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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.
Exodus 17:8-9 says, “Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, Choose men for us, and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” The Hebrew word for men in this verse denotes those who are weak. In the eyes of God, the children of Israel were weak men. The same is true of believers today. We all are weak and can easily be defeated by our flesh. God, however, chose those who are weak to fight against Amalek.
The victory or defeat in the battle hinged on Moses’ interceding on the mountaintop. Verse 11 says, “And when Moses lifted his hand up, Israel prevailed; and when he let down, Amalek prevailed.” Here Moses interceding on the mountaintop typifies Christ interceding in ascension. Believers fighting against the flesh in their spiritual journey today always need the intercession of Christ in ascension. When this interceding continues, we prevail; otherwise, we are defeated, for we are no match for the flesh. We must depend on the ascended Christ interceding for us.
Romans 8:33 and 34 say, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus...who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Christ intercedes for us in His ascension at the right hand of God that we may be brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. He knows how easy it is for us to fail, to fall, and to become fallen. His intercession will save us out of these conditions. His intercession is ever-unceasing and His power in caring for us is unlimited.
In the battle against Amalek, Moses lifted up his hand on the mountaintop, and Joshua fought for the people at the mountain foot (Exo. 17:10, 13). Joshua fighting at the mountain foot typifies the indwelling Christ as the Spirit fighting against the flesh. On the one hand, Christ is interceding today in the heavens for the believers; on the other hand, Christ as the Spirit is in the believers fighting for them. This Christ who is in the believers fighting for them is the life-giving, indwelling Spirit in us (1 Cor. 15:45; Rom. 8:11, 13). He is the ascended Christ and the Spirit indwelling us as well. In heaven He intercedes for us as the High Priest who has ascended to the height and entered into the heavens (Heb. 4:14; 7:25-26); on earth He fights for us against our flesh as the Spirit of life who indwells us.
Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.” This shows us that we must put to death the practices of the body, but we must do it by the Spirit who indwells us. On the one hand, we must take the initiative to put to death the practices of the body, because the Spirit does not do it for us. On the other hand, we should not attempt to deal with the body of our flesh by relying on our own effort without the power of the Holy Spirit. The putting to death here is actually our coordinating with the Spirit who indwells us, just as Israel cooperated with Joshua. When we take the initiative to put to death the practices of our body, the Spirit comes in to apply the effectiveness of Christ’s death to those practices, thus killing them.
When the children of Israel were on their way in the wilderness, the first enemy who came to hinder them from going on was Amalek. Amalek as a descendant of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, signifies the believers’ flesh. The name Amalek means “warlike,” signifying that the flesh enjoys fighting. The flesh often destroys the believers’ life and disturbs them so that they cannot go forward. The flesh, sin, the world, and Satan are all related to one another and interwoven. However, the most prominent among them in fighting against us is 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. God has decided that the flesh must be blotted out. This will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom. Today is still the time for us to fight against the flesh.
When the children of Israel were fighting against Amalek, their victory or defeat hinged on Moses’ interceding on the mountaintop. This signifies that believers fighting against the flesh in their spiritual journey today must depend on the intercessions of the ascended Christ for them to gain the victory. Christ’s intercession for us in His ascension at the right hand of God is ever-unceasing, and His power in caring for us is unlimited.
In the battle against Amalek, Joshua fighting at the mountain foot typifies the indwelling Christ as the Spirit fighting against the flesh. In heaven He intercedes for the believers as the High Priest who has ascended to the height and entered into the heavens; on earth He fights for the believers against their flesh as the Spirit of life who indwells them. The believers should coordinate with the indwelling Spirit and take the initiative to put to death the practices of the body, and then the Spirit will come to apply the effectiveness of Christ’s death to those practices, thus killing them.
