In our discussion of the identity of the Amalekites, yesterday I concluded this arch-enemy of Israel was a descendant of Esau through his grandson Amalek.
However, check out this verse from Genesis Chapter 14:
“Next they turned back, came to ‘Ein-Mishpat (which is the same as Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the ‘Amaleki, and also the Emori, who lived in Hatzatzon-Tamar.”-Genesis 14:7
Hmm, interesting.
This means well before Esau’s son Eliphaz bore Amalek through his concubine, there was already a people group known as the Amalekites in existence.
What gives?
This group of people were already dwelling in the Canaanite desert right where we find them now in 1st Samuel 15 a couple of centuries later.
We also know for a fact the Horites were dwelling in the same territory…
Remember Amalek’s mother was a Horite.
So one possibility is that Esau’s grandson got his name Amalek because either his mother or father had developed close ties with the Amaleki.
It wasn’t unusual to name or dedicate a child after some clan, tribe, or god they worshipped.
However, this does present us with a thorny problem.
Who came first?
The Amalek people or the person named Amalek (Esau’s grandson)?
Or were the Amalekite people in Abraham’s time a totally different group than the Amalekites Saul was ordered to battle against?
We’re going to explore this issue deeper moving forward (and yes, this subject is important).
But for the time being, grasping this topic brings to light a very important Biblical principle.
I hazard to say this is a key principle a lot of folks don’t understand or don’t want to accept.
It is this:
God has split up the world’s population into two groups.
Those who are His…
And those aren’t His.
One is reserved for destruction…
The other isn’t.
One group is called Israel…
The other is called gentiles…
Wanna guess which group is reserved for destruction?
If you possess even an inkling of a basic understanding of the Scriptures, the answer to that question should be easy peasy.
We’ll continue with this discussion the next time we meet.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
-Matthew 15:24
Why does this article sound like you just hate the gentiles all of a sudden? the people who are not reserved for destruction is literally anyone who has a relationship with Jesus Christ, and the one reserved for destruction is the ones who does not have that relationship.
Hi Vaskar,
If that’s true, then I hate myself, because I’m a gentile.
Of course, you’re correct that anyone who accepts God’s son is grafted into Israel…
But that’s the point.
They are GRAFTED INTO ISRAEL…
Thus, in terms of spiritual status, they are no longer gentiles…
But I’m getting ahead of myself here…
“But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.”-Ephesians 2:13
“For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” Romans 2:28–29.
I don’t want to come across antagonistic, but Richoka is proving that he is “rightly diving the word of truth.” The apostle Paul, under the inspiration, direction and unction of the Holy Spirit taught the exact same idea all throughout Romans. Jesus Himself, in John 10:16, also made plain the “one fold/flock,” He said He would bring the Gentiles, who had not yet been allowed access, into the ONCE exclusively Jewish kingdom of God.
I’m NOT Jewish by the way, so I’m not trying to burden you with a Jewish identity. God, on the one hand, is not willfully ignorant to the ethnicity, nationality and skin color He gave us; by the same token, if He considers us “true spiritual Jews” because we believe in His Son, the Jewish people’s Messiah, World’s Savior, and Redeemer of Israel, then that’s prerogative…WE’RE STILL SAVED!
And please don’t forget Jesus was Jewish, is Jewish as He sits next to the Father, and will return the Jewish King of of the Jews – as He also rules over all the world “on Earth as in Heaven.”