Cell Notes Sunday 24th June 2012 Through the Wilderness

The Israelites are travelling towards the Promised Land, but have to get to it by going through the wilderness. After many trials and tribulations, and plenty of questioning and complaining, they discover a place to settle: only to find themselves attacked by their old enemy Amalek and his army of Amalekites. There are lots of wildernesses in life: some literal, but many are psychological, spiritual, or emotional. Many of us will be able to describe a time when we felt like we were in a wilderness place: a time when we perhaps felt desolate, lost, confused, under attack, unable to find places to take nourishment from. We have felt, spiritually, like we were in a desert without water. The Amalekites are, in a way, the archetypal enemy of the Israelites: they come into battle with the Israelites time and time again, as we find recorded in Exodus, Numbers and Chronicles. Amalek therefore is a returning enemy and he, and his army, can symbolise the enemies that return to taunt us in our inner wildernesses. But Moses is not alone in the desert: he has God with him, and his friends with him. He goes to the top of a hill with his staff (a symbol of Gods strength and presence) and his friends. When he raises his staff, the Israelites are winning against Amalek: when his arms fall, the Amalekites are winning. He grows tired, and it is his friends who give him a place to sit and keep his arms lifted up for him. Sometimes we are too tired to be strong for ourselves, and then it is our friends, for example our cell in prayer, who are there to support and uphold us on our journey of faith. When Israel defeats its enemy in the wilderness, Moses builds an altar because here was a place where God came close and saved him and his people and Moses calls it The Lord is my banner. He could have called it Thank God for my friends, and their support!

Read Exodus Ch.17: 8-16 (Amalek attacks Israel and is defeated) 1. What does the image of a wilderness mean to you/make you think of? 2. Have you ever been in a wilderness time? What was it like, how did it feel, how did it make you feel? 3. Amalek was a returning enemy for the Israelites, and because he was the leader of a nomadic army, was always ready to attack in the desert. Do you have your own personal Amalek, an enemy that tends to attack you when youre in the wilderness? For example, your personal Amalek could be a particular fear, or hurt, or doubt, or worry? 4. How does the prayer life of your friends your cell in particular hold you up when youre feeling tired and like youve nothing to give? Could your cell do this more for you? How? 5. Moses builds an altar in the wilderness to mark a place where he encountered God and felt rescued. Where are the altars in your wilderness? 6. Can you think of one way in which you could become an oasis place of rest and help in someone elses wilderness?