“The ETERNAL will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages”

Why does this one people – and what they represent – cause so much anguish and enmity. Where do they come from? What do they do? Who are they now?

The story begins for us in Genesis 36:12 Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.

Timna was the daughter of Seir and sister to Lotan. Eliphaz had five sons with his wife Adah. Despite the apparent disadvantage of his birth situation Amalek becomes a clan leader equal to his half brothers.

Amalek is a great great grandson of Abraham. We know that his grandfather Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew and was later cheated out of his father’s blessing by his brother Jacob. Eliphaz [whose name probably means ‘ETERNAL is fine gold’] does not get much coverage in the Tanakh other than for starting babies but we could assume that he passed on to his children the family enmity toward Jacob.

Esau later forgave his brother but that is a different story.

The next time we meet Amalek is in Exodus.

Exodus 17: 8-16  Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim (immediately after the miracle of the water from the rock at Horeb) Moses said to Joshua, “Pick some men for us, and go out and do battle with Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill, with the rod of ETERNAL in my hand.” Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Then, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But after Moses’ hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur, one on each side, supported his hands; thus his hands remained steady until the sun set. Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek with the sword.

Then the ETERNAL said to Moses, “Inscribe this in a document as a reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua; I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven!” And Moses built an altar and named it Adonai-nissi. He said “It means, ‘ hand upon the throne of the ETERNAL!’ The ETERNAL will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”

While Moses had his hands lifted in prayer Israel prevailed. When his hands dropped Amalek prevailed. It is only prayer that makes the difference.

The next time the Amalekites are mentioned is after the spies has gone to look over the promised land. They are part of the reason that all but two of the spies say ‘We can’t make it – these people are bigger, stronger and better than us.’ They go on to say we thought we looked like grasshoppers and they must have thought so too! Amalek makes you doubt your relationship with the ETERNAL.

The ETERNAL reacts badly to this weeping, wailing and pathetic self image which prevents Israel from taking the Promised Land and says that only Caleb and Joshua of that generation would survive to enter the Land. The others would wander in the wilderness for forty years until the last of that generation died. The other spies who spoke against the Land were killed immediately by a plague. Amalek won a victory against Israel just by being there, in the land.

As we tend to think today [the ETERNAL probably doesn’t mean all those rules and stuff], Israel decides perhaps they should go into the Promised Land anyway in spite of the fact that they were told not to go. The Amalekites and Canaanites chase them off with what is described as a shattering blow. In fact the place they end up is called Hormah which means destruction.

Balaam the prophet (this was after he had the talk with his donkey) spoke

Numbers 24: 20 He saw Amalek and taking up his theme he said: A leading nation is Amalek; but its fate is to perish forever.

The ETERNAL also describes the situation with a warning!

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt – how, undeterred by fear of ETERNAL, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore when the ETERNAL your CREATOR grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the ETERNAL is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall block out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

Amalek fights dirty! When you are at your lowest ebb – Amalek strikes. You are to be so strong in your relationship with the ETERNAL that Amalek will not find any weakness in you to exploit. Do not forget to remember that your weakness is Amalek’s opportunity. Weakness in obedience, weakness in prayer, weakness in study of the Tanakh these are the things Amalek will find and exploit. We all know of people who have been struck down and their faith shattered because they let Amalek get under their guard.

Judges 3:12 the Israelites again did what was offensive to the ETERNAL. And because they did what was offensive to ETERNAL, the CREATOR let King Eglon of Moab prevail over Israel. Eglon brought the Ammonites and the Amalekites together under his command, and went and defeated Israel and occupied the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

You will remember, way back, that Abraham was told to leave his family and go to a place that ETERNAL would show him. Abraham decided to take Lot along. This seems a small thing then but here we see part of the long term consequences. Lot fathered a child by his daughter and this was Moab. The tribe of Moabites were a constant problem to Israel as in the passage above when they got together with Amalek. All of our actions have consequences.

Deborah the Judge and Barak with the help of ETERNAL win a mighty victory over a Canaanite coalition. In their victory song, Deborah and Barak praise the ETERNAL that although only two of the tribes of Israel joined them (the others were too busy or too scared) victory was theirs. Then they say of the enemy: Judges 5:14 From Ephraim came they whose roots are in Amalek.

People of the Amalek type were in the enemy. The attitude of Amalek has spread beyond one clan or people to make a more dangerous enemy.

In chapters six to eight of Judges (read it in your Tanakh) we see that once again Amalek, Midian and the Kedemites would raid the Land in every harvest season and steal all the crops and livestock. Israel had been disobedient again. You may remember a little while back we spoke of the very poor self image the spies had after they scouted in the Land (“they saw us as grasshoppers”) well now we see the ETERNAL’s way of using self image. Gideon is hiding in a winepress trying to quietly beat out the wheat so that no one will come and steal it from him. An angel appears and says to Gideon “The ETERNAL is with you, valiant warrior!” “Go in this strength of yours and deliver Israel from the Midianites, I herewith make you My messenger.”

Gideon is still not totally convinced he says “ Please, my lord, how can I deliver Israel? Why, my clan is the humblest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s household.” [the ETERNAL chooses who He will choose – do you note the parallel to David?]

Gideon still needs to be convinced but he makes a start by destroying an altar to baal. This is a good place to start serving ETERNAL destroy the false faiths in your life.

People begin to flock to Gideon’s banner, a popular movement has begun but the ETERNAL wants only those who can do the job. A negative recruiting campaign starts – Gideon says “Everyone who is scared can go home now!” that gets rid of a lot of them. They end up with three hundred warriors to take on a coalition of three nations. (That’s the kind of odds the ETERNAL uses – there is not going to be large numbers of us on this walk).

Gideon’s three hundred are blessed with the presence of ETERNAL and they rout the enemy.

1Samuel 15:2-23 Thus said the ETERNAL: I am exacting the penalty for what Amalek did to Israel, for the assault he made upon them on the road, on their way up from Egypt. Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses!

Saul mustered the troops and enrolled them at Telaim: 200,000 men on foot and 10,000 men of Judah. Then Saul advanced as far of the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the wadi. Saul said to the Kenites, “Come and withdraw at once from among the Amelekites, that I may not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they left Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

Saul destroyed Amalek from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is close to Egypt and he captured King Agag of Amalek alive. He proscribed all the people, putting them to the sword; but Saul and the troops spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the second-born, the lambs and all else that was of value. They would not proscribe them; they proscribed only what was cheap and worthless.

The word of ETERNAL came to Samuel: “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has not carried out My commands.” Samuel was distressed and he entreated the ETERNAL all night long. Early in the morning Samuel went to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he erected a monument for himself; then he left and went on down to Gilgal.”

When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of ETERNAL! I have fulfilled the ETERNAL’s command.” “Then what,” demanded Samuel, “is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen that I hear?”

Saul answered, “They were brought from the Amelekites, for the troops spared the choicest of the sheep and oxen for sacrificing to the ETERNAL. We proscribed the rest.”

Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the ETERNAL said to me last night!” “Speak,” he replied.

Samuel said, “You may look small to yourself, but you are the head of the tribes of Israel. The ETERNAL appointed you king over Israel, and the ETERNAL sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and proscribe the sinful Amalekites; make war on them until you have exterminated them.’ Why did you disobey the ETERNAL and swoop down on the spoil in defiance of ETERNAL’s will?” Saul said to Samuel, “But I did obey the ETERNAL! I performed the mission on which the ETERNAL sent me: I captured King Agag of Amalek and I proscribed Amalek, and the troops took from the spoil some sheep and oxen – the best of what had been proscribed – to sacrifice to ETERNAL at Gilgal.”

But Samuel said; “Does the ETERNAL delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as obedience to the ETERNAL’s command? Surely obedience is better than sacrifice, compliance than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, defiance, like the iniquity of teraphim. Because you rejected the ETERNAL’s command, He has rejected you as king.

We cannot bring the ‘best’ of that other life into this walk and imagine that it is pleasing to the ETERNAL. We have to remove completely any traces of Amalek in us. Saul thought he knew best but he was more concerned about the opinion of his troops than the will of the ETERNAL so he was rejected as king. When we are told to get rid of that ‘spirit of Amalek’ in our lives (defiance, disobedience, we know better etc) then it has to go completely. Disobedience is treated as a rejection of the ETERNAL!

David had problems with the Amelekites, at one stage they kidnapped two of his wives from Ziklag, who he quickly recovered. It was an Amelekite who delivered the coup de grace to Saul and Jonathon. David had this man killed for striking the ETERNAL’s anointed.

Psalm 83:4-9 They plot craftily against Your people, take counsel against Your treasured ones. They say, “Let us wipe them out as a nation; Israel’s name will be mentioned no more.”

Unanimous in their counsel they have made an alliance against You – the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria too joins forces with them; they give support to the sons of Lot.

This is taking place now – the alliance against Israel, not just the country of that name which is mainly of Judah but all of Israel; about to be brought out of the countries they have been scattered to. The clans of Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Gebal and Ammon may be found in Arab nations today. The Hagrites come from further north. Assyria is German dominated Europe. This is the building of a physical alliance against all of Israel – our lands, our possessions, our lives.

The combination of Amalek, Philistia and Tyre is the combination of wrong values which we may have adopted. Amalek the spirit of defiance and disobedience to ETERNAL. Philistia and Tyre the relentless pursuit of material success combined with a lack of honesty.

Do you see these things around you? Do you see them in your own life?

The ETERNAL is trying to bring you to a place of repentance. Are you a Gideon, hiding when the ETERNAL is calling you into service as a mighty warrior? Are you a Saul, prepared to be seventy-five percent obedient? Are you being the best one of you that you can be?

The ETERNAL will answer your prayers. If you are obedient you will be blessed. If you study the Tanakh you will be rewarded. If you join the fight against Amalek you will be on the winning side.

Scriptures are from the JPS Tanakh 1999.