JEHOVAH NISSI - THE LORD OUR BANNER
“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi.” (Exodus 17:15)
After his confrontation with Pharaoh, Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness in the direction of the Promise Land. When they arrived at a place called Rephidim, they had no water and the people murmured against Moses accusing him of taking them out of Egypt to kill them. The Bible says that, “Therefore at Rephidim, the Israelites tempted God and even doubted His very presence among them.” (Exodus 17:7)
While they were camped in Rephidim, the Amalekites came against the children of Israel and Moses commanded Joshua to choose able men to go fight the Amalekites while he went up the mountain with the rod of God. ” So it came to pass that as Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 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. Joshua mowed down Amalekites with the edge of the sword.” After the battle had been won, the LORD told Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Am'alek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD is my banner. Jehovah Nissi.
A Banner is something that represents your belief. It can be a strip of material or it could be a placard. It could even be a newspaper headline, a flag of a nation or an army, etc. A banner proclaims your standard, your belief, your principles.
When Moses proclaimed Jehovah Nissi, he was saying several things: -
1) Our God is a Consistent God.
Moses declares that God is consistent, in other words you can trust Him you can rely on Him. In Deuteronomy 7:9, Moses says, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, The Faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” The consistent nature of God is referred to several times in the Bible. Before his death, Joshua, says of God. “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.” (Joshua 23:14). Years later, King Solomon said, “Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.” (I Kings 8:56). The prophet Malachi summarizes it well when he said that “He changeth not” Malachi . Moses knew that the children of Israel needed this revelation for their faith to stand and not be shaken.
2) Our God Loves Worship and is the Lord of War.
When we go through trials and tribulations the tendency is to think that we have been forsaken that we are alone. We forget that God has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that be with us even until the end of the age. The Bible records that “So it came to pass that as Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” When Moses hands were lifted up, a sign of worship, a sign of surrender, a sign of giving up all unto God, Israel prevailed. It is when his hands were up that God fought the battle down in the valley.” A precious secret is revealed to us here and that is that Worship can be used as a tool of warfare. The Bible says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). When we praise God, He comes into the praises. This same is principle demonstrated in the Book of Chronicles. The Bible says, “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.”(2 Chronicles 20:20 –25).
When we worship God, principalities are destroyed. Jehovah Nissi is a reminder to us that Worship is a type of Warfare and that Our God is still saying what He told Jehoshaphat, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD…” (2 Chronicles 20:17a). Friend, may we receive this revelation of God’s name, may He make us a warring worshipper. Like the Apostle Paul said “ Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14). God’s desire is that we triumph over every force of darkness. Worship is a key to obtaining the victory. Jehovah Nissi proclaims that.
3) Our God is a God of Love.
In Song of Songs 2:4, we read, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me is love.” God is saying to us today that He is Jehovah Nissi, The Lord Our Banner. He is confirming to us that indeed His banner over us is love. After Israel’s defeat of the Amalekites, God commands Moses saying ” Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Am'alek from under heaven.” This is a love command. Note that the Amalekites attacked the Israelites in Numbers 14:45, in the days of Gideon recorded in Judges 6:33, in the days of Saul which read about in 1 Samuel 14:48. The Bible also does record that in Esther 3:1. Haman was an Agagite, royal family of the. God saw in the Amalekites a spirit similar to that of the devil; a spirit of wanting to destroy God’s people so He made the promise to the people of Israel that He would wipe them out. God made a similar promise in the Garden of Eden when the enemy deceived Eve. “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14).This promise is being fulfilled in us and the devil will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire never to prevail again (Revelation 20:10). It is because of His love for us that makes and keeps these promises. Indeed His banner over us in love.
Friend, what war are you currently in, is it physical, spiritual, emotional. Spend some time and meditate on these three revealed meanings from the title, Jehovah Nissi; embrace God as a Consistent God who loves a worshipping people. He is a God of war and at the same time a God of Love. Understanding that God is our banner is the key to our victory.
Click here for last month's focus " The Prince of Life"
