Message 46
Scripture Reading: Exo. 17:8-16; 1 Pet. 2:11; Deut. 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 15:2; Rom. 7:24; 8:34b; Heb. 7:25; Gal. 5:16-17; Rom. 8:13; Num. 24:20
It is important to see that the book of Exodus is a complete picture of God’s full salvation. This fact is confirmed by the picture presented in 17:8-16. In chapter sixteen we have the manna from heaven as the life supply, and in chapter seventeen, the living water flowing out of the cleft rock for the quenching of our thirst. Then in 17:8-16 we have the war against Amalek. To be sure, this sequence is not at all coincidental. On the contrary, it is according to God’s plan. According to the picture in chapters sixteen and seventeen, after we have received the heavenly life supply and the living water from the cleft rock, we are ready to fight against Amalek.
The battle against Amalek was the first fight in which the children of Israel were engaged. When they were in Egypt, they did not fight. At the Red Sea there was war between God and Pharaoh, but the children of Israel themselves did not fight against Pharaoh’s army. However, in chapter seventeen we see the children of Israel engaged in a battle against Amalek. Many students of the Bible realize that this fight depicts the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. This indicates that as we are going on with the Lord, the first fight is that between the flesh and the Spirit. The fact that the first fight in which the children of Israel were engaged was that against Amalek indicates that after we are saved and baptized, the first conflict we experience will be the warfare between the flesh and the Spirit who regenerated us.
In chapters fourteen through seventeen we have a portrait of the many experiences through which we pass after baptism. These experiences include the experiences at Marah and Elim, the eating of the heavenly manna to satisfy our hunger, and the drinking of the living water to quench our thirst. After these experiences, we are equipped and made ready to fight against the flesh. This is confirmed by our experience with the Lord. After we were saved and baptized, we had the experiences at Marah and at Elim. Then we ate the manna and drank the living water. Only then did we discover how much the flesh frustrates us from following the Lord. The flesh is the enemy which hinders us from going on with the Lord. In this matter, the flesh is a greater enemy than the world is.
If we are inwardly hungry and thirsty, we shall not be able to fight against the flesh. In order to fight, we must first have our hunger satisfied and our thirst quenched. We need manna, the heavenly food, and the water out of the rock, the living water. Only then shall we have the strength to fight. The manna and the living water supported the children of Israel in their fight against Amalek. Without this support, the children of Israel could not have engaged in this battle. It is the same in our spiritual experience. If we do not enjoy the heavenly manna daily and drink of the living water consistently, we shall be defeated by the flesh and subdued by it. Those Christians who do not partake of the manna and drink of the living water are already subdued by the flesh. Without the manna and the living water we are spontaneously one with the flesh and walk according to it. Only when we are supplied by Christ and with Christ and have our thirst quenched by the life-giving Spirit are we ready to fight against the flesh.
Exodus 17:8 says, “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.” This verse indicates that Amalek took the initiative to fight against the children of Israel. Amalek attacked them because of envy. The Amalekites had heard what had happened to the children of Israel, and they were jealous. Therefore, Amalek came out to fight against God’s people.
Whenever we are not satisfied with Christ and not supplied by the life-giving Spirit, we are subdued under the flesh. But whenever we rise up and enjoy Christ as our manna and drink of the life-giving Spirit as the living water, we are no longer subdued by the flesh. The activities of the flesh are, of course, instigated by Satan, who works through the flesh. The flesh cannot tolerate our enjoyment of Christ and our drinking of the living water. For this reason, the flesh rises up to fight against us and to attempt to subdue us.
Before we began to enjoy Christ as our food and the life-giving Spirit as our living water, we did not have any consciousness that the flesh was fighting against us. At that time we were absolutely subdued under the flesh. We lived in the flesh, acted by the flesh, and walked according to the flesh. Everything we did was in the flesh. Nevertheless, we did not have any realization that the flesh was so active and prevailing. We were helpless victims under the evil power of the serpent, Satan. The serpent could work in us and upon us, and we had no consciousness of it. But one day we began to partake of the heavenly food and to drink of the living water. Then we began to rise up from under Satan’s hand and refused to be victims any longer. It is at such a time that Satan instigates the flesh to fight against us. Many of us can testify of this. We can testify that after we began to enjoy Christ and to drink of the living water, the flesh rose up to fight against us. Praise the Lord that we have the heavenly manna and the living water to support us as we fight against the flesh!
Day by day we are supplied with manna, the heavenly Christ, as our portion. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Each day we need to pray like this: “Lord, give us this day our daily portion of Christ.” I like to pray in this way. Often I say, “Lord, I thank You for another new day. I ask You to give me this day’s portion of grace.” Every day we need a particular portion of grace, of Christ as our life supply. We also need the Spirit as the living water. We have both the heavenly Christ and the life-giving Spirit. The heavenly Christ is our manna to satisfy our hunger, and the Spirit is the living water to quench our thirst. Do you enjoy this manna and living water day by day? I can testify that today I have enjoyed my portion of Christ, and I have drunk a good deal of the living water. Therefore, I am not subdued by the flesh. My hunger has been satisfied, and my thirst has been quenched. Thus, I have something to share with the saints. Living water can flow out from my inner being to quench the thirst of others.
Even though we partake of Christ as the heavenly manna and drink of the Spirit as the living water, Amalek is at hand to fight against us. We need to be mindful of the fact that Amalek, the flesh, is always with us. Immediately after we enjoy the Lord in morning watch, something may happen, perhaps at the breakfast table, to provoke the flesh. The flesh is envious of our enjoyment of Christ. Hence, Satan stirs up the flesh to fight against us in order to frustrate us from following the Lord.
The only reason for Amalek’s attack was his envy of God’s people. He did not want to see that a people could be so radiant and victorious. The children of Israel had been satisfied by the heavenly manna, and they were drinking of the wonderful living water. In the words of Paul, the rock flowing with living water was following them (1 Cor. 10:4). The children of Israel must have been happy with the manna and the living water. Would you not have been happy had you been there? There was no need for them to worry about food. They had the daily supply of heavenly manna. Furthermore, they could drink of the water flowing from the cleft rock. What a beautiful scene! Suppose, however, that the children of Israel had neither manna nor living water. In such a case, the people would no doubt have quarreled with one another and even fought with one another. Such a situation would not have made the enemy jealous. But Amalek was provoked to jealousy by hearing of a people who were radiant, happy, and victorious. Motivated by envy, he fought against them with the intention of destroying them.
Much attention is given in Scripture to the warfare between the flesh and the Spirit. This battle is recorded not only in Exodus 17, but also in 1 Samuel 15. The Bible has much to say about Amalek. The reason for this is that in the history of Christian experience, the flesh occupies much space. If you were to write a biography of any believer, you would have to devote considerable attention to the flesh. On the negative side, the Christian life is a history, a record, of the flesh. Daily in our Christian walk we are troubled by the flesh. Perhaps even as you sit in the church meetings you remember certain offenses or recall how others have mistreated you. Your thoughts concerning these offenses may be in the flesh. After the meeting, you may be strongly attacked by the flesh. Amalek may come to fight against you. On the negative side, the Christian life is mainly concerned with the flesh. In many different ways, the flesh rises up to attack us.
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 destroys our married life, family life, and church life. It seeks to destroy everything positive. Consider how much the flesh has destroyed since you became a Christian.
The flesh is not only warlike and destructive, but also extremely disturbing. If you read Romans 7, you will see what disturbance is caused by the flesh. According to that chapter, 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 was caused by sin. Actually it was caused by the flesh. How warlike, destructive, and disturbing the flesh is!
Amalek was a descendant of Esau (Gen. 36:12), Jacob’s twin brother. Esau and Jacob were very close. This indicates that the flesh, signified by Esau, is close to our regenerated being, signified by Jacob, who became Israel. Esau was born first, then Jacob. This indicates that the flesh belongs to the first man, and our regenerated being, to the second.
The Bible speaks of two different Amaleks. The Amalek mentioned in Genesis 14:7 is different from the Amalek who was the descendant of Esau. However, some Bible students, not aware of this distinction, think of these two Amaleks as one and the same. We need to be clear, therefore, that the Bible tells us about two different Amaleks. The Amalek in Exodus 17 descended from Esau. Hence, it was the second Amalek, who descended from Esau, who troubled God’s people. Our concern is with this Amalek. Our flesh is the descendant of Esau. This means that the flesh is of the first man, that is, the old man. The flesh is the issue, the coming forth, of the first man.
We have pointed out that just as Esau was close to Jacob, the flesh is close to our regenerated being. The Bible nowhere tells us that the descendants of Esau ceased to exist. On the contrary, the Edomites, descendants of Esau, were continually a problem to the Israelites.
We have seen that Amalek, one of the descendants of Esau, was the first to fight against the children of Israel. This fighting is a picture of the flesh fighting against the believers. Peter refers to this fighting: “Beloved, I entreat you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).
Amalek was the first enemy the children of Israel encountered on the way to the good land (Deut. 25:17-18; 1 Sam. 15:2). This indicates that our flesh is the first among all our enemies. 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. These four things are interwoven. The most prominent among them in fighting against believers is the flesh. Satan, sin, and the world are all subordinate to the flesh. When in our practical 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. These three enemies are all dependent on the flesh. Hence, the flesh is our foremost enemy. For this reason, the Bible gives a complete picture of Amalek as the first enemy to fight against the children of Israel. Many of us can testify that from the time we first began to seek the Lord and to walk in His way, the flesh has been fighting against us. The flesh is the leading enemy in frustrating us from going on with the Lord.
Under God’s guidance, the children of Israel had a goal. This goal was to enter the good land. Amalek’s purpose in attacking God’s people was to frustrate them from entering the land. We also have the goal of entering into the all-inclusive Christ as our good land and possessing Him as this land. We have been saved, we have made a wonderful exodus out of Egypt, we have crossed the Red Sea, and we have journeyed through the wilderness, where we have had a number of marvelous experiences. Nevertheless, we have not yet reached the goal. We have not yet entered into the all-inclusive Christ. Knowing that this goal is ahead of us, the enemy, Amalek, endeavors to hinder us from reaching this goal. It is crucial for us to recognize that Satan’s aim in stirring up our flesh to fight against us is to keep us from the full enjoyment of Christ. The purpose of the flesh in warring against us is to frustrate us from entering into Christ as the all-inclusive land. We must admit that not many Christians, even among us, have entered in a complete way into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ. Mainly we have been frustrated by the flesh. Although we may enjoy the Lord in morning watch, the flesh often attacks us soon afterward. This attack may keep us from the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ during the day. As a result, throughout the day we have little enjoyment of Christ. The purpose of the flesh in fighting against us, therefore, is to keep us from the full enjoyment of Christ.
In defeating Amalek the Lord used weak men (Exo. 17:9; Rom. 7:24). In 17:9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek.” 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. You may think that a certain brother is very strong; however, in the eyes of God he is actually weak. Our weakness is proved by the fact that we can be easily defeated, even by our children or grandchildren. A brother may even be defeated by an unhappy expression on his wife’s face. We should not consider ourselves strong. No, we are weak. God, however, does not use the strong to fight against Amalek. Joshua was told to choose weak men for the battle. We would choose strong ones, but God chose those who are weak. The victors over Amalek are weak men.
Apparently the battle against Amalek was fought by weak men. Actually it was fought by God Himself. This is proved by the fact that victory or defeat was decided by the lifting of Moses’ hand. Exodus 17:11 says, “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” Moses lifting up his hand on the mountaintop typifies the ascended Christ interceding in the heavens (Rom. 8:34b; Heb. 7:25). The question of victory or defeat did not depend on the fighting of the weak men. Although they had to fight, victory did not depend on them. It depended on the lifting up of Moses’ hand with the rod of God. Although it is necessary for us to fight against Amalek, we should not think that by our fighting we can be victorious. On the contrary, we are qualified only for defeat. In our fighting we must recognize the need not to fight in ourselves, but to fight by means of Moses and Joshua.
On the one hand, Moses lifted up his hand on the mountaintop; on the other hand, Joshua was fighting for the people (17:10a, 13). We have seen that manna typifies Christ and that the living water typifies the Spirit. Now we must go on to point out that Moses typifies the heavenly Christ, and Joshua, the indwelling Spirit fighting against the flesh (Gal. 5:16-17; Rom. 8:13). Many Christians realize that in typology Joshua signifies Jesus. In fact, the Greek word Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. Although Joshua typifies Jesus, in Exodus 17 Joshua typifies the Spirit. According to the picture in Exodus 17, the heavenly Christ, typified by Moses, is interceding, and the indwelling Christ, typified by Joshua, is slaying the enemy. The manna, the living water, Moses, and Joshua all typify Christ. Christ is the life supply, the living water, the One interceding in the heavens, and the indwelling One fighting against the enemy. In brief, Christ is all. The picture in Exodus is very clear concerning this.
It is no coincidence that Christ is typified in Exodus in all these ways. In His sovereign wisdom God prepared these types and arranged them in a marvelous sequence. First we have the manna and the living water; then we have Moses on the mountaintop and Joshua fighting the battle. We all must come to know Christ as the heavenly manna, the living water, the interceding Moses, and the fighting Joshua. We also need to experience Christ in the aspect of manna, living water, the interceding One, and the fighting One. As the indwelling Spirit, Christ is our present, practical Joshua fighting against the flesh and putting it to death. In this battle we need to cooperate with Him. When He fights, we should fight also. However, our fighting in itself does not count for anything. Nevertheless, Christ still desires that we fight together with Him. This is the way to defeat Amalek, the way to defeat the flesh.
The destiny of Amalek, in the first place, is to have the remembrance of him blotted out from under heaven. In 17:14 the Lord said unto Moses, “I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” (Heb.). No matter how strong, stubborn, or prevailing the flesh may be, its remembrance will be blotted out. This indicates God’s hatred of the flesh. According to Romans 8:7 and 8, the flesh is an enemy of God. It has neither the intention nor the ability to obey God. Hence, the destiny of the flesh is to 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 take place during the kingdom age in the millennium. Today is still the time for us to fight against the flesh. But when the kingdom comes, the flesh will be blotted out from under heaven.
God is so strong against the flesh because with Amalek there is a hand against the throne of the Lord. Exodus 17:16 says, “For he said, Because there is a hand against the throne of Jehovah, Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Heb.). The flesh is a hand against the throne, against the government of God. Because the flesh opposes the throne of the Lord, the Lord must fight against it. The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
The flesh is in rebellion against God and against His throne. The flesh is most ugly simply because it is against the throne, administration, and plan of God. This is a matter of great significance. However, not many believers realize that the flesh is so evil. The flesh does not simply commit minor wrongdoings. It is a hand against the very throne of God. Because the flesh is a hand against God’s throne, God has decided to war against it. Amalek, the flesh, is still a hand against the administration of God. This means that our flesh is in rebellion against God’s governmental administration. Whatever God does governmentally, the flesh opposes it. For example, among many Christians the flesh is strongly opposed to the church, for the church is God’s administration. The church is mocked, and many blasphemous words are spoken concerning it. This is an indication that the flesh in the eyes of God is rebellious. Truly the flesh is a hand against the throne of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord will fight against this rebel and blot out its remembrance.
In 17:15 we are told that “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi.” The name Jehovah-nissi means “Jehovah my banner.” For Jehovah to be our banner means that Jehovah God is our victory. Moses built an altar and then called the name of it Jehovah-nissi. The altar signifies the cross, which deals with our flesh (Gal. 5:24). On the one hand, our flesh must be blotted out; on the other hand, the cross must be a memorial. By the cross we enjoy the victory of the Lord. This means that by the altar we enjoy Jehovah-nissi.
The altar built and named by Moses in Exodus 17 signifies that the cross of Christ is a memorial of our victory. By the cross we experience the Lord as our banner. We enjoy Him as our victor, and we enjoy victory through the cross of the Lord. According to the book of Galatians, the flesh must be set aside, but the cross must become our boast. Paul declares that he did not boast in circumcision, but boasted in the cross of Christ. The remembrance of the flesh must be blotted out, and a memorial of the cross must be built up. We need to remember the cross of Christ through which we enjoy the Lord as our banner, our victory. This cross is the memorial that the flesh has been blotted out.
