Rephidim

Battle with the Amalekites (picture from freebibleimages.org).

Central Truth: The Lord is our banner.

Scriptures: Exodus 17

The children of Israel continued their journey through the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim where there was no water to drink. The Israelites complained to Moses who prayed to God. The Lord told him to take his rod and strike a rock. Moses obeyed and water came out of the rock for the people to drink.

Then the Israelites faced their first enemy since the destruction of Pharaoh's army at the crossing of the Red Sea. As they traveled through the wilderness, they were attacked by the Amalekites who were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob's. Moses appointed Joshua to be commander over the Israelite army and face the Amalekites in battle. Moses watched the battle from a nearby hill with his brother Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses held his hands up to God, the Israelites prevailed in battle but, when his arms grew tired and he lowered them, the Amalekites prevailed. Moses then sat upon a stone while Aaron and Hur held up his arms, one on either side of him, until the sun set. As a result, the Israelites defeated the Amalekites.

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week, something new is either revealed or added or taken away. This week, we traveled from Marah to Rephidim located near the tip of the Sinai Peninsula (marked with the number 7 on the map).

Rephidim and the battle with the Amalekites on the map.