Sin: Your Worst Enemy
Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, - 2 Samuel 1:1
After David defeated the Amalekites and took back all the women, children and spoils, he returned to Ziklag, where he had been living with his men in the land of the Philistines. At this point, Israel had been defeated by the Philistines and Saul had been killed, along with his sons, but David did not know. He had been in his own battle, so he did not know about Israel’s defeat.
It is very important for us to understand; the Amalekites are a very important issue in the Scriptures. They are a type of the flesh. The Amalekites were introduced in Exodus 17, when the people of God were coming out of Egypt. They saw the weak Jews straggling behind in their journey through the wilderness and they attacked them; they attacked not the strong but the weak.
The enemy is always coming after the weak, just like our flesh—the old man. If we do not put to death our flesh—the old man—it will rise up when we are weak and cause us to fall. If you let your flesh survive, your flesh will kill you at the end. It will become your worst enemy.
David recognized his enemy and he put the Amalekites to death. We have to recognize our enemy and put it to death, because the appetites of the flesh will dominate your life and eventually destroy you if you allow it to remain.
It is one thing for sin to live in us;
it is another for us to live in sin.
~John Murray~
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