As I was dressing one morning this week, I glanced at a flip calendar that sits on my dresser and it happened to be recounting some of the names of God. These names struck a chord within my heart and I sensed the Holy Spirit urging me to do a few issues of The Point on some of the names of God that really minister to me. This will fit well with my name remembrance exercises as I will focus on one name each Sunday and use it over and over, not only in that essay, but also in the subsequent posts during that week. I want to begin this week with Jehovah Nissi – The Lord is my Banner. This name for God is found in Exodus 17: 15 (HCSB). Take a peek at the context with me from verses 9-16.
Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us, and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.” Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put [it] under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword. The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.” He said, “Indeed, [my] hand is [lifted up] toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Notice in this passage that Moses held God’s staff in his hand and as long as his hands and God’s staff were raised, Joshua and the Israelites won the war with Amalek. What I want us to notice is that this battle was all about God. Joshua, Moses, Aaron, Hur, and the Israelite armies were simply vessels used by God, but the battle itself was about God. Moses knew this and wanted to make certain the Israelites knew it and remembered it. Nothing that he or they had done brought about victory. God’s presence and power assured the victory and it was only when the Lord went before the Israelites as their banner, their standard, the One to whom they looked for leadership, would they be victorious.
What battles are you fighting today? Is the battle you are in one that the Lord has chosen for you? Strange question, isn’t it? If Scripture is correct (and I believe it is), it appears that the Lord does choose certain battles for us to fight. Does He lead the way in your current battles as your Jehovah Nissi? Or is the battle you are in one of your own choosing? Are you fighting in your own strength? Are you struggling to hold your hands up so that you will be victorious in the battle? If Jehovah Nissi is leading the way in your struggle, then you are assured success, but if you are fighting your battle in your own strength, your defeat is imminent.
Where in your life do need Him to be Jehovah Nissi – the Lord my Banner – and go before you so that you can know victory?
