14 And the Lord said to Moses, Make a record of this in a book, so that it may be kept in memory, and say it again in the ears of Joshua: that all memory of Amalek is to be completely uprooted from the earth.
And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels.
And the Lord said to Moses, Put all these words in writing; for on them is based the agreement which I will make with you.
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the South and on Ziklag, and had overcome Ziklag and put it on fire;
Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever.
And this day is to be kept in your memories: you are to keep it as a feast to the Lord through all your generations, as an order for ever.
Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe?
Say now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, ruler of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the rest of the people, Who is there still among you who saw this house in its first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing?
The memory of the upright is a blessing, but the name of the evil-doer will be turned to dust.
You have given their towns to destruction; the memory of them has gone; they have become waste for ever.
His memory is gone from the earth, and in the open country there is no knowledge of his name.
Then Moses put down in writing all the words of the Lord, and he got up early in the morning and made an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
And he said to me, Who are you? And I said, I am an Amalekite. Then he said to me, Come here to my side, and put me to death, for the pain of death has me in its grip but my life is still strong in me. So I put my foot on him and gave him his death-blow, because I was certain that he would not go on living after his fall: and I took the crown from his head and the band from his arm, and I have them here for my lord. Then David gave way to bitter grief, and so did all the men who were with him: And till evening they gave themselves to sorrow and weeping, and took no food, weeping for Saul and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord and for the men of Israel; because they had come to their end by the sword. And David said to the young man who had given him the news, Where do you come from? And he said, I am the son of a man from a strange land; I am an Amalekite. And David said to him, Had you no fear of stretching out your hand to put to death the one marked with the holy oil? And David sent for one of his young men and said, Go near and put an end to him. And he put him to death. And David said to him, May your blood be on your head; for your mouth has given witness against you, saying, I have put to death the man marked with the holy oil.
Now after the death of Saul, when David, having come back from the destruction of the Amalekites, had been in Ziklag for two days;
And David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for these were the people who were living in the land from Telam on the way to Shur, as far as Egypt. And David again and again made attacks on the land till not a man or a woman was still living; and he took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing; and he came back to Achish.
And the Lord sent you on a journey and said, Go and put to the curse those sinners, the Amalekites, fighting against them till every one is dead.
And Saul made an attack on the Amalekites from Havilah on the road to Shur, which is before Egypt. He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, prisoner, and put all the people to the sword without mercy.
The Lord of armies says, I will give punishment to Amalek for what he did to Israel, fighting against him on the way when Israel came out of Egypt. Go now and put Amalek to the sword, putting to the curse all they have, without mercy: put to death every man and woman, every child and baby at the breast, every ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.
Then Moses put all this law in writing, and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who take up the ark of the Lord's agreement, and to all the responsible men of Israel.
Keep in mind what Amalek did to you on your way from Egypt; How, meeting you on the way, he made an attack on you when you were tired and without strength, cutting off all the feeble ones at the end of your line; and the fear of God was not in him. So when the Lord your God has given you rest from all who are against you on every side, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, see to it that the memory of Amalek is cut off from the earth; keep this in mind.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 17
Commentary on Exodus 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
Two passages of story are recorded in this chapter,
And these things which happened to them are written for our instruction in our spiritual journey and warfare.
Exd 17:1-7
Here is,
Exd 17:8-16
We have here the story of the war with Amalek, which, we may suppose, was the first that was recorded in the book of the wars of the Lord, Num. 21:14. Amalek was the first of the nations that Israel fought with, Num. 24:20. Observe,