In the Bible, Amalek is the anti-Israel.
      Starting in Genesis, Amalek comes into the world as the grandson of Esau - Esau, Abraham’s grandson, Isaac’s son, and Jacob’s dangerous brother, Esau.
Esau is the man who thought so little of God’s blessing that he traded it for a pot of soup! His illegitimate but direct descendant Amalek bred and multiplied and became a family and then a nation: a jealous, cruel nation.
In the course of more than 100 generations, Amalek spread, like a virus. It shared its seed with every nation.Â
The theory of this blog piece is that, historically, not merely as metaphor but in a very real sense, Amalek exists as an infectious spirit: a contagious infestation of fierce jealousy, envy, injured pride and ultra-violence.
God created Israel as a force for holiness: Amalek is Israel’s opposite. Amalek is Israel’s destroyer.
Nazi Germany incarnated Amalek. From 1933 until May, 1945, Amalek ruled Germany. The German people became Amalek.
This is not to say that every single German in that time period became evil. Not at all: the Germans themselves suffered from the Nazis. Some Germans hated the Nazis and everything they stood for. Some Germans were good, even saintly people. But it’s still fair to say that, in that time period, the German people accepted Nazism. In other words, the spirit of Amalek infected the German people.
The Nazis infected the Arab world with the Amalek virus, and the same virus has now spread to much of the Muslim world. Again, some Arabs today and some Muslims today despise this evil, just as there were Germans who lived under Hitler and the swastika who hated Nazism. But it’s still fair to say that the spirit of Amalek infects the Arab world and that the spirit of Amalek infects Islam. And now Amalek - as the Nazis did - threatens the world.
Amalek hates Israel and all whom it associates with Israel. Amalek hates America.
Amalek is furiously jealous. Amalek attacked America and “the Jews” on 9/11. Amalek infects and has become Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda and Fatah and Hamas. Amalek cannot be appeased. Amalek threatens the world like the Nazis - the Muslim and Arab Amalekites’ recent predecessors - menaced the world.
Exodus 17:16: The Lord hath sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek in every generation (from generation to generation).
Israel is commanded to “blot out the memory of Amalek.”
The spirit of Amalek operates as the antithesis of and greatest hindrance to the manifestation of the reign of God in the world.
‘When will the name of these [Amalekites] be blotted out?’ asks the Midrash, the ancient rabbinic commentary on the Book of Exodus. ‘When idolatry is eradicated together with its worshippers, and God is recognized throughtout the world as One, and His kingdom is established for all eternity.’ (Midrash, Mechilta on Exodus, chapter 17)
In Deuteronomy 25, God commands Israel: Remember what Amalek did to you, on the way, when you were leaving Egypt: that he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindmost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G’d. . . You shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens - you shall not forget! (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)
Amalek appears in every generation. Not every evil character and not every enemy of Israel is Amalek. The Babylonians who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem weren’t Amalek, for instance. Neither were the Romans who destroyed the Second Temple. But the Edomites who called out to the Babylonians to “destroy, destroy” (as the Bible’s Writings record) were Amalek; the Nazis were Amalek, and the Arabs and Muslims who live jealous of Israel, who pray to a Jew-hating Allah, who furiously envy Israel: they are infected with the spirit of Amalek.
Al-Qaeda and the vicious terrorists who carried out the attacks on America “and on the Jews” on 9/11 are Amalek. By attacking America they hurt Jews and by attacking Jews they hurt America, they think.
Go the First Covenant Website to the August, 2006 Covenant Connection, the First Covenant Foundation’s monthly newsletter, to learn more about Amalek.
MD
http://1stcovenant.org/blog/?p=10