Hur

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 hand, 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 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.

Exodus 17:10-13

It's a simple story that sometimes we forget about. As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites were winning the battle. But when he lowered his arms, the Amalekites began to win. And of course, we often spend a lot of time in talking about Moses. And for good reason, after all! Think of all the things that Moses did in service to God. Consider the years he dedicated to the Lord.

And we often spend time in thinking about and studying Aaron, Moses' brother. We consider how he was appointed by God to speak for Moses, and spend time in learning how his family line became the line of Levitical priests. We contemplate his failures and his triumphs both.

But how often we do we think of Hur? How often we take the time to consider his role?

Here is a man who is rarely mentioned in scripture. And what we see here is no great work. All he does it help to hold up one of Moses' arms. Yet he did not seem to think it was beneath him. He did not consider it a trivial thing. He saw something that needed to be accomplished, and he did what was necessary.

How often are we like Hur? How often do we look for even small things to do? And how often do we skip over those small things as being unimportant? Surely Hur expected no great accolades for his efforts. It's pretty certain that he did not think to himself, “You know, if I stand here and hold Moses' arm, I'll be put into a book that people will read for thousands of years, and eventually, someone will use me as an example in a bulletin!” His mind was not on personal glory, but on what needed to be done.

And think about what a great effect he had! For his small effort, the Israelites defeated Amalek. If Moses' arms were not held up, then what would have happened? If we go off of what we see in scriptures, the battle would have been lost. But, in part because of Hur's effort, God gave Israel the victory.

A small effort can have great results. A card written to someone in encouragement. A phone call. A kind word. Offering to help carry someone's heavy bag. They are all little things. But each can have a significant impact.

So let us consider our small works that we can do. When something is necessary, let us not balk at doing it. Too often we overlook the “small” things while we seek out the “big” things. Let us walk in the footsteps of Hur, and do the small things that need doing. Let us think first of God's will, and put ourselves forward to be used in His service.