17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget...
...This is, not to say of course, that individual Amalekites could not come to faith . There is always the problem of Old Testament versus New Testament back in that era; but the idea of salvation by grace alone through faith alone is one that is consistent throughout the entire Bible. It is not an idea that popped up in the New Testament and was foreign to the Old Testament.
What God is speaking up here is the Amalekites as a nation. He is speaking of that nation as a group contrasted with the Israelites as a group. They were cursed and were to be treated in such a fashion compared with Israel who were blessed.
Such a decision, admittedly is a "huge and momentous decision". But we must remember that that is not our decision! It is God's decision and it was made on what he considered to be a firm in adequate basis. You and I don't get to second guess that basis, no one does. He is God, the Ruler of all men, He gets to choose and to dispose of His creation as He sees fit and that is all there is to it. It doesn't have to be okay with anyone else.
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