Esther 3: "Then Came Amalek..."

About a month ago I joined the ranks of ancestry-seekers.  My sister and her daughter were bitten by the genealogy bug, which proved to be a contagious disease.  I began to be fascinated with genealogy in high school, going on to be just one course shy of a science minor in college.  Blood types, Punnett Squares and other mechanics were interesting in their own right, but I loved seeing physical and behavioral traits in members of my family.  Here's an example from last week.

My brother, who owns a heating and air business, stopped by my mother's house while I was visiting.  On the dashboard of his truck was a huge assortment of boxed parts, invoices, cigarettes and other items I did not take the time to analyze.  The point was...it was crammed full of "stuff".  Our mother remarked that the only other family member she knew of who exhibited this same behavior was our great-uncle Oscar, whom neither of us really knew.  He died when we both were quite young.  Now, you might say this was a coincidence, but I'm not so sure.

The Hebrew people were fanatics about genealogies.  In fact, one of the most crushing blows in Jewish history was when the Second Temple (the one Nehemiah and Ezra rebuilt) was destroyed in 70 C.E., because the genealogical records were destroyed as well.  Since that time, no Jew has been able to definitively prove he or she is from a particular tribe of Israel.

In the last post, I shared about the family lines of Kish and those of the Agagites.  To illustrate how important genealogy is, and its relevance to the Book of Esther (did you think I'd forgotten, lol?!), we are going to look today at the Curse of Amalek.  It's quite extraordinary.

There were three personages in the Bible prophesied about before they were born.1  One was King Cyrus the Great, the Persian regent who gave permission for the Jews to return to the Promised Land.  Over 100 years before he was born, the prophet Isaiah spoke of him by name, and prophesied about that he would do (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-4).  Another was King Agag, mentioned in Numbers 24:7, several years before his birth.  And, the third was Amalek.

The name Amalek appears as early as Genesis 14:7, referring to a people group attacked and conquered by an alliance of Mesopotamian kings, in the days of Abraham.  100 years later, Amalek himself was born, the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12).   The Edomites and the Amalekites --- both descendants of Esau, though separate nations.

Amalek's people were mentioned again, after the Israelites entered the Promised Land, in Exodus 17:14, that battle where Joshua is leading the Israelites against the Amalekites, while Moses has his arms raised up.  Verse 14 pronounces God's curse on the Amalekites.

8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi: 16For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

The curse is reiterated again in Numbers 24:20 , where the Amalekites were called "the first among nations", paralleling and typifying how Satan was the highest-ranking of the angels before his ignominious fall.  Like Satan, that people group's end would be "utter destruction"; so will be Satan's fate.  Through the wicked prophet Balaam, God is speaking - - -

Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.”

Numbers 24:20 (ESV)

We see the curse yet again in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, where the Amalekites are described as a people who did not fear God.  This passage gives more details of how, as the Hebrew people were fleeing Egypt, the Amalekites attacked the rear flank of the group, killing those straggling behind, probably the very old and infirm.  In both the Exodus and Deuteronomy passages, God instructed His chosen people to "blot out all memory of Amalek from under Heaven."  1 Samuel 15:2 mentions the curse yet again.

The Amalekites were nomadic, plundering marauders, dwelling predominantly in the desert region between Egypt and Canaan.  They constantly raided and disrupted the Israelites' food supplies, in later skirmishes (Judges 3:13 and 6:3).2   Isn't that what Satan tries with the people of God, the true Church, today?  He knows he has no true power over us; yet, he disrupts our spiritual food supplies in every way he can.  However, the battle victory is OURS, through faith, in our Messiah.  Hallelujah!

The Deuteronomy passage is read on the Sabbath before Purim EVERY YEAR, because the story of Esther is a story of God versus the Spirit of Amalek, of righteousness versus evil, of Jehovah God versus HaSatan (Hebrew version of Satan's name).  In Scripture, Amalek is a "type" for Satan.

So, the last mention of the Amalekites in Scripture was in the book of Esther.  Remember, Haman is described as a descendant of King Agag, who was king of the Amalekites.  Haman, the Agagite.
Do you see now how Haman is a "type" of Satan and of the Antichrist, the False Messiah, in the Esther story?

In the Exodus 17 passage, do you really think it was Moses' raised arms that gave the Israelites the victory?!  (I mean, come on, what the heck?). No, Moses was first standing and then (as fatigue set in) seated on a hill, his raised arms like a battle flag, a battle "standard", to use the older English word.  A battle BANNER.  It is NO accident that, after that victory, Moses built an altar to Jehovah God, and revealed the name Jehovah-Nissi, the first time we see this name for God in the Bible.  "Nissi" means "banner".  Our God, our Banner.  To Him alone belongs the victory.

One more deep dig, and I'm done.
In the last days, many theologians believe the spirit of Amalek, manifested through history in such evil persecutors of the Jews and Christians as Roman Emperors, Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, Muslim fanatics and others will again power the Antichrist, the last incarnation of the spirit of Amalek (1 Corinthians 15:20).  Satan's last attack on God's people will be just before Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Messiah, returns.  Once again, He will have the absolute, complete victory because the battle is already won.  God has decreed it, and it is so.

Isaiah 11 is a chapter describing the Millennial reign of Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Note what 11:10 says - - "On that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples".  Jesus Christ, our Jehovah-Nissi.  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14) 

Don't you look forward to that day?

Sources:
1   "Shadow Pictures from the Book of Esther", Dr. Jennifer Scrivner, May, 2020
2   https://www.gotquestions.org/Amalekites.html