The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Seventeen

 

1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10 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.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 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.

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

16 For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Living Water and the Elevation of the Will

"Exodus Chapter Seventeen marks a critical juncture in the Alchemical development of the Adept. Having learned to receive the subtle, daily nourishment of the Spirit (Manna), the Awakened Soul must now Learn to Extract Living, Spiritual Truth Directly from the dense, hard Realities of the physical plane (striking the Rock). Furthermore, this chapter introduces the first Active Spiritual Warfare in the wilderness. The unprovoked attack by Amalek represents the insidious, creeping doubts and base animal passions that attempt to prey upon the weakened faculties of the Mind. The Profound Hermetic formula for Victory is revealed: the lower passions cannot be defeated by earthly logic alone, but only through the Unyielding, Elevated Focus of the Conscious Spiritual Will."

 

 

Verses 1-3: The Thirst at Rephidim and the Friction of the Void - "And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin... and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink... and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" 

As the Soul continues its journey away from the material matrix, it arrives at Rephidim (meaning "resting places" or "supports"), yet finds no water. Water Esoterically Represents the Fluid, Flowing Energy of Intuition, Spiritual Vitality, and Emotional Comfort. Stripped of earthly Emotional stimulation and facing the dry, barren Reality of the Internal Void, the lower Spiritual Faculties instantly panic. They demand immediate comfort, reverting once again to the illusion that the dense, Karmic bondage of Egypt was preferable to the strict, Alchemical friction required for True Spiritual Evolution.

 

 

Verses 4-7: The Alchemical Strike and the Water from the Rock - "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people... and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." 

This is a Master demonstration of practical Spiritual Alchemy. The "rock" symbolizes the most dense, crystallized, and immovable aspects of physical matter, as well as the rigid, literal interpretations of the lower Intellect. By taking the "rod" (the Directed, Authoritative Spiritual Will) and Consciously striking the rock, the Adept shatters the illusion of dead matter. The "living water" that flows forth is Pure Divine Gnosis. The Higher Self teaches the Mind that even the hardest, most barren physical trials contain Profound, Life-Giving Spiritual Truths if they are struck and penetrated by the Awakened, Conscious Will.

 

 

Verses 8-10: The Assault of Amalek and the Warrior Intellect - "Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek..." 

Amalek represents the insidious, cowardly, and destructive lower animal passions—doubt, fear, and base carnal desire. Esoteric tradition notes that Amalek attacks the rear of the camp, preying upon the weakest, most exhausted faculties of the Psyche. To combat this, Moses appoints Joshua. If Moses is the overarching Spiritual Will, Joshua Represents the Active, Dynamic, and Martial Application of the Spiritualized Intellect on the battlefield of the Mind. The Will (Moses) Ascends to the High Ground of Consciousness (the hill) while the Active Intellect (Joshua) engages the lower desires in Direct, Disciplined combat.

 

 

Verses 11-13: The Elevation of Consciousness and the Support of the Will - "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." 

This is the Ultimate Hermetic Cipher for Maintaining Spiritual Sovereignty. The hands of Moses Represent the Elevated Focus and Directed Energy of the Conscious Mind. When the Mind is elevated toward the Divine (hands raised), the Higher Spiritual Faculties easily defeat the base desires. But when the Mind becomes exhausted and its focus drops back down to earthly, material anxieties (hands lowered), the lower animal passions instantly regain control. Because the human Will is prone to fatigue, it must be supported. Aaron (the Rational Intellect) and Hur (Purified Emotion/Purity) stand on either side, Perfectly Balancing and Stabilizing the Spiritual Will. With Intellect and Purity locked in Perfect Equilibrium, the Will remains steadily elevated, allowing the Active Mind (Joshua) to completely vanquish the lower nature.

 

 

Verses 14-16: Jehovah-nissi and the Eternal Vigilance - "And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua... And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." 

Moses builds an altar named Jehovah-nissi ("The Lord is my Banner"), Recognizing that Victory over the lower self is achieved only under the Overarching Authority of the Divine Spirit, not by the earthly ego. The decree that there will be "war with Amalek from generation to generation" is a Profound Occult Truth: the base, animalistic frequencies of the human Temple are never entirely eradicated while inhabiting a physical body. The Adept Must Maintain Absolute, Eternal Vigilance, Continually Elevating their Consciousness to keep the lower nature in permanent subjugation.