AMALEK, A TYPE OF THE FLESH (Continued)
Part 17
Exo. 17:14-16
Morning Meditation 11/18/16
Verses 14-16 say “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. 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..”
Amalek is a type of the flesh. He is the grandson of Esau. Malachi says in 1:2-3: “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.” The tourists go to visit this silent city called the city of Petra and view its magnificent temples carved out of solid rock. But it is a tomb to the memory of a people wiped out.. Malachi adds of this comment in verse four: “The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.” God was at war with Esau (Edom). He was at war with Amalek. Ian Thomas says, “Perpetuated in Amalek was the profanity of Esau, the man who refused the birthright.” —The Saving Life of Christ p. 92.
“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.” The LORD said that He wanted it written in a book so that Joshua and all Israel would remember “for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” This is exactly what God will do with the “flesh” when the time has come. See 1 Cor. 15:50.
First of all, God has made a judgment against Amalek. He is the only one who can do this. He knows the depth of Amalek’s sin. It is an inherited sin (he is the grandson of Esau) and has so defiled him that it has rendered him utterly bad. It is what the theologians call total depravity. Amalek does not just do bad things. He is bad as to his constitution and nature. Nothing good can come out of him. And God who knows the heart and is infinite in wisdom has utterly rejected him. God said, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua . . .” Don’t ever forget this. I am at war with Amalek. I have utterly rejected him.
Second, God expects His people to agree with Him in His judgement and never forget lest they make friends with His enemy. This was the downfall of Saul. When Saul was made king over Israel God ordered him to go against Amalek and destroy him utterly. This is recorded in 1 Sam. 15:3: “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” This seems like a harsh judgement to us. But remember we do not know what God knows. Saul went up against Amalek but did not utterly destroy him. His shortcoming is recorded 1 Sam. 15:9: “But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” Saul found something good in what God had utterly condemned. Samuel confronted him and Saul said, “ . . . I have preformed the commandment of the LORD” (vs. 13). Samuel then said, “. . . What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Sin will find you out. It will bleat like a sheep or crow like a rooster. Now Saul really goes into his act. He claims he took the best for the purpose of sacrifice. In other words’ Saul found something good in what God had utterly condemned.. Samuel said, “. . . Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken then the fat of rams.” Saul was rejected as king because of this.
God has utterly condemned the flesh. Paul said, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Rom. 7:18). The flesh and its works are utterly condemned by the Lord. When we try to find something good in it and dedicate it to the Lord we have committed the sin of Saul. And everything produced by the flesh is wood, hay and stubble and will be burned at the Judgement Seat of Christ.
The conflict with the flesh is God’s battle. The LORD says in verse 16 of our text, “For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” The New Testament application of this truth is found in Galatians 5:16-17 which says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” You will notice that the Spirit is referring to the Holy Spirit of God. God is at war with the flesh (Amalek). We like Joshua are engaged in battle in the valley and Jesus is on the hill with His hands raised in intercessory prayer. Here is where the battle is won against the flesh. Have you discovered that you cannot control the flesh? Only God can win that battle. Either Christ is reigning as Lord in our lives or the flesh. There is not middle ground. One or the other controls.
God gave the victory to Joshua over Amalek. It was clearly a GIVEN VICTORY. Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi which means, “The Lord my banner.” The LORD is the flag under which we fight. It was not a celebration of a victory that Joshua and the people won that day. They were involved. But they knew the source of the victory. It was obviously the LORD’S victory. The victory was won on the hill.
I don’t think the Lord gets much credit for what is going on today. In fact, I don’t think He wants the credit. It would be different if He were in charge. Amalek is reigning as king in the lives of Christians. It is because we are committing the sin of Saul. We have found something good in what God has utterly condemned. We praise the Lord when an affluent person is saved. He will add money to the treasury of the Church and we need money to do what we do. We praise the Lord when a talented singer is saved. That can be dedicated to the service of the Lord. Saul brought the best of what God had utterly condemned to dedicate to God. He discovered that God did not want the sacrifice of the best of what Amalek had. Someone is saved. Maybe it is a school teacher. We think, “Wow, this ability can now be dedicated to the Lord’s work.” How about doing this. Take the public school teacher and put him under a Spirit filled teacher of the word, that has no more than a high school diploma, until he learns to walk in the Spirit. If he is truly saved he won’t mind. And maybe, if the Lord leads, we will put this person to teaching. But it is not a sure thing. The Lord puts His church together like He wants it. And he is not looking for talent. He is looking for sinners! Sinners who will repent of their sins and allow Him to take over their lives as Lord. I do not believe that a person should be penalized for an education or rejected because of natural talents. But we are talking about flesh (Amalek). And until a man is made new (2 Cor. 5:17) and has discovered how to walk in the Spirit, he is not a candidate for leadership in a New Testament Church. Now if I am building the Church that line of thinking won’t sound good.. But if I am satisfied to preach the Word and let Jesus build the Church, it is right.
Amalek is an enemy of God and God has declared perpetual war against him. Joshua only won the victory while Moses held the rod of God in the air. Prayer and God’s power brought against the flesh is the only thing that will give victory. Rom. 8:13 says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
May we not find something good in what God has utterly condemned.
In Christ
Bro. White
