Exodus 17:8–14

Verses seven and eight give us not only the literal connection but also the moral connection. In verse seven Israel quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The language of verse eight suggests a consequence. From this we can observe that the moral connection is not between the gift of water from the smitten rock and Amalek's attack, but between the unbelief of the people and Amalek's attack. God does not call to this conflict. He did not say, "Seek out Amalek and destroy him." Amalek seeks out Israel, and it was Israel's unbelief which exposed them to attack.

Nothing gives the enemy more power than to doubt whether we are the children of God, or to doubt whether He is with us and for us.

Amalek was Israel's first foe after leaving Egypt. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, and this, combined with the assault in the wilderness, gives us a clear clue as to what they represent. Esau, the firstborn, stands for what is natural. Jacob, the younger, suggests the sovereignty of grace, which sets the firstborn aside. It is the flesh which is the firstborn in us, and only as born again is faith present. "The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit." You may cultivate it, refine it, improve it, and whatever else, but it remains unchanged.

Amalek is everything that was contrary to God — the power of Satan. They were in conflict with Satan always.

Israel's conflict began when they stood in the full power of redemption. Until they met Amalek, they had nothing to do. They did not divide the sea or drown Pharaoh's armies beneath its waves. They did not bring down bread from heaven or draw water out of the hard rock. They neither had done nor could do any of these things — but now they are called to fight with Amalek. All the previous conflict had been between the Lord and the enemy. They only had to "stand still" and watch the mighty triumphs of the Lord's outstretched arm and enjoy the fruits of victory. The Lord had fought for them; but now He fights in them or by them.

Each of Israel's foes has its own typical character and method of warfare. The Amalekites represent those carnal and sinful principles which seek now in the wilderness to hinder and injure us. Their way of fighting was mean and cowardly, quite unlike that of the scheming Philistine or the brave Jebusite. They "attacked those who were lagging behind… all who were feeble… when you were faint and weary." This foe lies in wait for every subtle and unfair advantage against our souls. God has sworn to destroy him, and He has commanded, "You shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget." Other foes might be spared, but not this one. There must be no truce, no quarter.

Joshua leads his warriors on the plain. Moses — with Aaron and Hur — goes up to the top of the hill. The fight below depends on the lifting up of Moses' hands above. Moses, seen this way, is a picture of Christ above in the value of His intercession. He leads His people in the power of the Spirit below. At the same time He maintains their cause by His intercession in the presence of God, and He secures for them mercy and grace to help in time of need. They therefore have no strength for conflict apart from His priestly intercession.

Israel had tested God by their unbelief, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" Then Amalek came. But with the enemy came the God-given victory over him! Unbelief in God's faithfulness — God's answer of mercy. The enemy's attack — God's reply of victory. Such is the golden line of God's grace over man's sin, displayed in the glory of God in the wilderness.

This is the first time we see Israel in conflict with an outside enemy. Up to this point the Lord had fought for them. Exodus 14 says, "The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." But now the word is, "Choose for us men." True, God must now fight in Israel, as before He had fought for them. This marks the difference in the picture itself. And in what the picture points to, we know there is an immense difference between Christ's battles for us and the Holy Spirit's battles in us. The first, thank God, are all over, the victory won, and a glorious and everlasting peace secured. The second are still going on.

God did not allow the Amalekites to attack until after Israel had been refreshed by the water from the rock. The water is a symbol of the Spirit of God, given by the Son of God as the result of His being struck down at the cross. But though the Spirit now lives in every believer, we quickly learn that there is another nature within us that is against the Spirit. Amalek speaks therefore of the lusts of the flesh. Its name means "licking up," for such lusts lick up all that is beneficial and necessary for our soul's welfare. This is not Satan's attack, but an attack from within us, fed by the desire to get what we want when we want it.

What then is symbolised by Amalek? It is often said that it is the flesh; but this is only part of the truth… the point to be seen here is that Amalek sets himself in open opposition to the people of God, and seeks to hinder their progress, and even to wipe them off the face of the earth. It is therefore the power of Satan — acting through the flesh, it may be — that challenges the onward march of the children of Israel. Satan's cunning shows in the moment he chose for the attack. It came just after the people had sinned, when an enemy might have supposed they were under God's displeasure. But if God is for His people, He will let no enemy destroy them.

Joshua is Jesus. The names, as we know, are the same, and Christ in us is our Leader now. Joshua represents Christ acting by the Spirit. He is the Captain of our salvation, and He leads us into the practical grasp of our portion in the heavenly places where He has gone. For fighting the battles of the wilderness, we want such a Leader. We must keep up a real link with heaven to have successful conflict on earth.

Moses had taken Aaron and Hur with him to the place of intercession, and also the staff of God. That staff had made a way through the Red Sea. It had been shown before Pharaoh as the staff of God's authority and power. Carrying it meant that Moses depended on the power of God in this conflict. Moses needed the support of God's priest, and of Hur, whose name means free or noble. He was unlike the One who intercedes in heaven for us, whose hands are never weary.

So from the first it was plain that neither strength, nor courage, nor skill, nor a righteous cause decided the victory. Intercession with God decided it. The success of His people depended wholly on His blessing from on high. Nor was it all over in one fight, but the LORD's war with Amalek must be from generation to generation. Moses prays, and Joshua acts.

We have here two distinct things, namely, conflict and intercession. Christ is on high for us, while the Holy Spirit carries on the mighty struggle in us. The two things go together. It is as we enter, by faith, into the power of Christ's intercession on our behalf that we make headway against our evil nature.

They fought the Lord's battle. But even fighting the Lord's battle is not enough, unless the Lord stretches out His hand to help them.

He knew full well that the outcome of the conflict lay with the Lord. It was more important to be before God than to have powerful forces to meet the enemy.

The Spirit now lives in every believer. But we soon learn that there is another nature within us, and it is against the Spirit...

It is often stated that it is the flesh; but this is only part of the truth... So the power that challenges the onward march of the children of Israel is the power of Satan, perhaps acting through the flesh. And Satan's subtlety in the time he chose for the attack is plain. The attack came just after the people had sinned. At such a moment an enemy might suppose that they were under the displeasure of God.

We have here two distinct things, namely, conflict and intercession. Christ is on high for us, while the Holy Spirit carries on the mighty struggle in us. The two things go together. By faith we enter into the prevailing power of Christ's intercession for us. That is how we make headway against our evil nature.

Weakness made him "let down his hand," and then Amalek prevailed... In themselves, believers are powerless. The strain of battle is more than they can bear, and their hands hang down.

We depend on the continual intercession of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Do you think His hands ever hang down? No! Do they ever grow weary? Impossible! "And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:50-51). He was seen going up into heaven with His hands raised in blessing, and so they are to this day.

They fought the Lord's battle: but it is not enough even to be fighting the Lord's battle unless the Lord stretches out His hand to help them. Otherwise "Amalek prevailed." Israel might have reasoned about how they fought, about the strength of the enemy, and about ten thousand other things. But in the end, their success depended on Moses' hands stretched out. It is very hard for us to see ourselves and Satan as nothing, and God as everything.

When it was a question of Pharaoh, the word was, "The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." If the question is deliverance from the power of Satan, God does all the fighting. But the flesh is a different matter — and mark you, you always have the flesh in you. Then there must be conflict, and the order is, "Fight with Amalek." What is the power for the conflict? It is the Holy Spirit.

Had Israel imagined that when Pharaoh's armies were gone their conflict was at an end, they would have been badly shaken when Amalek came upon them. The fact is, theirs only then began.

We have here two distinct things: conflict and intercession. Christ is on high for us, while the Holy Spirit carries on the mighty struggle in us. The two things go together. It is as we enter, by faith, into the power of Christ's intercession on our behalf, that we make headway against our evil nature.

But no one man could be a perfect picture of Christ. Moses' hands were heavy, so Aaron and Hur held them up. This only brings out the truth of Christ's intercession more fully. Aaron, though not yet formally set apart, represents the priesthood, and Hur, if the meaning of the name may guide us, pictures light or purity. Together, then, they mean the priestly intercession of Christ, kept in holiness before God. That intercession rests on all that Christ is and has done. So it is always effective, and it always prevails.

He goes up with His hands lifted in blessing — as a priest. Have they ever been let down? Surely not. No Aaron and Hur are needed to hold up the hands of the blessed One I am speaking of. His hands have never grown heavy. He has been blessing ever since — carrying on a ministry of love that makes the heart dance with joy.

At such a time it matters more than anything to remember that great stone — no, the Rock of Ages — supports you… The stone was not put under Moses so that he could let his hands hang down. It was put there so that his hands could be held up steadily. I do not show you this Rock so that you may grow careless and stop trusting God for victory over sin. I show it to encourage your faith in the darkest hour.

There is the exalted Son of God on the one side — that is, in the very presence of God — holding up the hands of faith, making intercession. And on the other side, that is, down here, in the believer, is the Holy Spirit making intercession. How doubly held up!

We have this comfort: whatever the circumstances, through the priesthood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, our blessing is kept up for us — and this until the going down of the sun.

In type, Israel had been sheltered from judgment by the blood of the lamb, and redeemed from the world and Satan at the Red Sea. They had been miraculously fed, and now through the smitten rock the gushing water, a picture of the Spirit, had been given. Immediately afterwards Amalek appears, a picture of the flesh. How fitting all this is!… So it is not until we as believers receive the Holy Spirit that this conflict begins. In our unconverted days the flesh reigned supreme, and its power in our lives was unchallenged.

Amalek speaks therefore of the lusts of the flesh. Its name means "licking up," for such lusts lick up all that is beneficial and necessary for our soul's welfare. This is not Satan's attack, but an attack from within us, fed by the desire to get what we want when we want it.

What then does Amalek symbolise? It is often said that he is the flesh; but this is only part of the truth… The point to be seen here is that Amalek sets himself in open opposition to the people of God. He seeks to hinder their progress, and even to destroy them from the face of the earth. It is therefore the power of Satan — acting through the flesh, it may be — that challenges the onward march of the children of Israel.

Joshua represents Christ, in the energy of the Spirit, leading His redeemed to the conflict. What a consolation! If Satan marshals his forces to attack the Lord's people, Christ leads out His chosen men to meet the foe. The battle therefore is the Lord's… It would help us to stop depending on man, and to count upon the Lord.

They fought the Lord's battle: but it is not enough even to be fighting the Lord's battle unless the Lord stretches out His hand to help them. Otherwise "Amalek prevailed." Israel might have reasoned about the way they fought, about the strength of the enemy, and about ten thousand other things. But in the end, their success depended on Moses' hands being stretched out. It is very hard for us to see ourselves and Satan as nothing, and God as everything.

Christ has fought for us; the Holy Spirit fights in us… The comfort is that we are victors before we enter the field of conflict at all… We have here two distinct things: conflict and intercession. Christ is on high for us, while the Holy Spirit carries on the mighty struggle in us. The two things go together. It is as we enter, by faith, into the power of Christ's intercession on our behalf, that we make headway against our evil nature.

Let us remember, too, that it was "with the edge of the sword" that Joshua defeated his enemies. And the "sword of the Spirit is the word of God."… It is this which enables self-judgment — the judgment of the foes of our peace and blessing. Our Amalek is within. Our battleground is that of our own hearts.

Amalek was driven back and defeated, but he was not yet utterly destroyed, as he will be… There is power for us to keep the sentence of death on the flesh, so that we do not fulfil its lust. We are kept from doing the things we otherwise might. But the flesh still remains in us, though we have received the Spirit.

The first mention of writing in the Bible is when "the Lord said to Moses, write this as a memorial in a book" (Ex. 17:14). That small beginning is God putting His thoughts in writing for man. From it grows the full development we have in the Bible, where God makes known all His counsels and glories.

Amalek came from Esau, the man of bodily appetite, who sold his birthright for a meal. So he makes a fitting picture of the flesh.

What, then, does Amalek stand for? Many say he stands for the flesh, but that is only part of the truth… The point to see here is that Amalek sets himself in open opposition to the people of God. He seeks to hinder their progress, and even to destroy them from off the face of the earth. So it is the power of Satan — perhaps acting through the flesh — that challenges the forward march of the children of Israel.

Amalek was a very cunning foe, as we discover when we read Deuteronomy 25:18. In our experience the flesh acts in just this way. It attacks us at what we may call our weak points — though these are often the points we imagine to be our strong ones! God then passed the sentence of death on Amalek in its most extreme form, as we see in verse 14. In the same way God has "condemned sin in the flesh" in the death of Christ.

This memorial combined two things: the record of their rescue from Amalek, and the pledge of his final overthrow. Every display of the Lord's power on behalf of His people has this double character. If He steps in and defends them against their enemies' attacks, that same act assures them of His continual protection and care. So every time He comes between them and their foes, it should be repeated in their ears and written on their hearts — a memorial of the past, and a guarantee of His unchanging defence.

I dare say many of us have thought, when we have seen the necessity of dependence on the Lord, that one good battle with Satan, and all will be over; but no such thing. We have security and the certainty of victory. But we have no promise that conflict will stop while we are in the wilderness… God told Israel He would utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; yet still the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Until Christ comes, until Satan is bound, until we have the full result of victory, we must count on conflict. Not slavery to Pharaoh, but war with Amalek. Our comfort is this: it is the Lord who makes war, though He does it through Israel, and so Israel has to fight.

God had not forgotten what Amalek did to Israel, as told in Exodus 17:8-16. Now the time had come to carry out divine vengeance. God entrusted Saul with the duty of fulfilling the purpose He had announced long before (Ex. 17:14). Generations had come and gone since the Lord swore that He would utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Had He forgotten His oath? No. The lapse of time made no change in His mind.