Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 15:2, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.’”
What was so egregious before God that He is now choosing to wipe out an entire nation? Well, in order to understand this, we must go back to the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, when God called Abraham to, once again, leave his father’s house, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” Essentially, God promised that He would take vengeance on anyone who mistreated His people. Does that promise sound familiar? Romans 12:19 promises us, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” God is not slack when it comes to keeping His promises. The Amalekites were the first nation to attack Israel when they were being led out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 tells us, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.” This attack prompted this promise to Moses in Exodus 17:14-16, which was essentially the promise God made to Abraham, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, ‘Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’” The thing we must remember about God’s promises is that His timing is not ours. 2 Peter 3:8-9 reminds us, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” As much as this next statement might upset some of us who are waiting for God to exact vengeance on our behalf on someone who has really hurt us, the fact of the matter is that God gives room for those who hurt us or offend us to repent and turn to Him; the same mercy and grace we have enjoyed time after time. However, for those of us who have hurt someone else, know that there is a time coming when we will give an account for the wrong we have done. If you happen to be someone who does not know the LORD, then that Day of Judgment is coming when God will make all wrongs right, so the time to repent and call on Jesus is now. For those of us who have already been forgiven in Christ, there will be a day when our works will be judged and we stand to lose eternal reward. The Amalekites were given far more years than they deserved to get their sin right with God and Israel, but they refused. Humanly speaking, in Christ, we are called to forgive, and with time we experience healing. With God, there is no amount of time that passes that erases sin. It was the Amalekites time, in accordance with God’s timetable, to pay for their sinful actions against Israel. This serves as both a national and personal warning for all of us. As a nation, we must never put ourselves in the position where we are standing against God’s nation, Israel. All we have to do is read the end of the Book to see that this is true. Personally, as God’s children, it should encourage us to truly forgive and pray for those who make themselves our enemies. Even though we may not live to see God make the wrongs done to us made right, as the case was with Moses and the people who were led out of Egypt; nonetheless, we can rest assured that a time is coming when God will take vengeance on those who did evil to us, just as He did with the Amalekites.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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