Redemption of a Family Name: The Enemy

I Samuel 15; Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Following 9/11, President Bush declared War on Terror. With that, we entered Iraq to go after the terrorists. With the arrest and execution of Saddam Hussein, the political pundits began accusing George W. Bush of only going into Iraq to finish what his father, George H. W. Bush, had not in the first Gulf War. Politics aside, there are many times that one generation has to finish what a prior generation did not. That is what we will consider today.

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Samuel also said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.  Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.  Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”  So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.  And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.  Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.  And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.  He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”  But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.  Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.  And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

I Samuel 15:1-9, 32-35

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Why did the Amalekites need to be destroyed? The answer to that is in Exodus 17. They attacked the children of Israel completely unprovoked. This is the story of Moses holding his rod over his head supported by Aaron and Hur. It is also Joshua's first battle as leader of the army of Israel. The fact that the attack was unprovoked and that they were unrepentant of this attack is why they were being judged. Amalek was always an enemy of Israel. Israel fought with them in Numbers 14, Judges 6, 7, 10, 12, and I Samuel 14.

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Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.  Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

Deuteronomy 25:17-19

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As we can see, there had been a long history of abuse of the Hebrews from the Amalekites. So, now that the time was completed, God called Israel to complete what He had said they would do. When Saul refused, he was rebelling against God. He was betraying his own people. In time, we will also see that he was betraying future generations.

Those who hate God often cite passages like this one from I Samuel to try and depict God as cruel and unjust. In reality, this passage demonstrates that God is just. As a just God, sin must be punished. Agag was not innocent. The Amalekites were far from innocent. They were not paying for the sins of previous generations. They were paying for their own sins. From Deuteronomy to I Samuel (about 400 years), God had given them time to repent and cease from their attacks on His people. They refused.

We can be sure that God will judge sins today as well. Those nations that attack God's people will pay a price. If America continues on the path we are on, it is only a matter of time before we turn on Israel. If we do, we will be judged as a nation also. God said that He would bless those who bless Abraham (and his descendants), and He would curse those who curse Abraham (and his descendants). That is what brought about the judgment of God upon Agag and his people.

Father, in arrogance we demand that You act the way we expect. You are God. You do not answer to us. If we do not understand something that You do, help us to seek You for understanding. Give us the faith to trust You. We do not ask for Your justice, but rather for Your mercy.