撒上十五7~9　　扫罗击打亚玛力人，…用刀灭绝亚玛力的众民。…却怜惜亚甲〔王〕，…并一切美物…凡下贱和无价値的，都灭绝了。

　　加五17　　…肉体纵任贪欲，抵抗那灵，那灵也抵抗肉体，二者彼此敌对，使你们不能作所愿意的。

　　撒上十五章记载扫罗在征服亚玛力人的事上不顺从。扫罗虽然征服了仇敌，但他完全不顺从神。扫罗在这里完全、彻底地被暴露，因而被神和撒母耳弃绝。这章包含我们今天该学的一个重要的功课。（撒母耳记生命读经，八九页。）

　　〔亚玛力〕意，好战。亚玛力人预表肉体，就是堕落旧人的总和。（加二16…。）亚玛力人和以色列人之间的争战，描绘信徒里面肉体和那灵之间的冲突。（加五17，参彼前二11。）亚玛力人是雅各孪生兄弟以扫的后代。（创三六12。）这指明肉体和我们重生的人（由雅各所表征）非常近。以扫生为头一个，雅各生为第二个，指明肉体属于头一个人，就是旧人。（圣经恢复本，出十七8注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)

　　亚玛力人是以色列人去美地的路上所遇到的第一个仇敌。（申二五17~18，撒上十五2。）这指明我们的肉体是在一切的仇敌当中为首的。肉体、罪、世界、和撒但都彼此关联，但与信徒争战时，其中最突出的乃是肉体。（加五17。）在我们的经历中，当肉体被治死时，（24，罗八13，）世界就无法扣留我们，罪就不能在我们里面运行，撒但也无力在我们身上作工。亚玛力人攻击以色列人的目的，是要拦阻他们进入美地。照样，撒但挑动肉体与我们争战，目的是要阻止我们完全享受包罗万有的基督作我们的美地。（见申八7注1。）（圣经恢复本，出十七8注2。）

　　神为何这样定规，要除灭亚玛力人，世世代代要和亚玛力人为敌呢？就是因为亚玛力人在圣经中，正是我们肉体的预表。…以扫与雅各乃是双生兄弟，但他们二人的后裔，就是亚玛力人与以色列人，却彼此为敌…。照样，我们属肉体的旧人，也紧贴着我们属灵的新人，二者也是彼此为敌，不能两立。所以神和亚玛力人为敌，誓不两立，就是表明神如何憎恶肉体，要将肉体除灭净尽。肉体若不除灭，若不对付，属灵的生命总无法长进，这二者是无法妥协并存的。

　　所以到了扫罗作以色列王的时候，神就吩咐他击打亚玛力人，灭尽他们所有的，不可有一点怜惜。（撒上十五。）但扫罗却怜惜了亚玛力王亚甲，也爱惜那上好的牛羊，并一切美物，不肯灭绝，只把那些下贱和无价值的，都灭绝了。扫罗这样不绝对遵守神的命令，结果就遭到神的厌弃，而失去了王位。这表明人若不绝对弃绝肉体，而保存那些人看为好与高贵的部分，就不能讨神喜悦，因为神和肉体是绝不妥协的。

　　到了以斯帖记，我们又看见末底改宁死不肯跪拜哈曼。哈曼乃是亚甲族人，就是亚玛力人亚甲的后裔。末底改始终不向他屈服，就蒙神喜悦，而救了犹大全族的人。这也是表明人只有至死不向肉体低头，才能蒙神喜悦，作神合用的器皿。神和肉体是誓不两立的！（生命的经历，二三八至二三九页。）

　　参读：撒母耳记生命读经，第十一篇；罗马书生命读经，第五十篇。

　　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