«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　1 Sam. 15:7-9 …Saul struck the Amalekites…and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword but…spared Agag [the king] and…all that was good…; but everything that was despised and worthless, this they utterly destroyed.

　　Gal. 5:17 …The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these oppose each other that you would not do the things that you desire.

　　First Samuel 15 is a record of Saul’s disobedience in his conquest of the Amalekites. He conquered the enemy, yet he was altogether disobedient to God. Here Saul was absolutely, thoroughly exposed, and then he was given up by God and also by Samuel. This chapter contains an important lesson for us today. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, p. 71)

　　[Amalek] meaning warlike…typifies the flesh, which is the totality of the fallen old man (Gal. 2:16…). The fighting between Amalek and Israel depicts the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit within the believers (Gal. 5:17; cf. 1 Pet. 2:11). Amalek was a descendant of Esau (Gen. 36:12), Jacob’s twin brother. This indicates that the flesh is very close to our regenerated being, signified by Jacob. Esau was born first and Jacob second, indicating that the flesh is of the first man, the old man. (Exo. 17:8, footnote 1)

　　Amalek was the first enemy encountered by the children of Israel on the way to the good land (Deut. 25:17-18; 1 Sam. 15:2). This indicates that our flesh is the first among all our enemies. The flesh, sin, the world, and Satan are all related, but the most prominent among them in fighting against the believers is the flesh (Gal. 5:17). When in our experience the flesh is put to death (Gal. 5:24; Rom. 8:13), the world cannot hold us, sin cannot operate in us, and Satan is powerless to work on us. Amalek’s purpose in attacking Israel was to frustrate them from entering the good land. Likewise, Satan’s aim in stirring up the flesh to fight against us is to keep us from entering into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as our good land (see footnote 1 on Deut. 8:7). (Exo. 17:8, footnote 2)

　　Why did God determine to exterminate Amalek and to have war with him from generation to generation? It is because Amalek in the Bible typifies our flesh. Esau and Jacob were twins, but their descendants, the Amalekites and the Israelites, were mutual enemies…. Likewise, our fleshly old man is very close to our spiritual new man; the two are also mutual enemies and cannot stand together. The fact that God would have war with Amalek shows us how God hates the flesh and desires to exterminate it. If the flesh is not exterminated and there is no dealing with it, our spiritual life will have no way to grow. The two can never compromise or coexist.

　　When Saul became the king of Israel, God commanded him to smite the Amalekites, destroy all that they had, and not spare them (1 Sam. 15). However, Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep and of the oxen. All that was good he did not utterly destroy, but everything that was despised and worthless he utterly destroyed. Since Saul did not absolutely obey the command of God, he forfeited God’s favor and lost his throne. This indicates that if man does not absolutely reject the flesh but retains what is good and honorable in the sight of man, he cannot please God, because between God and the flesh there is no compromise.

　　In the book of Esther, Mordecai chose to die rather than to bow down to Haman, an Agagite, the descendant of Agag, the Amalekite. Because Mordecai withstood firmly to the end, he pleased God and also brought deliverance to the Jews. This is further proof that only when we do not give in to the flesh, even unto death, can we please God and become fitting vessels for Him. God and the flesh cannot exist together! (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” pp. 371-372)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 11; Life-study of Romans, msg. 50