theology

Is God still at war with Amalek?

After they are defeated by the Israelites at Rephidim, God promises unending judgement on Amalek in Exodus 17:

14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.ESV

The reason for the judgement and the form of the judgement are given in slightly more detail in Deuteronomy 25:

17“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget. ESV

What I find difficult to understand is how ‘the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation’ if their memory has been blotted out from under heaven. Am I missing the Hebrew idiom here? Is one or other of the statements not to be taken literally, and if so, which one?

Unproductive Prayers :: By Edwin Tan

Unproductive Prayers :: By Edwin Tan

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). The MAGA drumbeat that characterized the forty-fifth President’s term in the United States of America enveloped a sizeable number of practicing Christians. No questions asked; there was a significant rollback of many of the policies […]

The post Unproductive Prayers :: By Edwin Tan appeared first on Rapture Ready.

3 NEW Pentecostal Theology Books

Speaking in Tongues: Jesus and the Apostolic Church as Models for the Church Today Paperback by Robert Menzies ‘In 2013 Robert Menzies published the award-winning…

Death of Denominations

“Death of Denominations” article in The Progressive Christian Nov/Dec 2008 Anglican Communion suspending the Episcopal Church reminds of this study on the “Death of…