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Old Testament Reading - Haman, a descendant of Amalek

⁸But now the warriors of Amalek came to fight against the people of Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses instructed Joshua to issue a call to arms to the Israelites, to fight the army of Amalek.

“Tomorrow,” Moses told him, “I will stand at the top of the hill, with the rod of God in my hand!”

¹⁰So Joshua and his men went out to fight the army of Amalek. Meanwhile Moses, Aaron, and Hur^a went to the top of the hill. ¹¹And as long as Moses held up the rod in his hands, Israel was winning; but whenever he rested his arms at his sides, the soldiers of Amalek were winning. ¹²Moses’ arms finally became too tired to hold up the rod any longer; so Aaron and Hur rolled a stone for him to sit on, and they stood on each side, holding up his hands until sunset. ¹³As a result, Joshua and his troops crushed the army of Amalek, putting them to the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this into a permanent record, to be remembered forever, and announce to Joshua that I will utterly blot out every trace of Amalek.” ^15-16Moses built an altar there and called it “Jehovah-nissi” (meaning “Jehovah is my flag”).

“Raise the banner of the Lord!” Moses said. “For the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”