Exodus 17:8-16: The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

 

The Jews were camped at Rephidim. God had already revealed to them that He was their provider. Now He had to teach them that He was their Deliverer. The Jews were not expecting this first attack. Most probably they had settled into their ‘comfort zones’, secure in knowing God’s provision of their daily needs.

 

The attack was cruel and savage. It was launched on the civilians, not the army. And of the civilians, it was the weak, helpless and handicapped who bore the brunt of the attack. 

 

Ps 83:4-7 gives us an indication of the goal of the Amalekites – the total annihilation of Israel.

 

Likewise our enemy aims at the total or near-total annihilation of the fourth-generation. If we lose one generation, the Church will eventually die. It will not happen immediately but 10, 20 or 30 years down the road. So, although we are living in a time of church growth throughout the world, we must be aware of this clear and present danger. We must not remain in our ‘comfort-zone’. 

 

This scenario is not new. When it was time for Abraham’s descendents to leave Egypt, the Egyptian pharaoh nearly wiped out a generation of Israelites at the point of their birth. This was the generation of those who would be actively involved in the Exodus (ie Moses’ generation). The enemy’s plan would have succeeded but for the faith of Moses’ parents and many like them. When God intends a great deliverance, Satan will counter-attack. 

 

 

If you are an active Christian father or mother in your 50’s, your children will be part of the third generation (around 20-40). Satan will be after them to cause them to turn away from God; or to make them worldly Christians; or to cause marital problems between husband and wife; or to prevent them from giving time to their children. So many full-time workers (pastors) have no time for their children, who desperately need their fathers during their growing up years. Also the lure of a higher standard of living has tempted many mothers to devote much of their time to their secular jobs. The result - children are being brought up by maids (often non-Christian) or by their grandparents. Yet all children need their fathers and mothers. 

 

Babies from birth to 15 months old need the full-time attention of their mother in order to develop the capacity to trust another human being. Learning to trust their mothers will enable them to trust the One True God. This is the developmental task all babies need to achieve within their first 15 months. After 15 months, if they have not learnt to trust, they will be emotionally stunted. For the rest of their lives, they will face problems in not being able to trust another human being. Healthy human relationships will not be possible. Relationship with the invisible Father God will be plagued with great problems. 

 

Thus the enemy has already attacked! And we have been taken by surprise! We, the intercessors, must pray that God will open our eyes to the reality of the crisis we are facing as a Church worldwide.

 

We must also know the tactics of the enemy. The Amalekites had descended from Esau. (Amalek was Esau’s grandson.) Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Heb 12:16-17 gives us this warning about Esau:

“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.” Gen 25:34: “Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.”

When Esau sold his spiritual inheritance for a bowl of lentil stew, he revealed that he was godless. 

 

At the heart of Esau’s birthright were the covenantal promises that God had given Abraham and repeated to Isaac. By the very act of exchanging these eternal promises for the temporary satisfaction of a normal human need, Esau was declaring that he did not believe in the existence of this Creator God of Abraham and Isaac. He was therefore being godless. His decision did not take into consideration the implications of the covenant between God and his grandfather & father. Instead his decision was motivated by an immediate physical need. …And Esau was one of the third generation of Abraham’s descendents. 

 

What will our enemy use to attack our third and fourth generation? He will use our godless culture. Our Singapore culture (like that of the rest of the First World) boasts of man’s great achievements in every sphere of life – in the arts, science, technology, medical achievements, ability to save the environment, telecommunications, entertainment etc. Man, by his human achievement, knowledge and know-how has become ‘god’. Man no longer needs a Being greater than himself. No problem is insurmountable. Given the time, money and expertise, man can find a solution. He has become godless in a godless culture.

 

This is the constant temptation facing our third and fourth generations. In the materialistic pursuit of knowledge, leading to a good career, complete with money and status, so that life will become more comfortable, enjoyable, secure and protected, our third and fourth generations will make countless decisions like Esau. Such decisions to satisfy normal human needs will cause them to exchange their spiritual heritage for ‘a bowl of lentil stew’. They will have become godless.

 

What we do not realise is this :–

God’s wrath and judgement are on this godless culture and on godlessness. This is clear from Rom 1: 18-31: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 

What we are not facing is the truth that the breakdown of homes worldwide and the deterioration of human relationships is the result of God’s judgement on our godlessness. And these judgements will grow worse and worse unless man repents. 

 

Repentance must begin with the intercessor. By the very act of turning to God in prayer, we are acknowledging that there is only one God in heaven, and that we are not god. When we pray and trust God to work, we have turned away from godlessness to being godly.

 

Rom 1: 21: tells us to give thanks. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened”

 

 So as intercessors, let us thank the Holy God who has given us Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world, and to be the Saviour of our families and clans. Jesus will save us. He will disable and destroy the Amalekites in our third and fourth generations. 

(Remember: the names, Jesus and Joshua, are the same name.)

 

God’s solution to this crisis is to pray. Moses went up to the hill to pray. But he did not go up alone. Aaron and Hur accompanied him. And he needed both of them, especially when he grew tired. Likewise, you may have been praying by yourself for a long time. You have grown tired. Joining the Vigil for Family Restoration for this year will help you to remain steadfast in prayer. Then the Lord Jesus will do a mighty work of deliverance in your families and clans. Hallelujah!

 

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