With All of Your "Very"

The third test comes as Moses returns from his trip to strike the rock.  Upon (or during) his return, Israel is attacked by the Amalekites.  The Amalekites were known as being a ruthless band of desert raiders that attacked traveling groups from behind.  According to Deuteronomy 25:17–18, this was exactly the case with the people of Israel:

Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt.  When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.

Some rabbis teach that it was from this experience that Israel learned one of their greatest lessons in community.  You would expect that the typical scenario would include a band of people traveling through the desert would be trailed by those on the margins.  The weak, the sick, the elderly, the struggling would drift to the back of the pack and be easy pickings for the raiding Amalekites.  Jewish thought notes that after the story of Mount Sinai and the construction of the Tabernacle, in the book of Numbers the tribe of Dan will receive the task of following in the back of the pack, demonstrating the lesson learned from the attack of the Amalekites at Rephidim.  To put it in the words of Ray Vander Laan, “You can tell whether a community is shalom-centered or empire-centered by where you find the weak.  A community of God's followers will always put the weak in the middle of the pack to protect them.”  I have always found that to be a powerful image.

In light of that statement, it is interesting to note that prior to this encounter at Rephidim, the Israelites have always been referred to (by the author) as a plural, “they” identity.  After this encounter, the author of Exodus will always refer to them in the singular.  It is no longer Israel as a “they” — but Israel as a “she.”  They have learned how to be a community.

And the community images don't stop there.  As the story continues, we find that Moses will have the Israelites enter the battle while he climbs up to the top of the mountain and holds his staff in the air.  As long as his staff remains in the air, the Israelites are victorious; when his staff drops, the Israelites suffer defeat.  As Moses' arms get tired, Aaron and Hur climb the mountain, sit Moses on a rock, and hold his arms up for him.  This serves as yet another image for the need of community.

This would end up being the test of whether or not you would love God with all your might.  In the prayer that is called the Sh'ma (recited every day by Jews), we are commanded to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  You may recognize this as the three tests of the desert.  The word for this third test — the word for “might” — is an interesting word.  In the Hebrew, the word translated “might” is the word meodeikah.  The root word is meod, which directly translates as “very.”

You are to love the LORD your God with all of your “very.”  Very what?

Very everything.  Love Him with everything you have to offer.  Everything that your hands can do and produce.  Everything that you can accomplish.  All of your talents, all of your time, all of your resources.  Love with with everything you have to give.  Love Him with all of your very.

I have heard some teachers teach that the “true third test” didn't take place at Rephidim that day.  They say that the true third test came when they entered the Promised Land.  When God finally gave them everything they had waited for, the true test would be whether or not they would remember where the blessing came from.  Deuteronomy would put it this way:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.  Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.  Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.  He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.  You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (8:10–18)

When you receive God's blessing, will you be able to remember where the blessing comes from?  Will you still be able to love Him with all of your very?

My teacher pointed a finger in my face and said, “You'll NEVER pass that test.”  I'm still not sure how much he believed that, but that challenge has remained to be one of the hardest tests I've ever had to navigate.  Living with the blessing is incredibly difficult.

And yet, Moses climbed the rock and pointed his staff into the heavens.  He named the place YHVH Nissi, which means “the LORD is my banner.”  The name was fitting, for a banner in the land they had just exited (Egypt) was a symbol for God.  The banner stood at the entrance to the Egyptian temples.  They could be seen from miles away and sent the message: “Just beyond this banner is the god that provides for this land.”  As Moses stood on this mountain, his staff served as the banner for all of Israel.  It pointed them to the source of their strength and victory. 

The third test is a continual struggle in my life to remember that the LORD is my strength and my provision.  In the next few verses of Deuteronomy, I am invited to worship the LORD and serve Him only, to always remember that my strength, my victory — and my “very” — come from Him.  No other gods.  No other empires.  Not even myself.

It is a form of trusting the story and knowing when to say enough.
It all comes from the Creator and I am invited to master my desires and know how to reject the obsession with my own creativity.
Because there is a danger when I don't think that I am good enough and that my identity and worth comes from production.
But there is an equal danger in forgetting our place and beginning to think we are more than we are.

"YHVH Nissi"