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Hero of Faith: HUR

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An example of Helping weary hands.

“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)

This scene unfolds early in the Exodus journey. Little is recorded about Hur except here and in Exodus 24, where he appears alongside Aaron. In the heat of the first battle after leaving Egypt, Hur stood faithfully on the hilltop with Moses and Aaron while Joshua fought below.

When Moses’ hands grew heavy as he lifted them (he was holding them up so Joshua would prevail), Hur and Aaron stepped in. They held his arms up, one on each side, through the entire day until sunset. Because of their support, Moses’ hands remained steady, and Israel triumphed.

Helping Weary Hands
Leaders grow tired. Even Moses, who confronted Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea, reached a point of exhaustion. Hur shows us that one meaningful way to serve is by lifting what another can no longer hold alone. In daily life, this means encouraging a weary spouse, supporting an overburdened leader, or helping a friend through a difficult season. You do not need a title or spotlight. Quiet support can help another endure through whatever battle rages.

Staying by Their Side Through the Length of the Day
Hur did not offer a quick boost and leave. He stayed until the sun went down. The battle lasted all day, and his presence remained steady and reliable. True support requires endurance and unwavering commitment. In a world quick to give temporary encouragement, Hur models consistent loyalty. Whether the season is long or the struggle intense, staying nearby can make all the difference.

Remaining Steady So the One Helped Remains Steady
The Scripture notes that Moses’ hands were steady because Aaron and Hur held them up. Their strength created stability for Moses, which brought victory for the entire nation. When we help others remain steady, the impact can multiply beyond the one being steadied. Our faithfulness can lead to greater victories.

Be a Hur in Someone’s Battle
Hur never led the army or stood in the spotlight like Moses. Yet his quiet strength proved essential. From his example we may want to ask: Whose hands can I help hold up today?

Look around. Someone near you may be growing weary. You can be the steady presence that keeps their hands and heart lifted. Let’s learn from Hur to serve humbly, stay faithfully, and hold steady until the end. Your quiet faithfulness matters in the eyes of God. Go and be a Hur.

Agape

seb

Making Preachers Rich

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An Excerpt of a sermon BY Moses E. Lard

EDITOR’S NOTE: In 1863, Moses E. Lard, one of the “second generation” Restoration Leaders wrote a tribute at the death of Allen Wright, another preacher of that era. Lard said “the Churches always managed to keep Brother Wright poor, very poor.” From this point Lard gave a “sermon” to the readers of his Quarterly. Speaking of the brotherhood he said,

” . . . (they) tell me they do not believe in making preachers rich. Neither do I. But, brethren, I do believe in making them comfortable, in supporting them this side of want, and in affording these faithful men the means of schooling their children well.

Is this right? But why, pray, do you not believe in making preachers rich? Do you think it would hurt them? You cannot say it would; for you have never made one rich, to know. Suppose before you longer preach your doctrine with so much confidence in its truth, you test it by making at least one preacher rich.

Hitherto you have kept them all poor; let us now have at least one exception to your rule. You are satisfied that it works well both ways. Preachers are not at all satisfied that you are right in what you say, neither will they be until, by making at least one of them rich you convince them that you are so.

Do you think it would hurt you to be rich, or hurt your children to educate them well, and thereby enable them to move in genteel circles? Of course you do not. How then can you imagine that it would your preacher, or injure his children to make him rich?

You tell me it would cause him to neglect his calling. But how do you know this? You have never made one rich, to have the point tested. Would making you rich cause you to neglect your calling? Why then should you think it would cause the preacher to neglect his? The closer you stick to your calling the richer you grow. Think you not, if the preacher, too, could grow daily richer by sticking to his calling, that he would not stick to it close indeed. But the difference is, that the closer you stick to your calling the richer you grow, while the closer he sticks to his the poorer he grows. Is there not something wrong?

But tell me truly, faithful brother, do you preach this doctrine really believing it. Is it really so that you do not believe in making preachers rich, and that, too, because it would hurt them and cause them to neglect their calling? Or is not this a mere plea to shield your own purse? Beware” (Lard’s Quarterly, September. 1863, Volume One, pp. 37, 38).