I kind of didn’t feel like praying this weekend. At least not intercessory prayer! I was angry and troubled, and my prayers, as I confessed to a friend, were boiling down to a less-than inspiring line: “Help! I have no idea what to do!”
Like the Word of God is known to do, a mystery phrase reached out from the pages of our Sunday School lesson and tapped me on the shoulder. In Hebrew it says ki yad al kes yah milckamah, and I share the Hebrew because no one seems certain how to translate it.
The preceding story is familiar: the children of Israel were fighting a battle against a brutal foe (the Amekites) and Moses was standing on a hill above them. Whenever he lowered his hands his people lost. Whenever he raised his hands, they won.
It’s after this story that translators encounter this phrase (ki yad al kes yah milckamah) that has never been translated with certainty according to my commentary.
The King James version says, “The Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek.”
As the commentator below insists, that is no translation at all of what the words really say.
He suggests (Adam Clarke) that it should say, “Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of God, therefore will I have war with Amalek…”
But.
In the English Standard Version, I find this, which I think throws an entirely different possibility on Moses’ obscure meaning: “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Now, that still isn’t very clear. It could mean (like Clarke thinks) that Moses is saying that the Amalekites were troubling God, by “grabbing his throne.”
But could it be that Moses was talking about himself?
I like to guess that Moses, after a long hard day of beseeching the Lord in prayer with his arms upraised to the throne of God, and watching his people in distress but victorious, found himself overwhelmed by the effectiveness of those prayers, and cried in reverence and worship, “My hand was on the throne of God!”
Oh what a beautiful thing it would be if we could physically see in action the results of our petitions, as Moses saw that day! What a thrill that must have been despite his aching, bloodless fingers!
But the miracle only happened because, with the help of his friends, he kept on.
I still don’t totally FEEL like it. I know I’m not more righteous than anyone I’m praying for, but for the blood of Christ.
But I’ve decided to keep on praying. Perhaps some day, like Moses, God will reveal the real-time effects of our prayers. Then, like him we will marvel: “Wow! A hand on the throne of the Lord!”
4 thoughts on “A Hand on the Throne of the Lord! ”
Such an awesome privilege! Thanks for the reminder
You’re welcome Yolanda!
I love this thought! Prayer — a hand on the throne of the Lord — It gives me an awe-inspiring visual… I didn’t really realize how powerful prayer is until my sons through adoption were spared, to a large extent, the effects of prenatal trauma and abuse. I had daily covered them in prayer from the moment we began our adoption journey, begging God to place a hedge of protection around them and block the evil affects of trauma, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. When we went to the hospital to pick up our oldest son, the delivery doctor told us, shaking his head, with amazement in his tone… “Your prayers were stronger than the ____”
I enjoy your writing. Blessings to you!
Great story Kay! I love hearing stories of God’s power working through our prayers.