God knew that the Amalekites would always oppose Israel, that the children of the Amalekites would do it when they grew up, and their descendants too; as we see with Haman in the book of Esther.
Amalekites are not simply threatening a people group with their determination to wipe out Israel, but they are a threat to the salvation plan of God for all other nations.
They weren’t Canaanites. Israel was not a threat to them; Israel was not going to take their land. Israel’s relationship to the Amalekites was like their relationship to the other Edomites when Israel said,
“Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” (Num 20:17)
First up, who were the Amalekites? What made them so bad?
The Amalekites were the descendants and followers of Amalek, grandson of Esau, brother of Jacob also known as Israel. As such, the Amalekites weren’t total foreigners to God. Esau was the one who had sold his birthright and his part in God’s promise. He had been part of God’s covenant people, but he valued his own appetites more. So the Edomites (Esau’s descendants, including the Amalekites) were people who had opted out en masse
of the covenant which defined God’s people.
But the Amalekites really really didn’t like Israel. At the very birth of the nation of Israel, when they came out of Egypt and were at their most vulnerable, before they even got to Sinai and when they didn’t even have any water, the Amalekites came and attacked them. Israel were forced to fight their very first battle, fighting for their lives against the Amalekites, under the leadership of Moses. After God gave Moses an amazing victory,
Exodus 17 says this...
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Exod 17:14-16)
The Amalekites attack Israel though.
In Numbers 14:45, they attack Israel again while they are still in the desert.
In Judges 3:13 they join in with the Moabites in attacking Israel.
In Judges 6:3, they invade Israel “whenever the Israelites planted their crops”, and together with the Midianites “devour the produce of the land… and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey” (6:4).
Later in Judges 6 and 7 they invade again and are fought off by Gideon.
looks very much as if it was the Amalekites who were at war with God. Israel has a lot of wars between the time of Moses and the time of Saul, but they never once attack the Amalekites.
Durring all of these attacks on Gods people, were they not killing the children and babies?
The Amalekites show that generation after generation, they are at war with Israel and with God.
The Amalekites are like the bad Terminator in Terminator II – you’ve got to finish the job or he’ll re-form and keep coming after you.
The complete Sovereignty of God...He gives life he takes life and he restoreth life, all for the good of ALL.
Praise God Almighty for your righteous ways and love for us all, in spite of our sinful carnal condition!
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Topic: Why God commanded the killing of infants? (Read 16407 times)