Amalek

Deut. 25:17-19
Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.


This is the story of a people that represent a particular type of human mindset. This is the story of those who do not fear God.

Amalek was a tribe that attacked Israel soon after they left the banks of the Red Sea. The Red Sea crossing was the greatest miracle that the Hebrew people (and any other people) had seen. All the tribes of people in the area knew that there was a greater than human power (or powers) in charge of things, and a great power suddenly appeared to be on the side of the Jews.

Each of the tribes of people in range of this event worshiped idols. They attributed natural power to various things and so worshiped those things rather than living in the natural order of the environment and understanding that there was a single God in charge of the universe. These people were not atheistic at all, merely ignorant and superstitious.

Some idols had supernatural powers attributed to them, but miracles were attributed to them which were actually natural disasters or good fortune. When these people saw the acts of God clearly in favor of the survival of the Jews, they feared this God and refused to attack the weak and defenseless fledgling Nation of Israel.

The type of person who has a belief in supernatural power of any kind is not an atheist. He can attribute his position to good karma, a rabbit’s foot or whatever. He is not unbelieving, but believes anything. This is the person who will not castigate the beliefs of others just because they are different to their own system of understanding. Most people fall into this category of thinking. Paul the Apostle met some of these at Mars hill in Greece.

However, there is an increasing occurrence of disbelief in our population such that anything that can manipulate the environment is humanistic or natural but not supernatural. They do not believe in anything at all except random mechanical (statistical) chance. This is the way of the people the Bible refers to as Amalek.

The Amelakites were not fearful of the God of Israel. They snuck up on those trailing behind the crowd and attacked them. They were not worried that the God of Israel was going to smash them for the effort; they did not believe in any god at all. They were the nation of Atheists.
The Amelakites were to be destroyed by God’s commandment, and it was to be done as soon as Israel had established a nation in Canaan and in a state of “rest”. But the Amelakites did not hear that commandment. They also did not seem to observe the life giving miracles of God helping the Nation of Israel in the desert places.

The issue that began with the Amelakites attack in the wilderness was the disarming of the fear of God for the rest of the enemies of Israel. This created difficulties for Israel and God did not want Israel destroyed by war in the wilderness, but to be established in Canaan first.

This seems to be such a stringent point of view of God against a nation that simply ignored Him. Really, Amalek was guilty of only discounting the power of the Almighty. Why did God order them completely annihilated?

The purpose of this command is not so much for the people of Israel, or even the other tribes about Israel, as much as it is for us today. It is to instruct us and help us survive in the society we are presently in; this modern society that is beginning to be just like the ancient society of Amalek. A society that is almost completely humanistic.

Saul was the first king of Israel. The prophet Samuel told Saul that God wanted all the Amelakites killed, including the livestock; but Saul did not destroy all of them. He was killed in battle by an Amelakite soldier later in his life.

Much later in history, near the end of the Babylonian era of the Jews there was an incident at the palace. A Jewish scribe by the name of Mordecai was about to be hanged for treason against the crown.

Haman, an Agagite (Amelakite family of kings and princes), arrived in Babylon to secretly devise a way to destroy the Israelites who remained there after the captivity. Only by the sacrificial efforts of those who know God did the Nation of Israel survive the disobedience of one man, Saul of long ago.

We must not find ourselves guilty of allowing the Amelakite mindset in our thinking.

We do not need a rabbit’s foot or to knock on wood. We really do not need to wish upon a star or upon blowing out candles on a cake.

These are all going to discount our faith in God for the little things. For the water that helps us live each day, rather than just the great big miracles.

God wants to show us in our daily life that He is strong. The big stuff shows a doubting or ignorant world, but the daily miracles of God build our faith. Do not let Amelakite thinking destroy that.

Remember that Moses held his hands up while Israel repelled the attack of the Amelakites. When Moses grew weary, the Nation of Israel fell back and lost ground. So Aaron and Ben Hur held up Moses hands and sat him upon a rock until the battle was finished. The Israelites knew Moses to be the oracle of God to them, and knew that when he declared victory, they would certainly win. When that message from Moses was absent, they grew fearful and less sure of the battle and seemed about to be defeated. They did not believe that God was interested in the battle unless Moses was certain of it.

The Israelites also had a little of the Amelakite logical thinking in their minds. The ability to divide the sea was a great miracle that they could not deny, but they did not believe that God would supply the water they needed in the desert.

This was the result of the mind set of the Amelakites: rationale suggested that there would be scant water in the wilderness. This is what God wanted destroyed! This would prevent God from building the faith of Israel.

The last phrase in the scripture above is clear: do not forget to erase that which causes you to remember Amalek. We must strive to remove the thought processes that destroy our faith. When they come up in the mind, rub them out. Do not allow the thoughts to grow. Any rationalization will produce doubt. This is the poison of Amalek.

Science is destructive when taken as truth. Be aware that science is a job. Scientific models which predict the outcome of any process is the actual purpose of science; it will fail you as a rationale for the cause of events in your life. Science changes the models of probable cause as often as you change your socks. Science is not the “truth”, but to assume that it is the mindset of Amalek.

Atheism leads to rationalization of the universe which leads the innocent mind of the inexperienced non-scientist to doubt. This is the Amalek of today. Keep scientific thought where it belongs. The Christian should remove these concepts from the “true” bin to the “interesting rationale” bin in their mind.

A prayerful attention to the thoughts that run through the mind when faced with stresses in life will give you the opportunity to dismiss the rationale you use. This rationale denies God the ability to solve even your small problems.

God assures us that He is interested in even the small things: enough to eat, enough water, electricity gasoline, etc. He wanted Israel to know this after they left Egypt, and God wants us to know it, too.

Equality

I recall an Old Testament story about Israel collecting manna to consume each day. This was given to the Israelites by God to feed them in the wilderness. Imagine, just step outside and scoop up enough of the stuff for the day.( Exodus 16:18)

There were a few rules, however. You can’t take it with you, and you have to give away what you don’t need. That is, it would rot overnight so you could not store up any for the future, and if you had neighbors who were unable to pick up their own, you picked up extra and gave it to them to eat for that day.

You see, nobody had ever heard of manna from heaven before. Who would have thought up this method of feeding millions except God?

What were these people thinking about when they began to complain about the food? They finally get a steady diet (probably the best regular diet these people have had since then) and then complain about the taste!

But I digress.

Where am I going with this? Equality in God’s eyes.

The Apostle Paul writes to a wealthy Corinthian church about equality:

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. (II Corinthians 8:9-15)

The apostle is commending the church for their giving for the needs of others who lack. This is in the interest of survival and not intended to milk the wealthy to support the lazy. There were real problems facing some churches because of famine and other disastrous events that left them unable to provide the basics for living. I suppose that our modern welfare system was designed, at least initially, to function in just this way.

The reference to equality is an odd one: if you have too much of something, and I have too little of it to get by then at some point If I can give you something that you lack but I have in abundance, maybe we can both survive.

In this kind of process, no one can boast of having something that some one else has not obtained.

I like this thought. I believe it has tremendous spiritual importance.

Paul is emphasizing the example of God (He created everything that is, and still holds the patent) becoming flesh to save us. The fleshly Jesus had only a small fraction of that which this Spiritual being held before he became flesh. This is a spiritual result.

What could the destitute and starving congregation of another church have in abundance that the Corinthian church did not? They provided the Corinthian church the chance to give. What that wealthy congregation needed was to find the benefit given to them by God, by blessing those who needed their help.

And how is this spiritual?

Seek the Bible for any gift from God that is for your personal benefit only. Look for the scriptures that tell you that the Gifts of God are for you to give something to others, and compare them to those that tell of the gifts that are just for you to enjoy for yourself (if you can find any).

Every gift is from God and is to edify others. I believe that every act we may participate in under the influence of the Spirit of God is to provide to some other person a needed thing in their life. God does not promote spiritual selfishness any more than He promotes monetary selfishness.

Where then is the equality in that? Your needs will also be met. Your spiritual growth will continue. God will pour out upon you spiritual blessings you cannot contain. You need to grow; others need edification and support that the gifts of God provides them through you. Both of you will have the necessary things in your life that allow you to continue to live in the kingdom of God.

God is very smart.

Equality in the scriptures is not really about personal rights, it is often about equalizing the abundance of some with the need of others on a continuous rotating basis to keep everyone healthy in the kingdom. Those who will argue with God about the validity of this plan are those who want to be financially wealthy at the expense of helping the poor.

There is no argument even possible about the spiritual validity of this plan. All gifts come from God. He can give you an abundance to help His sheep. He can take it away.

We every one depend on Him.

If you seek to become powerful in the Spirit of God and in the kingdom, give away what you have. Give it to those who struggle, who are complacent, and who are troubled. Assist the ones who are confused or despondent. Give your gifts to edify the body of Christ.

Promote the well being of others and then watch as God loads you up with benefits that will cause you to grow ever stronger. That is equality in the kingdom of God.