Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Ex 17:14 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.
Ex 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
Ex 17:16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

In Galatians 5, Paul says that the flesh and the Spirit are constantly in conflict. The flesh represents the appetites and desires of the natural man (Ephesians 2:3). However, according to Paul, if we are led by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Obviously, we cannot be led by the Spirit until we are born of the Spirit (see John 3:6). But once we are saved or born again, this conflict begins.

Some people think that we can achieve a sinless state after we are saved. My personal experience convinces me that no matter how hard I try, there are going to some things in my life that I wish weren’t there. There are some things that I should do that I do not do. Sometimes it is because I don’t know that I am supposed to do them. Other times it is because I don’t want to do them. Other times there are things that I should not do that I do. Paul tells us that he had this problem in Romans 7. He makes it clear that there is a sin principle in each of us that causes us grief.

We have a picture of this conflict in the old testament. Amalek represents the flesh. Israel represents the Spirit. We find that Amalek attacks the stragglers and the weak and doesn’t fear God (Deuteronomy 25:18). Israel was to have constant war with Amalek. When Amalek attacks what should we do? Exodus 17 gives us some guidance:

Moses represents Christ as our intercessor. Joshua represents Christ as the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10). The stone that Moses sat on represents Christ as our foundation and as our resting place. However, there was a work to be done by Aaron and Hur. They had to hold up the arms of Moses in order for Joshua to prevail in the battle with Amalek. Their work is the important work of prayer. Notice two people were praying while only one was leading the fight. Prayer is important if we are going to be victorious. And sometimes we need to involve others in that praying. Amalek is never totally destroyed. Saul meets Agag, King of the Amalekites, in 1 Samuel 15:9. Saul disobeys God by sparing Agag from destruction. He spared the man who represents “me, myself and I” in each one of our lives. Agag has a descendant named Haman in the book of Esther. He is the enemy of the Jews. When he is destroyed we find that he had ten sons that needed to be destroyed. Amalek is never completely destroyed in this life. About the time that we think we have won this battle, the enemy attacks us once again. It will usually happen when we are discouraged, perhaps when we are not reading our Bibles and praying. It may be when we are sick or when we have been bereaved or when we can’t pay the bills or when we are lonely.

A book that reminded Israel of their battle with Amalek was to be written by Moses. That book would remind them of the victory that they had achieved and would have given them confidence when the next battle in this war was engaged. So if we do have conflict between what we want to do to please self versus what we want to do to please the Lord, we need to take courage. The fact that we have conflict is evidence that we are saved. We need to remember the times when the Lord has given us victory. This will strengthen us to believe that we can be victorious when the next battle comes.

Bruce Collins