In our discussion of the identity of Amalek, there is another fascinating story from the Torah that sheds much light on this topic.
Do you remember Balaam?
He was that pagan prophet from Mesopotamia who was hired by King Balak to curse Israel when they were about to enter his territory.
This event took place about 400 years before the time of Samuel.
Long story short, due to God’s intervention, Balaam ended up blessing instead of cursing Israel.
And one of the enemies he cursed was Amalek.
Here’s the scripture reference.
“He saw ‘Amalek and
made this pronouncement:
‘First among nations was ‘Amalek,
but destruction will be its end.'”
-Numbers 24:20
Since this verse is so profound and significant, let’s dig into the original Hebrew a little bit here.
The part where it says, “First among nations was Amalek”, it’s much better and more accurate if we translate it as “First among gentiles was Amalek.”
Let’s dig even deeper.
The phrase “first among” is RESHIT in Hebrew.
Does that sound familiar to you?
It should be because it’s the opening words from the first chapter of Genesis: BERESHIT or “in the beginning”.
So, we get “the beginning of the Gentiles“…
Or, “the beginning of the gentile nations“…
Now let’s examine the phrase, “but destruction will be its end”.
Honestly, that ain’t the best translation in the world.
Let’s take a look at how some other Bible versions render the verse.
The NIV says…
“Then Balaam saw Amalek
and spoke his message:
‘Amalek was first among the nations,
but their end will be utter destruction.'”
Other versions will say “shall be last until he perishes”, “its destiny is destruction!”, “his latter end shall come to destruction” and so on with many similar variations.
Now, the Hebrew word which is being translated as “latter end” or “shall be last” etcetera is AHARIT.
Literally, AHARIT means the end.
It is the exact opposite of RESHIT.
AHARIT is the end and RESHIT is the beginning.
So the declaration is that while Amalek may have been the first of the gentile nations, their end will be divine destruction.
But things get even more fascinating when we examine the specific grammatical form of the word AHARIT being used in this verse.
It is AHARITO which literally means “those who are remaining” or the “remnant”.
So the nuance being pushed forward here is that Amalek is the original seed of the gentile nations, but in the end days, every last one of them that remains will be utterly destroyed forever.
That is the Biblical and prophetic pattern of Amalek.
They represent Gentiles who are and have always been the enemy of Israel.
That is why God has reserved ALL gentiles for destruction.
And yes, I have deliberately used and emphasized the word “all”.
Ever since God divided the planet into Jews and Gentiles, a gentile is a natural enemy of God from birth.
The same cannot be said of a Hebrew, in fact, the opposite is true.
However, while gentiles may be reserved for destruction, they are NOT doomed to destruction.
There is a way out to avoid being judged by God and eternally destroyed.
The solution is you’ve gotta JOIN Israel…
And leave behind your evil and uncircumcised gentile identity forever.
That’s basically the gospel message in a nutshell…
But you’ve probably never heard it expressed that way before.
The gentile who accepts the God of Israel is spiritually joined to Israel.
Once you are grafted in, from God’s perspective, your spiritual status has changed…
And you have just spared yourself the doomed fate God has reserved for all unbelieving Gentiles on the planet who are represented by Amalek
Ya feel me?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, remember that formerly you
who are Gentiles by birth and called
“uncircumcised” by those who call
themselves “the circumcision”
(which is done in the body by human hands)—
remember that at that time you
were separate from Messiah,
excluded from citizenship in Israel
and foreigners to the covenants
of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world.
But now in Messiah Yeshua you who
once were far away have been
brought near by the blood of Messiah.”
-Ephesians 2:11-13
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