they did two things. They put down their muskets, but they also yielded up their banners. Because an army that's lost its banners is a defeated army. Now, you're terrible as an army with banners. You lost me. I was away. You lost me because I came to the door and you wouldn't open. You lost me. And in losing me, you suffered pain. You suffered injury. And remember that the beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus that is written at the end of Song of Songs five— these are the words of a woman who's lost him. His locks are bushy and black as a raven. He is altogether loved. This is my beloved, and this is my friend. She is describing him to others, and she's lost him. But as soon as she has an appreciation of him, as soon as her mind is as it should be about him, suddenly he's back again. And he says to her, you're terrible as an army with. You're an overcomer. You're victorious. You've won through. There there's no shame about it. You're an overcomer. You've won through. Young folks, we want you to be overcomers. If you are saved by God's grace, you are already an overcomer because the day you got saved, you overcame the evil one, but you've got to continue overcoming the evil one, not for salvation, but because of salvation. And you want to be terrible as an army with banners, to be overcomers, not defeated, downhearted, depressed Christians, but overcomers. And here in Exodus seventeen, one of the great results of the cross. One of the great results from the cross was that we are able to be overcomers. That smitten rock supplied them with the sustenance and the refreshment that was necessary, and thus the power that was necessary to be overcomers. That smitten rock changed complaining saints into victorious saints. That smitten rock changed the defeated into the triumphant. And that's the cross. And that's what we've been speaking about this week. The cross of Calvary that has not only dealt with the devotion that I should have and the deliverance I've enjoyed. Not only dealing with the, as we saw last night, with the defilement that's all around us, and in the book of Le- uh, of Leviticus, with the dwelling place of God amongst us, but dealing in Exodus seventeen with the determination that should mark those who know the power of the cross, determination to win, determination to be victors, overcomers, not defeated, but triumphant. That's why I bring to you Exodus seventeen on the closing nights of our meetings. It is the smitten rock. Without the smitten rock, Amalek would have triumphed. With the smitten rock and the sustenance and the power that came with it, they became overcomers. Let's be overcomers. Lamech will come. I tell you he'll come. I tell you he'll come calling. We've had meetings together. He'll want to suck it from you and dry your soul out to nothing. He'll want to take out the warmth and the refreshment and everything. Well, I want to do that. But when he comes calling, you just say, not for me, not for me. I've resources in Christ and in Calvary. I can overcome this. And then you will raise an altar as you pray at night to Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner. He led me into the battle. He was my gathering place within the struggle. He encouraged me in the midst of the toil of it all. And now I raise my altar, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner. Good. When we look at Calvary, we say the man that hung there is my banner. It marks out to the world that I belong to him. It marks out to the adversary that I will not let him go, and it leads us triumphantly through the struggle until the day dawn and the shadows flee away. It's been good to be with you in the past nights. It's been a privilege. We thank you for the opportunity and the privilege of being here, and we've enjoyed the time with you. So let us determine to make the Lord our banner. Thank you for your attention, for your attendance, and for your time. And we trust that the word of God will touch all of our hearts. Shall we pray?