Amalek was a grandson of Esau, who was the brother to Jacob, renamed "Israel" by God. Hence, the "Edomites" of which this tribe was, were the natural enemies of Israel because by the law of primogeniture, Canaan would have belonged to Esau. Because Jacob procured Esau's birthright, God's plan for Israel was fulfilled. It was part of the Abrahamic Covenant as the place - Israel, and the seed - the person "Israel", from which the Messiah would come.
As the Israelites (Jacob's line) entered the promised land, Amalek was there to prevent it. That was his mistake. Let us look at the story:
Exodus 17:9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.The "discomfited" in verse 13 means "defeated". However, God's intent was for them to be wiped out (Deuteronomy 25:19). That didn't happen. To this day, Edomites (the lines of Esau) still terrorize Israel. Right this instant, Israel's existence is still threatened because the Amalekites and other Edomites were not exterminated! Does God sound so bad or was He just being pragmatic? The Amalekites in Holy Scripture, as atheists, represented evil. Today, their evilness still exists in the pagan worship of Mohammad.
Ironically, Amalek, unknowingly, was attempting to destroy Jesus. If the seed of Abraham entering "paradise" was wiped out, God's covenant with Abraham would have never been fulfilled. Who knew that? Satan knew! The Israelites conquered, and Jesus was born, ministered, died, was resurrected, and still lives because these evil people were defeated.
Let's add a little more irony: The Hebrews were about to die. They were ready to mutiny against Moses and God. The Israelites always looked back to their comparative comfort in Egypt, even as slaves, and murmured against Moses and God from freeing them from bondage.
In Egypt, representing sin, Pharaoh, representing Satan, they perceived that they were better off. They didn't hunger or thirst there even though they were in bondage, working by "the sweat of their brow", the consequence of Adam's sinfulness. They were little better, if not worse, than the Amalekites? However, as God's chosen people, he had mercy on them: In chapter 16 he fed them with manna from heaven. That manna represents the body of Christ, who Is the Bread Of Life.
In chapter 17, still murmuring, although relieved from hunger, they still thirsted. God came through again. He gave them "living water" - symbolically, the Holy Spirit. Moses added to what God said, and was later penalized by never reaching the promised land. (He tapped twice, adding a little Moses to the mercy God had already done). That lesson was for the ages - God doesn't need us to dispense His grace; He is Almighty and can do it alone! (Moses never made it to the promised land.)
After receiving the bread of life and living water, the Israelites were "safe". Their desire to return to "sin" and "Satan" - Egypt and the Pharaoh, receded. Stronger physically and spiritually, they bravely fought the Amalekites. This time, Moses after learning his lesson - that he is not God, did it God's way. Scripture doesn't say that God gave Moses instructions on how to fight, but obviously he was divinely inspired. He had learned from his error when he defied God by tapping on the rock twice to get water instead of once.
For the battle, Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill overlooking the plain of Rephidim. Moses took something with him! He took the Rod of God. That is the same Rod which defeated sin back in Egypt, and that was not by the power of Moses but of God!
Moses became the instrument of God. When he raised his hand, the Israelites prevailed. When he tired and lowered his arm, the Amalekites did. In time, Moses tired. They took up a stone, a natural one - unhewn, the same type of which altars to God were made, and Moses sat on God's "throne" with God's staff in hand. Because he tired, Aaron and Hur, one on each side, raised Moses's arms until the Amalekites were defeated.
What's this got to do with Jesus? The Israelites were fighting for "Jesus's sake" - that the covenant would be fulfilled. God gave them the body of Jesus with the bread, and the Spirit of Jesus with the water, and now they were to trust Jesus to fight their "sin" - Amalek for them! Moses had faith. He took the Rod of God, sat on the altar of God, and depended on the power of God!
Did you see Moses when you read this scripture? He was a "picture" of Jesus. There Moses sat on God's throne, at the right hand of God - the Rod, with both arms stretched out, accepting the power of God. This "scene" is a picture of Jesus on the cross taking all the sin of mankind on his own shoulders, thus the heaviness that Moses felt. Picture if you will, Jesus there with outstretched arms. Moses's faith in the coming of the Messiah was that strong. He was pre-incarnate Jesus who was fighting sin - the atheistic Amalekites for Israel, and in the end, for mankind!
If the Israelites had lost that day, Jesus would have never been. God's will - the Messiah, would have been stopped that day in Rephidim if Jesus had not been represented by Moses. If the Israelites had lost that battle, there would have been no cross on which to propitiate our sins because Jesus would have been aborted at Rephidim. Symbolically, those Amalekites who were also loved by Jesus, suffered there own blood because they had no faith in God. The contrite thief on one side of the cross represented the Israelites and those of all time who have/had faith in Christ. The Amalekites were represented by the thief who scorned, and died forever on Calvary that day on the other side of the outstretched arms of Jesus.
Do you see? Amalek could have been saved by not attacking the will of God - represented by the Abrahamic Covenant. Moses looked toward Jesus for salvation. God gave him a picture of Jesus on the cross. The Israelites were saved by the grace and power of Jesus. The Amalekites died because they didn't kneel at the cross of Moses that day. Moses was a picture of Jesus, and is noted for that.
Moses name means "to draw out", of the water obviously, because he was drawn out of the water by Pharoah's daughter. Moses was spared for a purpose: to save the Israelites from sin - Egypt, and to save the Jews for posterity for their seed - Jesus Christ.
When reading Scripture, one only need ask, "What's this got to do with Jesus?" Somehow, everything in scripture is about Jesus. You need only look for it.
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