The name Amalek means warlike. The flesh enjoys fighting and never wants to keep the peace. Furthermore, the flesh is very destructive. The greatest destroyer of the Christian life is the flesh. The flesh destroys our married life, family life, and church life. It seeks to destroy everything positive. Consider how much the flesh has destroyed since you became a Christian.
The flesh is not only warlike and destructive, but also extremely disturbing. If you read Romans 7, you will see what disturbance is caused by the flesh. According to that chapter, Paul was so disturbed that he even cried out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (v. 24). Apparently this disturbance was caused by sin. Actually it was caused by the flesh. How warlike, destructive, and disturbing the flesh is!
Amalek was a descendant of Esau (Gen. 36:12), Jacob’s twin brother. Esau and Jacob were very close. This indicates that the flesh, signified by Esau, is close to our regenerated being, signified by Jacob, who became Israel. Esau was born first, then Jacob. This indicates that the flesh belongs to the first man, and our regenerated being, to the second.
The Bible speaks of two different Amaleks. The Amalek mentioned in Genesis 14:7 is different from the Amalek who was the descendant of Esau. However, some Bible students, not aware of this distinction, think of these two Amaleks as one and the same. We need to be clear, therefore, that the Bible tells us about two different Amaleks. The Amalek in Exodus 17 descended from Esau. Hence, it was the second Amalek, who descended from Esau, who troubled God’s people. Our concern is with this Amalek. Our flesh is the descendant of Esau. This means that the flesh is of the first man, that is, the old man. The flesh is the issue, the coming forth, of the first man.
We have pointed out that just as Esau was close to Jacob, the flesh is close to our regenerated being. The Bible nowhere tells us that the descendants of Esau ceased to exist. On the contrary, the Edomites, descendants of Esau, were continually a problem to the Israelites.
We have seen that Amalek, one of the descendants of Esau, was the first to fight against the children of Israel. This fighting is a picture of the flesh fighting against the believers. Peter refers to this fighting: “Beloved, I entreat you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).
Amalek was the first enemy the children of Israel encountered on the way to the good land (Deut. 25:17-18; 1 Sam. 15:2). This indicates that our flesh is the first among all our enemies. It takes the lead over sin, the world, and Satan to fight against us. The flesh, sin, the world, and Satan are all related to one another. These four things are interwoven. The most prominent among them in fighting against believers is the flesh. Satan, sin, and the world are all subordinate to the flesh. When in our practical Christian experience the flesh is put to death, the world cannot hold us, sin cannot operate in us, and Satan is powerless to work upon us. The reason the world is prevailing, sin is strong, and Satan is active is that we are still in the flesh. These three enemies are all dependent on the flesh. Hence, the flesh is our foremost enemy. For this reason, the Bible gives a complete picture of Amalek as the first enemy to fight against the children of Israel. Many of us can testify that from the time we first began to seek the Lord and to walk in His way, the flesh has been fighting against us. The flesh is the leading enemy in frustrating us from going on with the Lord.
Under God’s guidance, the children of Israel had a goal. This goal was to enter the good land. Amalek’s purpose in attacking God’s people was to frustrate them from entering the land. We also have the goal of entering into the all-inclusive Christ as our good land and possessing Him as this land. We have been saved, we have made a wonderful exodus out of Egypt, we have crossed the Red Sea, and we have journeyed through the wilderness, where we have had a number of marvelous experiences. Nevertheless, we have not yet reached the goal. We have not yet entered into the all-inclusive Christ. Knowing that this goal is ahead of us, the enemy, Amalek, endeavors to hinder us from reaching this goal. It is crucial for us to recognize that Satan’s aim in stirring up our flesh to fight against us is to keep us from the full enjoyment of Christ. The purpose of the flesh in warring against us is to frustrate us from entering into Christ as the all-inclusive land. We must admit that not many Christians, even among us, have entered in a complete way into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ. Mainly we have been frustrated by the flesh. Although we may enjoy the Lord in morning watch, the flesh often attacks us soon afterward. This attack may keep us from the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ during the day. As a result, throughout the day we have little enjoyment of Christ. The purpose of the flesh in fighting against us, therefore, is to keep us from the full enjoyment of Christ.