UPLift Project

Exo 17:10-12 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.

Num 33:38-39 And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.

123 minus 40 equal 83 years old

Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews states that Hur was the husband of Moses’ sister Miriam.^[6]

In Talmudic tradition the sudden disappearance of Hur from the narrative of Exodus is explained by the claim that Hur was killed when he tried to prevent the making of the Golden Calf. The murder of Hur intimidated Aaron into complying with the popular demand to create the idol. Hur’s faithfulness was rewarded by God by granting his grandson the role of making the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

It is the traditional view that Hur the companion of Moses is the same as the grandfather of Bezaleel. There is this account that perhaps Caleb named first born after the great Hur that was married to Mariam

1Ch 2:19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.

Hur as Mariam’s husband

Miriam died 2 years after the Exodus from Egypt. It is estimated that she was 127 years old.

Hur, being her husband and probably older, meant he was approximately 5 to 10 years older than Moses.

The powerful hands that held the hands of the 81 year old Moses up during the Battle with the Amalekites belonged to two men that were approximately 84 and 90 years old.

The latest numbers tell us that 14.5% of the people who live in our country are senior adults.

Four obvious values that the older generation brings to the church

WISDOM. Job 12:12 says “wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.” 85 years will teach you lessons you can’t learn in school. Conventional wisdom doesn’t say that you can overthrow an occupied land full of behemoths without the intervention of God. Having your hands lifted up to God by those who have trusted God when life seems impossible is a priceless value.

ENDURANCE. Senior adults are senior adults because they have endured the hard knocks of life. Caleb had survived the slavery of Egypt, the middle eastern desert, and scars of war. We need examples of people who have faced the giants of life and have conquered them. Whether it’s surviving the financial pinches in life, or aches and pains of the body, or the stress of parenting young children, seniors are a great model of endurance for prayer and vocal support of the man of God in his challenges to lead souls to Heaven.

FAITH. Six times in the Old Testament Caleb is describes as “wholeheartedly following the Lord.” His legacy is his faith. Trusting in God to do what we cannot do for ourselves is the best gift we can give to each other. Hearing the stories of God’s faithfulness and goodness in our lives are what encourages us to keep trusting in what the scriptures teach us about God and His power to redeem and save us.

MENTORING. All of the values listed above are useless to us if they’re not passed on. We need older believers to walk alongside younger believers and teach them how to support the Pastor. Life is hard enough to figure out sometimes, it’s even harder when you have no one to help you along the way. Caleb spent 45 years walking (literally) with a generation that was at least 20 years younger than him. Pouring into others is what helping other’s follow Jesus is all about.

The battle proven gives strength to the pastor and their new call and purpose for service in the local church is to surround the pastor with prayer, fasting and care.

Examples Of UPLifting

One sister, age 78 committed to make sure the pastor’s wife sewing repairs were always taken care of for her children’s clothing.
A 65 year old brother made sure the pastor’s car was clean. Another committed to his lawn care.
Another sister organized special meals when guest were in town.
Every service, prior to church, the senior Citizens had a focused prayer for the pastor. During the time of his preaching two seniors, and they rotated through the seniors group, always went to a prayer room and prayed the entire time he filled the pulpit.
Not only did they make the their own lives have meaning and purpose but they set the standard for the younger members to see the value of staying faithful and with time graduating into this elite group of church members.
One church called this group the “Hallelujah Prayer Force”.
The wisdom of the senior church member is a buffer for the onslaught of opinions that demanding that the church abandon the principles of Holiness and Spiritual Consistency.
Several of the senior ladies took on the responsibilities of sending cards to members.
One sent we miss you cards to absentees. Another took care of birthdays, bereavement cards, yet another sent out get well greetings and another sent cards to the visitors welcoming them back as soon as possible.
Over time, one senior couple took it upon themselves to keep a list of all of the visitors’ phone numbers. Every service, both husband and wife made sure every visitor had a guest card to fill out. Once a month every person on the list, having visited the church in the last 3 years received a call encouraging them to come again. This couple recruited others to help call every name when a special event or revival was about to take place.

Every program of the church benefits in spiritual victories as the senior members hold up the hands of the Pastor in this battle for the soul of a city.