On their way in the wilderness in their going to Jehovah, the children of Israel not only had all kinds of hardships related to the necessities of their living but also had enemies who hindered them from going on to reach God’s goal. In Egypt it was Pharaoh the king of Egypt and his army who frustrated them from going out to follow God; in the wilderness, the first enemy who came to frustrate them was Amalek (Exo. 17:8).
Amalek was a descendant of Esau (Gen. 36:12), Jacob’s twin brother. Esau and Jacob were very close (Gen. 25:24-26). Hence, Amalek signifies that the believers’ flesh, their old man, is very close to the believers’ regenerated and spiritual new man. On the way of following God, that which most frequently causes disturbance to the believers is their flesh (Gal. 5:17). The apostle Peter refers to this matter: “Beloved, I entreat you as strangers and sojourners to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). Hence, God swore that He would have war with Amalek (the flesh) from generation to generation (Exo. 17:16).
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 often destroys our married life, family life, and church life. Moreover, the flesh is also very disturbing. Romans 7 shows us that 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 is caused by sin. Actually it is caused by the flesh. The flesh is warlike, destructive, and disturbing.
Amalek was the first enemy the children of Israel encountered on the way to the good land. This indicates that our flesh is the first among all our enemies in our following of the Lord in His way. 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 and are interwoven. However, the most prominent among them in fighting against us is the flesh. When in our 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. Hence, the flesh is the leading enemy in frustrating us from entering into and possessing the all-inclusive Christ as the good land.
The destiny of Amalek is to have the remembrance of him blotted out from under heaven. In Exodus 17:14 God said to Moses, “I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Therefore, no matter how strong, stubborn, or prevailing the flesh may be, its remembrance will be blotted out. In Exodus, however, Amalek was not blotted out. In 1 Samuel 15 we see that the Amalekites were still in existence and were quite prevailing. Nevertheless, God has decided that the flesh must be blotted out. This will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom. Therefore, today is still the time for us to fight against the flesh.
God is so strongly against Amalek because Amalek was against the throne of God. Exodus 17:16 says, “For there is a hand against the throne of Jah! Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Since the flesh is a hand against the administration of God, it is in rebellion against the economy of God’s administration. Whatever God does governmentally, the flesh opposes it. Therefore, God will fight against this opposer, this rebel, and blot out its remembrance.