****the Amazing life And Death of Hur
Because You Asked* Series* | Sermon 28
Introducing Hur -- And An Amazing Battle
Exodus 17:8-17 records an amazing battle in which Joshua is the military commander and Moses overlooks the battle, holding the rod of God in his right hand (v. 9). The battle was on the heels of a rebellion in which the people asked, Is the LORD among us, or not? (v. 7). This battle would give the answer.
As the day progressed, when Moses' arms got tired and he lowered them to rest, the Israelites began to lose the battle. Two men, Aaron and Hur, lift Moses' hands until victory was secured.
Previously, the Israelites had bad experiences with the Amalekites (see Deut. 25:17-18). But this time Amalek fought with Israel (v. 8) in what appears to be a planned attack. The word fought“make war" in eight Old Testament passages. When the Amalekites came, you can imagine that they must have had great bravery, since the new nation had left Pharoah dead at the bottom of the Red Sea.
By the end of the battle, Joshua and his army **discomfited Amelek** and his people (v. 13). The word discomfited means to defeat but not destroy. Verses 14-16 promise a future total destruction, which would occur in the days of King Saul.
To conclude, Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi (v. 15). This means, The Lord Is My Banner. “signal" to the troups“our flag was still there." Indeed, to the question, Is the LORD among us, or not? (v. 7), the rod of God lifted high gave a resounding YES.
Seeing Hur In Other Scriptures
Hur is certainly no major figure in the Bible, but he does appear again, always in a positive light. For example, when Moses when to the mountain where he would receive the Ten Commandments, he first proclaimed that are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them (Ex. 24:14). This makes Hur one of two people who were most respected, and most powerful, in all the Hebrew nation. To this list we could add Joshua, the military commander who would someday be leader of the start-up nation.
We know that Hur had a noble lineage. He was the son of Caleb (1 Chron. 2:19). This would have made Hur a young man during the battle with the Amalekites. Caleb was 40 when he spied out the land, about a year after the battle. Thus, we can estimate that Hur would have been no more than 20 years old when he was holding up 80-year-old Moses' arms. This makes the leadership of Israel to be Moses (80), Aaron (83), Joshua (40) and Hur (20). [Note: due to 2 Chron. 2:18 compared with Num. 13:6, there is a possibility that there are two Calebs. I have chosen to accept the interpretation that puts Jephunneh of Num. 13:6 as a title, not a name.]
Holding such a respected and prominent position with Moses and among the Hebrews, we wonder why he disappeared in history. We know about Moses, his life and death. We know about Aaron's life and death, as well as Joshua's, all in great detail.
“Who was this guy and what happened to him?"
What We Learn from Other Sources
The famed Jewish historian Josephus claims that Hur was the husband of Miriam (Antiquities, III, ii), but few Jewish scholars agree. Most Jewish scholars teach that Miriam was married to Caleb, and the two of them were the parents of Hur. This too has its problem, since 40-year-old Caleb would have had an 83-year-old wife. I would not be surprised to find that there is indeed some connection to Miriam (and thus Moses) which brought Hur into prominence.
But what we really want to know is what happened to Hur? How can one go from such a position of importance to virtual invisibility in such a short time?…ever again.
There is a rabbinical tradition that Hur was murdered during the time that Moses was away and as he was trying to convince the people against making the Golden Calf. This tradition is only based on oral history but is an interesting concept. The tradition teaches that this is alluded to (but not taught) in Exodus 32:5. The verse says, it, he built an altar“*when Aaron feared, he built an altar*." The word saw is וירא and the word feared is ויירא**. As you can see, they are *very close*.
THe Lineage of Hur. Did God Bless His Memory?
“rest of the story." In Exodus 31:1-5 we learn that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur became the chief craftsman of tabernacle. In fact, few men of the Old Testament get such a noble introduction and commentary from God Himself. (See also Exodus 35:30-35). Over 400 years after the Tabernacle was built, the Brazen altar built by Hur's grandson was the only item from the Tabernacle other than the Ark of the Covenant specifically mentioned as being placed in Solomon's Temple (2 Chron. 1:5).
Some Lessons We Can Learn
While it is not necessary to have practical application to every Biblical account. Here are a few things we can learn from this study.
We can study a lifetime and still have things to learn.
We should have some curiosity. This curiosity is fostered when we use the study method of asking questions of the text and the context.
We can celebrate that Hur was a man God was proud of.
