Posture & Fight
“Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm down. Let me settle this for you. It is a known fact that Persia has the most beautiful women,” King Ahasuerus said to his buddies. “Why don’t I show you? Vashti babe, get out here and strut your stuff. Vashti!” Strange that the story of Esther would begin with the most powerful man in Persia objectifying his wife, or at least trying to, Queen Vashti was not having it. For whatever reason, she did not want to parade around naked in front of her husband and his boorish friends just so he could have bragging rights as to whose empire had the hottest chicks. Nevertheless, her integrity would lead to her demise and leave a vacancy for a new queen (Esther 1).
At Rephidim, the Israelites found themselves out of water to drink, maybe that is why they were caught off guard when the Amalekites attacked. They were blindsided, and their women and children were attacked for no legitimate reason (Ex.17:8-9). Then again, there is always a reason people do what they do. Maybe it was the multigenerational family feud going back to Jacob and Esau. Amalek was in fact Esau’s grandson (Genesis 36:12). This was not a superficial enemy of the Israelites; they had a deep-seated hatred for the Hebrews. They were a firmly established foe of God's people and as far as God was concerned, they had to go. Israel would have to fight.
Two-year-olds can be fidgety, and five-year-olds can be too but I specifically remember when our daughter was two, having to really reel her in when it was time to pray. “Posture!” I would say with authority and she would immediately bow her cute little head, fold her tiny hands in front of her face, and then peek with one eye half open to see if we were watching. If I looked up and saw her playing around during prayer, which was often the case, I would simply say, “Posture!” and she would get back into position. Oh, if one-word commands would work for everything.
Most of us were raised to bow our heads and close our eyes when time to pray but in the days of Moses, the posture of prayer was to lift up your hands. While Israel fought the Amalekites, Joshua at the helm, Moses raised his hands. The lifting of the hands was symbolic of prayer so as long as his hands were lifted, the Israelites prevailed in war (Ex. 17:10-11). They prayed, they pressed forward in faith trusting God in their first military battle and, they won (12-16). They would face the Amalekites again, and the LORD assured them that there would be “war with Amalek from generation to generation” and from generation to generation, the Amalekites fought against God and His people, and they are still fighting (Num. 24:20, 1 Sam. 14:48, 15:1-7, 1 Chron. 4:41-43).
“What if you were put here for such a time as this?” Mordechai asked. “You are right. I will go before the King,” said Esther. “But I need everyone to pray and fast, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:14-16). Esther had been chosen to be Queen, but that did not mean she could approach the King whenever she desired, the law forbade anyone from doing so, punishable by death. But she had to, Haman, the King's right-hand man, had decreed that all the Jews be killed. The King had unwittingly signed it into law. There it was again, that deep-seated hatred for the Jewish people, and Haman had it. Interestingly enough, he was a descendant of the Amalekites. What a small world. Now this man, who hated the Jews, who built gallows especially for her cousin Mordechai, was the closest person to her husband King Ahasuerus. He had so much influence on the King that he got a genocidal act signed into law. There was no reversing Persian law, not even by the King. What kind of man was she married to? She honestly did not know. The guy had his last wife killed for not giving his friends a peep show; how would this work out in her favor? Well, they say, “Prayer changes things,” and indeed it does. Ahasuerus graciously received Esther, she revealed Haman’s genocidal plan and he was put to death, on the very gallows he had built for Mordechai (Esther 7).
Moses prayed. As long as his hands were lifted in prayer, the Israelites prevailed. Prayer changed things for the Israelites but they still had to fight. While Moses, Aaron, and Hur were praying, Joshua was out in the field, fighting the battle. Esther, Mordechai, and all the Jews prayed and fasted with faith that it would change things, and it did. But they still had a fight ahead of them that continues to this day. We don’t have to get into any specific physical posture to pray to the LORD, as long as our hearts take the posture of prayer. When we take the posture of prayer in our hearts without ceasing, we prevail over the enemy. The victory is ours by faith in Jesus Christ, but we still have to fight. Indeed, there will be war with our adversary, Satan, from generation to generation, until Jesus comes, so, get into posture and fight!
