Part Seven: Jehovah-Nissi, My Banner
So far we have looked at:
Elohim: Creator, Covenant Making Father, Character of Trinity
Jehovah: Revealed Revelation, Promise of Real Relationship, Redeemer
El Shaddai: the Almighty over Nature, Almighty to Nourish, Almighty to
Nurture
Adonai: Right Relationship of Slave and Master; Right Relationship with the Lord: Our Rights to Relinquish
Jehovah-Jireh: The one who sees and provides
Jehovah Raphe: The one who heals physically, emionally, spiritually.
Today we’re going to look at Jehovah-nissi, God your banner! We’re going to discover that He not only helps us in difficult times but He brings us victory when we keep our eyes on Him.
Use in the OT
Like many of the compound names of God, this one is attached to an historical event too.
What have the people of Israel been through so far? It’s a few weeks since Marah, the place where God revealed Himself as Jehovah-rophe, God the healer. They went from there to Elim, a place of refreshing. From there they went to the Desert of Sin where they complained against Moses because there was no food.
There God appeared and manna fell from heaven and they were fed through their time in the wilderness.
They then come to Rephidim where there was no water (Ex. 17:1). At Marah there were bitter waters, but here there is no water at all! When they are under pressure of thirst they forget the great things God had already done for them. Bit like us really, we love the times of blessing but when the pressure’s on we thing that God has abandoned us!
They question God, Ex.17: 7: And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Have you ever questioned Him like that? But Moses struck the rock (under God’s direction) and then water flows from the rock!
But then the enemy comes in and attacks!
Exodus 17: 8-16: Exodus 17: 8 -16: The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
What Does the Rod Signifiy?
A banner in the OT times was not always a flag! In fact it was more likely to be a rod with a bright shining ornament on the end that would catch the sunlight.
Illustration: Ben loves a series of x-box games called Halo. It’s a battle game where you try and take the flag of the opposing team. In fact he has a t-shirt that reads, “Whilst you are reading this I am stealing your flag!”
I want to focus on this name Jehovah-Nissi. Now Nissi is from the Hebrew word Nec (nace) and means a rod, standard, flag, a signal, a sail, a banner, Jehovah Nissi therefore means literally the “Lord is my banner.”
Read Ex 17:8: The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
Now here is the context to the story – Moses and the People of Israel had just escaped from Slavery in Egypt and they were facing their first major challenges.
You need to remember that it is estimated that there was probably over 2 million people in this travelling party – heading out into the desert in search of a better life.
What was going to be their first challenge in a hot, dry, parched, desert – water. And so God provided them with water – in Chapter 15.
What else would you need in a barren, desolate, arid, treeless desert? Food. Where would you get food to feed 2 million people? They grumble – God provided food – manna and quails and they were content (Ex 16).
Well it seems as though this road trip is going to be easy – water on tap every time they complained loud enough and food every day – what else did they need?
Well for one thing, they needed protection. In Chapter 17 we read that the next big challenge after food and water was raiding parties from other nations.
The Amalekites were a nation who lived in the desert. They were they were cousins of the Israelites. You see Abraham had a son, Isaac. Isaac had 2 sons – Jacob and Esau. Esau was the eldest, but sold his birth right to Jacob for a bit of lentil stew. Jacob had 12 sons, from them we get the 12 tribes of Israel who had multiplied in Egypt, become slaves and now were wandering around the desert.
Esau had several sons also. The eldest was Eliphaz and one of his sons was Amalek. So Amalek was a third cousin to Dan, Judah, Benjamin and Joseph and all the other brothers.
Jacob had the birthright that rightly belonged to Esau and I’d guess that Esau’s children and grandchildren were a bit peeved about this. This would have no doubt created some rather tense relationships and so it is not surprising to see the Amalekites coming up to make war on the Israelites.
Had they sat back and realised it though, they would have known that because they were descended from Abraham, the promises given to him were also meant for them if they had followed Jehovah like Abraham.
But Amalek didn’t remember this and instead attacked Israel. It wasn’t a full frontal attack initially, it was more like raiding parties, picking off the weak and elderly that couldn’t keep up with the rest of the pack (Deut 25:17-19).
Attacking God’s chosen ones always draws God’s wrath and so Moses ordered for the army to gather and went out to attack Amalek.
While they fought in the valley, Moses stood up on the hill overlooking the valley and while he kept the staff of God raised in the air, the Israelites were on top. But when he became tired and put his arms down, the battle turned and the Amalekites started to gain control.
In the end of the day, Hur and Aaron who were with him made him sit down and they held up his arms until the battle was won.
I want you to notice a couple of things about this account.
- Great Battles are Won by the Great God
It was God who won this battle not Joshua, Moses, the Israelites or even the staff.
The personalities in this story were not important. Moses was a shepherd who had been enlisted to lead the people of Israel our of Egypt, He had not power in himself, he was only the mouthpiece of God. Moses didn’t win this battle.
The Israelites, didn’t even hold the key to this battle. They fought all day against the Amalekites and often it seemed they were on the losing side. They didn’t win this battle.
And don’t think that that staff Moses held had anything magical about it. I know I can see some of you thinking, “Where can I get my hands on one of those.”
It was a bit of wood, nothing special about it at all.
The important thing was not what it was, but what it was being used for. God was at work when Moses held his arm up. He was active when Moses reached out seeking his help.
It was a lesson for Moses and all of Israel that they had to come in subjection and humility before God, relying on him and him alone.
Only when Moses held up his arms – as if calling on God and surrendering himself to God - could God act.
When he forgot about God or grew tired and dropped his arms God was not able to work.
God is a powerful God who can influence what happens in this world and when we feel that we are under attack, God is always there to help us. He will do the fighting for us if only we are open to Him and rely on Him.
Every army, the world over fights under a flag. The flag has no power in itself, but it signifies that the soldiers who are fighting have behind them one whose power and resources are at their disposal.
If we are Christians, we can fly God’s flag or banner because we have at our disposal all of God’s strength and resources.
I don’t know what you are going through or who or what your Amalek is, but God does and providing you are flying His banner and relying on Him he will be there to fight with you.
If you lock Him out of your life though and trying to do things in your own strength – flying your own flag, He can’t work. Whose flag are you flying – Your own or God’s?
Remember that when you do finally overcome, give the Glory where it belongs – to God.
2. Great Battles are Ground Out
Notice that the victory wasn’t a quick one.
Don’t think that just because you are flying God’s banner, that the battle with Amalek is going to be a quick one. The Israelites battled the Amalekites till sunset - it was a long and exhausting battle, but they had to just keep going.
Each of us, have that little temptation which comes back again and again. It is like Amalek, trying to hit us where we are weakest. Usually the battle to overcome temptations like these are long and hard.
Just because we are Christians, God doesn’t promise to give us an easy life. He promises instead to be with us and to help us through anything we may come up against. We’ve got to be prepared for the long haul.
3. Great Battles Need Great Friends
Don’t neglect the support of your Christian Friends.
Who stepped up to help Moses when he got tired? Some of his close friends. Friends are important people and Christian Friends are even more important.
I’m not saying to ignore our non-Christian friends; we need to try to develop good relationships with them so we can show them faith in Jesus is real.
We need to have a couple of close Christian friends also. We all need the support and encouragement of other Christians when things get tough. They can help us fly the banner, they can stand with us and help us set the standard.
So join a Lifegroup, accept the call from the Pastoral Companion, come to church, but get connected!
We also need to make sure that we are fighting the right battles in the right places.
We cannot expect God to bless us if we are fighting the battles to gain our own personal preference of to allow our comfort to succeed.
Make sure that you are not on the fringe of things where the enemy can pick you off.
Wrapping it up:
Be aware that the battles we face a never easy.
Be aware that above it is a banner that we will be able to see above the noise of the battle.
Be aware that there are people around you to help you win the right battles.
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