The Contest with Amalek
(Exodus 17:8-16)
Exodus chapter 17 opens with the Israelites pitching their tents in Rephidim. Here they encountered another test of faith respecting their need for water (see Exodus 15:27 for an earlier one). They also they encountered another major threat: “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim” (verse 8).[1] The Amalekites were the aggressors. Amalek is later specifically mentioned in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah (Numbers 21:14, 24:20).[2]
ESAU’S HEREDITARY ENMITY
Esau hated Jacob, believing he had stolen the birthright and the blessing. Though the two reconciled later in their lives (Genesis 33:4), this attack on Israel may have been motivated by a hereditary enmity, a malice of history that ran in their blood. Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12,16). Being related, we might have expected the Amalekites to have some pity for the Israelites. But it appears there was no family love. They viciously attacked the rear-guard of Israel at a time when the people were exhausted.
“Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God” (Deuteronomy 25:17, 18).
It is thought provoking that this military aggression comes on the heels of Israel’s quarrel with Moses over his leadership (Exodus 17:2). Such times of national crisis can bring citizens together, and this attack was the first such crisis. Add to that the callous way Amalek attacked, from the rear, and against their “feeble” ones (Deuteronomy 25:18). This would have provoked the Israelites mightily, and motivated them to confront this dishonorable enemy on the field of battle.
Notably, Israel was not attacked until they had been refreshed with the waters at Horeb (Exodus 17:6). This indicates that Jehovah is always faithful in providing the necessary preparation for any battle that comes upon us. He never permits us to face an enemy without His training. We may reflect upon this respecting our early experiences following our consecration. After we came into the truth, after we consecrated, and after we were begotten of the holy Spirit that flows from the smitten rock, did we have an easy course? We certainly had the blessedness of fellowship in the truth, but even as babes, our loving Father is interested in our becoming full-grown.
Consequently, we began to have experiences that, though difficult in the flesh, contributed to our growth as new creatures. We began to engage the battle against our own flesh. This is the Amalekite within us. As the Amalekites attacked in a sudden and unexpected way, so too do battles with our sinful and imperfect flesh. We must engage Amalek; we must take a stand. But we are not alone. As our lesson continues, we see the help that our God provides.
THE BATTLE JOINED
“Moses said unto Joshua, ‘choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand’” (Exodus 17:9).
This is the first mention of Joshua in the Scriptures. We are told that he was a “young man” in this first year of the wilderness journey (Exodus 33:11). How old might he have been? Since manhood was reckoned at the age of thirty,[3] we suppose Joshua was at least that old. He had already distinguished himself as Moses’ servant, so he was likely quite a bit older than thirty, but still considered young in comparison to the 80 year old Moses. Moses was God’s choice to lead Israel. He had God’s guidance and providence. Thus, we conclude that Joshua was also an excellent choice. He was in fact God’s choice, as testified later (Numbers 27:18).
Moses chose Joshua to lead Israel in this battle.
Moses entrusted Joshua with leadership of the fighting men. He selected the soldiers and established the military protocols to fight against Amalek. They would have had a supply of weapons taken from the dead on the shores of the Red Sea.
Remembering that Israel was recently released from Egyptian slavery, we might question the preparation of these men as soldiers. They were a people whose faith was questionable. They were traveling in a land they had never seen. They had women and children, herds and possessions. There was not a settled acceptance of Moses as their leader. They did not seek this battle, although it meant the survival of the entire nation. Nevertheless, however inadequate they were for war, they went forward under Joshua’s command. They had something no one in the world had — the continual manifest presence of their God Jehovah in the pillar of cloud and fire.
One other detail of note: when Moses used the rod to smite the rock and bring forth water, the rod was called his rod. “Jehovah said unto Moses, ‘pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go’” (Exodus 17:5). But when the rod was used in this conflict with Amalek, it was called “the rod of God.” Having been used once in a miracle, it now became a symbol of Jehovah’s power.
This is the second time Moses’ rod is called “the rod of God.” “Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand” (Exodus 4:20).
THE ARMS OF MOSES
The battle with Amalek was joined but the results were mixed. As Moses held up his arms, Israel prevailed, and when he let them down Amalek prevailed. This raises some questions. Was the blessing of Jehovah merely a function of Moses’ arms? It may seem strange. Yet the strangeness of God’s action may indicate a lack of understanding His wisdom.
Jehovah calls his worshippers to remember this principle. God operates on a much higher level than us. He often has things in mind to teach and instruct which may not be apparent at the time. Consider what Jehovah told Isaiah: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). So, we may surmise with confidence that this episode has some higher lessons. For the ancient Israelites, this was a test of faith.
Aaron and Hur, recognizing the nature of the problem, came up with a solution. “Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun” (Exodus 17:12).
Moses, with his arms supported
The fighting men of Israel could look up on the ridge of the hill and see Moses, Aaron, and Hur standing there. As they fought on, they were encouraged by the presence of these leaders. The enemy could see this also, and we surmise they were dejected by it.
Thus, were Moses’ hands and arms suspended until sunset. How many hours this was we are not informed but we might infer that it was an entire day. The result was a victorious outcome for Israel. “Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Exodus 17:13).
No further details are provided, but Amalek finally gave up and retreated. “Jehovah said unto Moses, ‘write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven’” (Exodus 17:14).
JEHOVAH IS MY BANNER
Jehovah did not intend to destroy Amalek at this time. Amalek would survive for a while. However, we have a prophecy of Amalek’s future doom ordained of God. Moses was told to “rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.” Clearly, Jehovah had some future thing in mind for Joshua who was to play a role in destroying Amalek.
At the conclusion of the battle with the Amalekites “Moses built an altar and called the name of it, Jehovah-nissi; And he said, ‘Jehovah hath sworn: Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation’ ” (Exodus 17:15). Altars were built not only for sacrifice to God, but also for memorials. Moses built this altar just for that reason, to commemorate the deliverance Jehovah God had given Israel in this war with Amalek.
Jehovah-nissi means “Jehovah is my banner.” We may see in this a picture of our own battle against our sinful flesh. To help us in this battle we have Jesus, as the antitypical Moses, and the power of God to guide him. As Moses grew fatigued he began to drop his arms. In the reality, Jesus never tires in his ability to help. Since the weariness in Moses’ arms cannot picture any weakness in our Lord, it must show our own experience. Our degree of trust in Jesus may vary from time to time. We sometimes look to Jesus for help and the help comes from our faithful Lord. But, at other times we may trust in our own strength, or other untrustworthy sources. At those times our sinful flesh gains an advantage, and we spiritually drop our arms.
In the picture, Aaron and Hur helped hold up Moses’ arms by supporting them on each side. Perhaps these two men represent two resources of strength in our own battle with sin. This is what we bring in our hearts to the battle. Aaron means “High, Elevated, Exalted.” Hur means “Noble.” When we look at Jesus’ own victory in his obedience under great duress, we have an example of what he brought to the battle. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity” (Hebrews 1:9).
Jesus possessed these two necessary qualities for victory, the love of righteousness and the hatred of iniquity. We must also have these helps or we will never be victorious in our battle with the flesh. These two characteristics give us strength to continue in the narrow way. They must be present together. It is easier to love righteousness than to hate iniquity. It may be that one of the grievous faults of the Great Company is an insufficient hatred of iniquity. The sinful allures of this world appeal to the flesh. Giving in to its appeal is a compromise that gives the flesh an upper hand in the battle. Gratifying the flesh is a defeat. Even more sobering is that if we give ourselves over to the flesh, we will die the second death. “If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13, NIV).
Accordingly, in our battle with the flesh we have on our side the providence of God and His promises to help in every time of need (Hebrews 4:16). The Israelites on the field of battle could look up on the hill and see Moses holding the rod of God between his two uplifted hands. The image would be one of the cross! As soldiers of Christ, we can look to the cross of Jesus and gain much needed strength and encouragement.
AMALEK — AN APPLICATION TO SATAN
Amalek was not destroyed on that day of battle. Though Jehovah cursed them to be annihilated later, they survived as a people past that first battle. So it is for us. Though we defeat Amalek of the flesh today, it will come back to battle us tomorrow. We must continue our battle with the flesh until our victory at the end of our fleshly lives.
There is an additional lesson regarding the unusual curse that Jehovah placed on the Amalekites. It was unusual in that it specified their future destruction. Their destruction was not accomplished until the days of King Saul and King David. In this longer view of Amalek, we see an application to Satan.
Most scholars regard the origin of the name Amalek to be unknown, although some Jewish rabbinical interpretations define it as “a people who lick (blood).”[4] This is not a very complimentary name, but it seems consistent with Jewish tradition, that Amalek represents “pure evil.”[5] The application to Satan is clear.
“In regard to the name Amalek, malek means ‘king’ in the Hebrew. With the addition of the letter ‘a,’ the meaning becomes ‘a false king.’ It is like the names Christ and Antichrist, the true Christ and the false Christ, respectively. Hence the contrast is between a true king and a false, opposing, or pseudo king. Satan has been allowed to be the god of this world by usurpation — not by divine sanction, but by divine permission — for a specified time period.”[6]
As a type of Satan, the attack on the weakest of the Israelites demonstrates Satan’s tactics against the consecrated. He focuses on those who are weak in faith and doctrine. Even with our Lord Jesus, Satan waited until near the end of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, thinking the time without food would weaken his resolve. He is the “roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Amalek came upon Israel after learning of their strife and thirst.[7]
Jesus resisted the adversary, even after 40 days of fasting.
Satan is doomed for destruction at the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:10). His penultimate defeat at the end of the Gospel age is perhaps suggested by the ending of Israel’s battle with Amalek at the “going down of the sun,” the setting of the Sun of the Gospel Age.
EACH VICTORY TO BE CELEBRATED
Each victory of our Christian walk may be celebrated as a victory from Jehovah. The altar that Moses built by God’s instruction was a memorial of the victory over Amalek at the hands of Jehovah. The name given to the altar, “Jehovah is my banner,” suggests the appropriateness of remembering each victory over the flesh that Jehovah gives us. This deeply engrains our relationship with God and with Jesus with the confidence that they love us and exceedingly care about our welfare. This deepened faith will serve us well in all future encounters with the flesh and sin.
— Br. David Stein
[1] This account skips two other stops that Israel made in their wilderness trek, namely Dophkah and Alush. “They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and encamped in Dophkah. And they journeyed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. And they journeyed from Alush, and encamped in Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink” (Numbers 33:12-14). The place name Dophkah means “a knocking.” The meaning of Alush is “a mingling together” or “a crowd of men.”
[2] This book is one of many references to books and writings that have been lost to history.
[3] In order to serve as a priest, a Levite must be 30 years old (Numbers 4:3). Also, Jesus himself did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years old and would be accepted as a man of the Jews (Luke 3:23).
[4] Wikipedia, “Amalek.”
[5] https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Tetzaveh/Amalek/amalek.html
[6] Frank Shallieu, The Book of Exodus (1989-1991 Study), page
[7] Cohen, The Five Books of Moses, Soncino Press, London (1983).