“I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

Part 3 First Samuel 15–17

In addition to the Exodus 17:8-16 and the Numbers 24:20 account of Amalek, the next reference to him occurs in Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.” In giving this third revelation, God revealed how Amalek cowardly went after the stragglers, and then the core issue: “he did not fear God.” It is evident that God speaks in reference to what He had previously promised in Exodus 17, saying that this would be from “generation to generation.” It is also in keeping with His promise in Genesis 12:3 to “bless those who bless you/curse those who curse you.” God strongly warned the people “you must not forget” to execute His promised vengeance on them.

It is important to note that by the time Deuteronomy was written, the mostly wicked wilderness generation had died as God had promised (Num. 14), with their children poised and ready to enter into the land that God had promised them. However, as with their parents, while the Genesis 12:3 promise God gave would hold true, the nation was still under covenant obligation to obey God. As with Leviticus 26, so is true in Deuteronomy 28, that any Israeli generation would have either the blessing of God or His curse. Whenever you see “the blessing and the curse” (e.g. Deut. 30:1), it is a specific reference to Deuteronomy 28: the blessing (Deut. 28:1-14), and the curse (Deut. 28:15-68). As with Leviticus 26, it contains an invitation for Israel to obey God and He would bless them in every way, including massive crops (Deut. 28:8-12), and as before, give military victories over all their foes (Deut. 28:7). In the same manner, the curse section for national disobedience included famine (Deut. 28:23-24) and certain military defeat (Deut. 28:20-22). So from Leviticus 26/Deuteronomy 28 onward under the Mosaic Covenant, the nation of Israel had only two options set before them. In fact, these chapters help us understand Scripture once you realize their importance, because they tell you how the nation was doing before God. For example, when there was a famine in the land (Ruth 1:1), this was not due to some quirk of the weather system; this was God specifically bringing about one of the curses He had promised He would send. So in the same manner, whenever there was national military victory, such as Jericho (Joshua 6), it shows that the people walked in obedience. Likewise when Achan sinned by taking things under the ban, the nation failed (Josh. 7). Once covenant obedience was restored, God granted His promised victory (Josh. 8). On and on this repeats itself throughout the remainder of the Mosaic Covenant. Whether Israel failed or won in battle reveals whether the nation walked in obedience to God or not. When they failed, the core problem was never a military one—it was an obedience to God problem.

It is with this background that we come to First Samuel 15-17. Saul was reigning as Israel’s first king, when, in keeping with Exodus 17:8-16 and Deuteronomy 25:17-19, God commanded the following by means of His holy prophet: “Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘The LORD sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”’” We should note that God Himself said, “I will punish Amalek.” Saul was merely a means God chose to do His work. You can read the chapter and see that Saul did not fully do what God had commanded him and how the kingdom was torn from him. Basing his rebuke on Numbers 23:19, Samuel denounced Saul for his disobedience to fully carry out God’s specific command: “And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (1 Sam. 15:29). First Samuel 16 shows that David was anointed as the replacement king and that “the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward” (1 Sam. 16:13), but “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Sam. 16:14).
With the king and the kingdom living in disobedience to Yahweh, it is not surprising that when the Philistines gathered with Goliath against Israel (1 Samuel 17), the nation could not defeat them (just as Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 had promised). Just to give you an idea of the sad spiritual condition of the people, we should note that God’s name is not mentioned in the chapter until the young David does so. Notice how this man, empowered by the Spirit, accurately summed up the situation: “For who is this uncircumcised [outside of the covenant of God] Philistine [part of the nations/Gentiles], that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26). Interestingly, once God’s name was evoked, Goliath’s name never occurs in the text again, being usually referred to quite generically as “the Philistine.” Goliath cursed David, God’s anointed king, by his gods (1 Sam. 17:43). David stayed true to both God and His promises: “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’s…” (1 Sam. 17:45-47).

Modern usage has so messed up this the truth of this story. This is no upset of the underdog against a massively stronger foe; this is God Almighty being true to His Word, that if the nation walked in obedience to Him, their enemies—even the big ones—would fall by God’s doing and in keeping with this covenant faithfulness. Obviously, Genesis 12:3 applied as much to Goliath and the Philistines as it did for Amalek or any other Gentile foe, and was still in effect and operative when David defeated Goliath and the Philistines. This clearly shows that God’s promise to bless/curse had not been fulfilled and done away with by this time. Also, technically speaking, the Numbers 24:9 “bless you/curse you” does not apply here since the Messiah was not yet present, and it was not the end of the days. However, King David, from whose linage the Messiah would ultimately be born, was present. 

Amalek was the first of the nations to attack Israel (Num. 24:20). So, who will be the last? 

Part 4 The Fulfillment of Numbers 24 (The Return of the Lord)

Both Isaiah and Ezekiel contain large sections of prophecies of divine judgment on the Gentiles who had attacked Israel. So not only do both prophets have large sections denouncing the sin of Judah/Israel, but also in keeping with Genesis 12:3, all the nations listed for judgment had previously attacked Israel. We should not be surprised by this time that God will do what He had promised concerning the enemies of Israel. However, God’s judgment of Israel occurred first, and while there were some aspects of a near judgment for the individual nations, both prophets looked past the immediate setting to the eschatological judgment God had promised. The Isaiah 13–23 section is followed immediately by the Isaiah 24–27 portion of Scripture, which is often called “The Apocalypse of Isaiah,” because so many of the events there parallel what God would later reveal in the Book of Revelation. 

Within these prophecies against the Gentiles, two particular enemies of Israel are given special emphasis: Babylon (Isaiah 13-14) and Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28), a coastal city north of Israel and usually associated with its neighbor Sidon. Each of these sections has many similarities. First, both prophecies address the nation itself (Isa. 13; Ezek. 26-27), followed by a chapter that addresses a specific leader as well (Isa. 14; Ezek. 28). Second, both chapters address a specific Gentile human leader, but also contain revelation from God about Satan (Isa. 14:12-16; Ezek. 28:11-19). It should not be surprising that God can address the human enemy and then merge to the ultimate enemy, because He did the same thing in the curse of Genesis 3:15, with both the physical serpent and the serpent of old (Rev. 12:9) being present there. Third, while dealing with specific nations and leaders, both chapters include other Gentile enemies of Israel. Finally—and this is important—both chapters contain a promise of God that He will regather Israel at some point in the future. Isaiah 14:1 begins, “When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel,” and continues, “And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon” (Isa. 14:3-4). Ezekiel 28 concludes with this promise from God: “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know thatI am the LORD their God.’”

We should expect from Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, where God reveals future judgments on two nations who had cursed Israel, that this would be in keeping with Genesis 12:3. But even beyond this, every Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24 will then be fulfilled when these prophetic events transpire. As we saw in Numbers 24, the Messiah will judge the nations (Num. 24:8-9) “in the end of the days” (Num. 24:14), as “One from Jacob will have dominion” and crush the adversaries (Num. 24:17-19). And since God reveals in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that Satan’s ultimate judgment connects with God regathering His people Israel back to their land, it should not surprise us that Satan by no means wants anyone to know this and will go to great lengths to have people not know it or believe it. 

Ezekiel 28 also contains references to judgment on both Tyre and Sidon, which is important because Jesus used this as an example to those in Galilee who had rejected His teaching. Note the future relevance of Jesus as He referred to what Ezekiel 28 promises: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you” (Matt. 11:21-22). So obviously, by this time the ultimate judgment on Tyre and Sidon had not yet occurred. Also—and this is important—at the midpoint of the Tribulation, God will bring Israel back into covenant obedience with Himself, and as repeatedly seen throughout Scripture, once the Jewish people return to covenant obedience to Him, God Himself will go out and fight for them instead of against them (Zech. 12–14).

We have previously seen the importance of Numbers 24:20: “Amalek was the first of the [Gentile] nations [who attacked Israel and her Messiah after the Exodus], but his end shall be destruction.” This verse gives rise to a couple of very important and connected questions to ponder. To begin with, if “Amalek was the first nations,” then who are the last of the nations? And connected with this and put another way, when did the blessing and curse of Genesis 12:3 end and find its fulfillment? This is a tremendously important question to consider because, as you are well aware, Replacement Theology teaches that God has completely done away with Israel in His program and that Israel has no future part in God’s plans. If this is true, then they should be able to show in Scripture specifically where God stopped “blessing those who bless you and cursing the one who curses you.” But there are no such verses in the Bible that show this; in fact, there are hundreds that show just the opposite.

However, the Bible is very specific as to whom the last of the nations will be who curses both Israel and God’s Messiah. Let’s follow the trail through Scripture. 

The blessing and the curse of both Genesis 12:3 and Numbers 24:9, directly applies as well to the Gentiles who will trample under foot God’s temple during the Tribulation (Rev. 11:1-2); to Satan, who will be cast from heaven either at the beginning or the midpoint of the Tribulation and will wage war against Israel (Rev. 12:7-17); and to the Antichrist and False Prophet (Rev. 13). When the LORD returns in glory to judge His adversaries (Rev. 19:11-18), all the enemies of Israel and her Messiah are picked off one at a time and collectively: the Antichrist and False Prophet (Rev. 19:19-20), hostile Gentiles alive at the end of the Tribulation (Rev. 19:21), and Satan, who will be bound for a thousand years during the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20:1-3). Therefore, and in keeping with a literal understanding of the promises of God, the blessing and the curse still have future relevance to the enemies of Jesus and the Jewish people.

But there is one more account we need to consider.

After the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be released “to deceive the nations [Gentiles]” to wage war against Jesus and Jerusalem in the final world rebellion (Rev. 20:7-9). However, these collective enemies only get to assemble for battle—and this is important—because when Messiah reigns, there will be no end of peace (Isa. 9:7) and, as part of the promises of the New Covenant, Jerusalem will never again be plucked up or overthrown forever (Jer. 31:38-40). This is the final rebellion of the nations—and of Satan—as the LORD will destroy them all, just as He had previously and repeatedly promised. 

No enemy of God and His people—not even one, including Satan and his demons—will escape the curse that God has promised. This should not surprise us because, after all, “Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19).


Website for Dr. Harris:www.glorybooksministry.org

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