As I teach my daughters about the kind of lights the Lord would like us to be in this world, we talk about the following verses:

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” ~Romans 12:8-10

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” ~1 Peter 4:8

As the conversation gravitates toward supporting those around us, we often turn to the story about Moses, Aaron, and Hur:

In Exodus 17, we read about a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites. Moses asked Joshua to choose men to fight the Amalekites, and told him that when they battled the next day, Moses would be standing on the hill holding the staff of God (Exodus 17:8-9). Joshua did as Moses asked. While Joshua and his army fought the Amalekites: Moses, Aaron, and Hur walked to the top of the hill. As long as Moses kept his arms raised with the staff, the Israelites won. When he lowered his arms, the Amalekites started winning (Exodus 17:10-11).

Have you ever tried holding your arms up for an extended period of time? Those of us who practice yoga/barre often stretch our arms out or above us for 60 seconds – 3 minutes, and even then, my arms start to grow weary.

We are told next that as Moses’ arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, and then they stood beside him and held up his arms… steady until the sun went down (Exodus 17:12-13). The next verse tells us that this is how Joshua completely defeated the Amalekites! The Lord then told Moses to record this story, so we would all remember the account of this triumph over their enemy. In a response of praise, Moses built an altar named “The Lord is my Banner” (Exodus 17:13-15).

This amazing victory belongs to our Lord, the faith of Moses, the obedience of Joshua… and also the support of Aaron and Hur. They sacrificed their own personal comfort and gave their strength to Moses so that he could fulfill his godly role.

Don’t we, in the same way rely heavily on one another to hold one another’s hands up in support? Life is sometimes challenging, (if we have been blessed enough to love, we will feel loss at times) and like Moses’ arms grew tired, our spirits can also can grow weary.

So, if we love one another? We will encourage, pray, and provide for the needs of our friends, discounting our own comfort or convenience. We will look for opportunities to support our brethren until the sun goes down on their trials, just like Aaron and Hur supported Moses until that battle was won.

We are here to help each other get to heaven when this life is over, so in this way… I want to be like Hur.