Who Were the AMALEKITES? The Only Nation God Ordered Wiped Off the Face of the Earth

 

 Who Were the AMALEKITES? The Only Nation God Ordered Wiped Off the Face of the Earth

AI

Dubbed

Bíblia Viva

Sep 10, 2026  Great Bible Stories

Who were the Amalekites, and why did God order that people erased from the face of the earth? In this video you'll discover the complete history of the only nation in the Bible to receive a sentence of total destruction — from the unexpected origin of Amalek as Esau's grandson and the son of a concubine named Timna, through the cowardly ambush at Rephidim against the elderly, the women and the children walking at the rear of Israel, all the way to the final judgment four hundred years later. You'll understand why Moses commanded that it be written in a book so it would never be forgotten, what really happened when Aaron and Hur held up his arms on the hilltop, and why King Saul lost his crown, his kingdom and his own bloodline for sparing a single life in the middle of that order. We'll also follow the battle of Ziklag, the Egyptian servant abandoned in the desert by his own master, the meaning of the word Agagite in the book of Esther, and the astonishing way this account stayed unsettled for nearly a thousand years until it was closed inside the palace of Persia. At the end, we face the hardest question in the whole passage head-on: what about the children? A story of rejection, revenge, divine patience and judgment that spans thirty-five centuries and still says something about how we treat the weakest among us today.

If this story moved you, leave a like, subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss the next videos, and consider becoming a member to support this work.

The First King of Israel

Chapter 59

The First King of Israel

[This chapter is based on 1 Samuel 8 to 12.]

THE government of Israel was administered in the name and by the authority of God. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had given; they had no authority to legislate for the nation. This was, and continued to be, the condition of Israel's existence as a nation. From age to age men inspired by God were sent to instruct the people and to direct in the enforcement of the laws.

The Lord foresaw that Israel would desire a king, but He did not consent to a change in the principles upon which the state was founded. The king was to be the vicegerent of the Most High. God was to be recognized as the Head of the nation, and His law was to be enforced as the supreme law of the land.

When the Israelites first settled in Canaan they acknowledged the principles of the theocracy, and the nation prospered under the rule of Joshua. But increase of population and intercourse with other nations brought a change. The people adopted many of the customs of their heathen neighbors and thus sacrificed to a great degree their own peculiar, holy character. Gradually they lost their reverence for God and ceased to prize the honor of being His chosen people. Attracted by the pomp and display of heathen monarchs, they tired of their own simplicity. Jealousy and envy sprang up between the tribes. Internal dissensions made them weak; they were continually exposed to the invasion of their heathen foes, and the people were coming to believe that in order to maintain their standing among the nations, the tribes must be united under a strong central government. As they departed from obedience to God's law, they desired to be freed from the rule of their divine Sovereign; and thus the demand for a monarchy became widespread throughout Israel.

Since the days of Joshua the government had never been conducted with so great wisdom and success as under Samuel's administration invested with the threefold office of judge, prophet, and priest, he had labored with untiring and disinterested zeal for the welfare of his people, and the nation had prospered under his wise control. Order had been restored, and godliness promoted, and the spirit of discontent was checked for the time. But with advancing years the prophet was forced to share with others the cares of government, and he appointed his two sons to act as his assistants. While Samuel continued the duties of his office at Ramah, the young men were stationed at Beersheba, to administer justice among the people near the southern border of the land.

It was with the full assent of the nation that Samuel had appointed his sons to office, but they did not prove themselves worthy of their father's choice. The Lord had, through Moses, given special directions to His people that the rulers of Israel should judge righteously, deal justly with the widow and the fatherless, and receive no bribes. But the sons of Samuel "turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." The sons of the prophet had not heeded the precepts which he had sought to impress upon their minds. They had not copied the pure, unselfish life of their father. The warning given to Eli had not exerted the influence upon the mind of Samuel that it should have done. He had been to some extent too indulgent with his sons, and the result was apparent in their character and life.