The rise and the fall of King Saul is a needful lesson for us to learn today. All these years in reading my Bible, I would come across the terms of those hard to pronounce, 'ites'. But the ones that I have continaully struggled with is the Amalekites. In coming through I Samuel again in Bible reading, God allowed me to see how much they affected King Saul.
I would like to go through this and make application to our own lives, in the hopes that we would learn from this valuable lesson of the Scriptures for our own personal walk with the Lord. And if don't learn the lesson, then we are doomed to repeat the same plight as King Saul.
Saul's biography in Scripture is largely in I Samuel. We see his beginning and his end all found within 22 chapter's, chapter 9 - 31.
The beginning of Amalek is found coming from Esaus' son, Eliphaz (Gensis 36). Amalek is the grandson of Esau. What do we know about Esau? He sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. He lost his blessing from his father by Jacob and Rebekahs scheming. But why did all this happen? There are two lines always being presented throughout Genesis. From the beginning there is the line of Cain, cursed from the Lord for killing Abel. And there is the line of Seth, the 3rd son of Adam and Eve, of which God brought forth men like Enoch, Lamech and NOah. It seems the devil is always trying to create his own line of evil misfits. But the lineage of Christ is as God sees fit. From this line of Seth comes Noah. From Noah comes Abraham on down to David to Christ.
We have Adam and Eve. The first of God's creation of man and woman. Eve, being tempted by Satan, ate of the fruit of the fruit of the tree that they were not to touch, not to look on, nor eat. An act of disobedience brought sin into the world. And only by God's grace and mercy is any soul preserved to salvation. For the wrath of God abides upon the sinner. God was willing, not to destroy man but redeem man. Thus, He made a way for salvation to be offered unto fallen man for salvation. That plan of redemption is found in the line of Seth. We know of the specific sons of Adam and Eve were Abel, Cain and SEth. Cain slew Abel and brought the Lord's curse on his head. How can he, who is cursed by God, be a blessing? They can't. So God raised up another line by SEth to bring the salvation needed. It is for us to follow the lineage down through the pages of Scripture and see what God blesses and what God curses.
We come to Abraham, the friend of God. HE recevied the promise of the covenant, that his children should be as the stars of the sky and receive the promised land for their inheritance. Ishmael was born first to Abraham, but not as God said it would be. Sarah and Abraham took matters into their own hands and Sarah gave Hagar unto him to raise up seed. And we see Ishamael born. But he was not the promsied covenant child that God spoke to Abraham about. His promised line woudl be in Sarah. And at the age of 100 and Sarah 90, the Lord fulfilled what He promised, and they had Isaac.
Isaac received all the blessings from Abraham as he was established to bring for the covenant line. Isaace marries Rebekah and they have twins. The prophecy given to REbekah was that the younger would be the promsied childre to maintain the covenant. NO doubt, one of the reaons that Rebekah gave counsel to Jacob to decieve Isaac for the blessing. But we have later on in Scripture that verse that should hold us captive, 'Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.' What causes God to hate a man? Because God knows the intents of the heart. He is omnipresent and omniscient in all His ways of knwoing what men have been, what they are and what they will be. God rejected Esau, but chose Jacob for He knew and knows all things.
We know that from the line of Jacob, there is born the twelve tribes. And after 400 years in Egypt they came out as a nation. After their rebellion and 40 years in the wilderness they entered the promised, thus fulfilling again all that God had promised Abraham. Then David, then Solomon, and on the down the line to Christ, completing again the plan of redemption for fallen men that God has always desired, that men may not perish but be redeemed. 'I have no delight in the death of the wicked' saith the Lord.'
But of the line of Esau comes that overall covering, that God hated this man. what does God hate? God hates sin. He hates those that love sin. And, oh what hope is there if God sets Himself against a man? "I will repay him to his face that hates Me". God knows those that will love and obey Him and those that will hate Him and work for Satan. Generational sins is huge in Scripture, and God knows the righteous generation and the unrighteous generation. The descendants of Esau, which is Edom, were not righteous, were not brotherly unto Jacob, but constant wars, and problems between the two. From Esau we read that he had Eliphaz; and Eliphaz had Amalek.
Amalek become a people and we refer to them throughout these verses as the Amalekites. *** Left off 2/14/12 Our next introduction of the Amalekites is found in Exodus 17. As the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt. God told Moses that He would bring them to the mount Sinai and there He would declare His ways to them. And in a few chapters from 17, chapter 20, God gives Moses the 10 commandments. He also begins to instruct them in the law. So on their way to the mount, we have this chapter of two events.
the first event is the beginning of the chapter, verses 1 - 7. They are in the wilderness, water is a precious thing in the wilderness. And as the people thirsted for water, they continued their sinning against the Lord by complaining and murmuring. In verse 3, 'and the people murmured against moses. In verse 4, Moses prays unto the Lord for help and guidance. And in verse 5, God answers by a mighty miracle of drawing water out of the rock by smiting it with his staff.
At the close of verse 8 is the question, 'Is the Lord among us or not?' A very important question seeing that the enemies of the children of Israel were getting ready to attack them in the very next verse. It is a message for us to learn as well. 'Is the Lord among us or not?' And our faith answers, 'if the Lord be for us, then who can be against us?' The Lord's hand is suffecient to protect, deliver, provide, heal, and save. Despite their murmuring, the Lord provide water and would provide deliverance from their enemies. OUr Amalek always comes at the worst possible time to attack. It may catch us by surprise, but not the Lord. The Lord knows all things and is able to deliver us from Amalek as He delivered them.
IN Exodus 17:9, 'Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.' ******Left off 2/15/12
******Added 2/24/12
I Chronicles 18:11, "Them also king David dedicated unto the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from MOab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek."
And after all we have covered about this evil people, we still see them present. AFter the commands from God to remove them, to utterly destroy them, we still them active. David is now king. We have come almost 500 years since the children of Israel had left Egypt. Almost 500 years since they walked in the wilderness and first met these Amalekites. Yet, still they exist and are allowed to be a thorn in the side of Israel. Oh, how devastating is the reality of leaving the Amalekites.
the only good we can mention here, is that the wealth that they had gotten is now taken by David for the building of the temple. All money and wealth is the Lord's. He allows for men and nations to use it and have it. He gives and He can take it away. So David conquered these nations and took away from them their wealth to supply for the building of the temple. They were a conquered people under David. It is not like they were a huge military to threaten Israel. But they was a sore that plagued them generation after generation. Why? Because they did not obey the word of the Lord in destroying them.
We too, shall reap a sore in our constant daily life, if we do not utterly destroy Amalekites out of our lives. We cannot afford to let it remain. We cannot be disobedient to the Lord in dying to 'all' self. If we allow anything of this life to remain, Satan will use it against us, just like the Amalekites. It make bring a profit to our life, much like this with David, but is it worth 100's of years of turmoil, aggravation, sin? I cannot see where under any case it would be okay. Utterly destroy lest it be your next generations foe.
Thus, it is when the children of Israel were commanded to remove and annhilate all the 'ites' they did not do it. And because they did not obey, it was to become a continaul affliction in their lives and the generations to follow. In Deuteronomy 25:17, Moses tells the chidlren of Israel not to forget what the Amalekites did to them in coming out of Egypt. In verse 19, they are commanded to 'that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.' This they did not do. That is about as clear a message as you can get. Utterly destroy and consume them. Leave nothing to remain. The reason why? If you leave it, it will return later on.
We are commanded as children of God, Christians, to die to self, to take up your cross and obey the Lord in all things. Sin is to have no part of us. 'You will not continue in sin.' 'Be ye perfect, even as your heavenly FAther is perfect.'
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