Exodus 17:14, commentary and pictures

God directed Moses to preserve the defeat of Amalek in a written record and impress it upon Joshua, because He would completely wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Amalek had made an unprovoked attack on Israel on the way from Egypt, falling upon the faint and exhausted stragglers in the rear in open defiance of God and His deliverance of His people. That judgment was not confined to the battle at Rephidim but would continue as a war from generation to generation, to be executed by Israel after rest in the land and after a long delay in which Amalek refused to repent. The account was preserved for all who desire to do God's will, to teach that help and victory over enemies come from trusting the living God and serving Him as He directs. It reveals His jealous care for even the weakest of His children, for He sees and records every act of cruelty and oppression and punishes it with judgment, regarding with still greater displeasure professed believers who war against their own worn and wearied brethren.

Memorial Command and Setting

The Lord directed that the defeat of Amalek be written as a memorial in a book and rehearsed in the ears of Joshua, so that the event and its meaning would not be forgotten but preserved as a lasting record of the victory and of the promised end of Amalek's remembrance. The written memorial kept the announcement of Amalek's destruction before the people, and the repeating of it to Joshua ensured that he and those after him would remember both the attack and God's promise to erase Amalek from under heaven. The command marks the transition from Moses' work to Joshua taking his position, with the surrounding verses concerning those determined to have their own way.

Amalek attacked Israel on the way from Egypt without provocation, falling upon them when they were faint and weary. The assault struck the rear, targeting the weak and weary at the rear, the feeble and exhausted stragglers who had fallen behind the body of the people, and the weary and defenseless. It was a cowardly and cruel and treacherous attack that slew those unable to defend themselves on the wilderness journey.

In that attack Amalek showed no fear of God but defied Him. They mocked His mighty works and His deliverance of Israel from Egypt, boasted that their gods and their own power could overcome Him, and vowed to wipe out His people whom they despised. Their cruelty and defiance were therefore to be kept in lasting remembrance as the reason for the judgment pronounced against them.

Judgment Against Amalek

God promised to utterly put out and blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven, and commanded that the defeat be written for a memorial in a book and rehearsed in the ears of Joshua so the event and its meaning would not be forgotten. The record was to preserve both the memory of the treacherous attack and the announcement of destruction, to be carried out after Israel received rest in the promised land without forgetting the reason. The judgment was not limited to the battle at Rephidim, for the Lord declared He would wage war against Amalek and that the conflict would continue from generation to generation. Israel prevailed in that first battle as Moses relied on God's strength and sought God's help.

God appointed Israel itself, the people Amalek had despised, to bring about Amalek's end. Amalek had defied God, mocked His mighty works and deliverance of Israel from Egypt, boasted that its gods and power could overcome Him, and vowed to wipe out His people, and therefore God decreed their destruction. In making the downfall of that proud and powerful people come by the hand of those they had scorned, He made it a warning to all nations.

Israel was to execute the judgment as God's word, destroying Amalek and its possessions, not to gain wealth or glory or possessions for themselves. Saul's keeping alive what God had devoted to destruction therefore violated the command. The execution was delayed for four hundred years, during which Amalek persisted in wrongdoing and did not turn from its sins despite God's call to repentance, until the judgment was eventually carried out.

Care and Present Warning

The record of the victory was ordered to be written not only for the generation that saw it but for everyone in every age who desires to do God's will. Its lasting lesson is that help against enemies and victory over them come from God alone. Those who would share in that victory must trust the living God and serve Him according to His directions.

The command to write the defeat as a memorial reveals God's jealous care for the weakest of His children. Cruelty shown even to the weakest among His people is seen by Him, and every act of injustice and oppression against them is marked by Him. He keeps a faithful record of such deeds and meets cruelty with judgment, blotting out the remembrance of those who preyed on the exhausted, weak stragglers without fear of God.

If God so punished a heathen nation for attacking His weary and feeble people, He must regard with still greater displeasure those who profess to be His people yet make war upon their own worn and wearied brethren laboring in His cause. He will bring all their works into judgment, with every secret thing.