Jehovah Nissi NofG 2

       Back in bible times when two armies went to war they would form lines of men opposite each other on the battle field. In the center of their ranks was a banner or standard. Now this flag showed a symbol of who the army was. This gave each of the armies someplace to focus, something to fight for. As we continue are studies of God’s different names Moses says Jehovah Nissi the Lord is my banner.  

      This name for God Jehovah Nissi was only used one time in the Bible. What could have happened that caused God to have a name used only once in the Bible, what could be so important that God reveals a new name for himself. We are looking at the name Jehovah Nissi which translates the Lord is my Banner. A banner is a symbol, during Bible times it was used so an army would know were to be and what to do. It was also used as a symbol for victory, whenever a group of people controlled a city or town within the walls of that city they would remove the flag of the old group and replace it with theirs. This name for God reveals that he was with the Jewish people in battles but also that they needed to focus on him not just during battles but at all times.   

        This means the Israelites were called to show God to other peoples. Setting the stage for when this name of God was used, the Israelites were traveling out of Egypt into the dessert. The lord had already gotten the people out of Egypt he had provided food and water and they were still walking.  A group of people comes out to meet the Israelites. We do not know much about the battle other then it went back and fourth w both sides thinking they got the upper hand at different points .

Opening up our Bibles to Exodus 17:8. ^"8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses ^[i]told him, ^[j]and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand ^[k]down, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ So Joshua ^[l]overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in ^[m]a book as a memorial and ^[n]recite it to Joshua, ^[o]that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; ¹⁶ and he said, “^[p]The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

      How do we use this concept of God as our banner today because he doesn’t call us to armed conflict like that. We call on Jehovah Nissi when we are showing God to people.  This doesn’t even mean we have to be talking to someone because people see us and how we live our lives if we claim to be children of God. We carry the banner of God everyday into this world to show people love but we are not done fighting, and God is still w us. Like I said we are not called into open armed conflict but we are called to battle. How is this so, we are called to battle enemies that we cannot see.  Our God is with us during these battles even if we cannot see him. He has prepared us for battle he has given us what we need even though at times it doesn’t feel that way it feels like he has left us or that we are not prepared to fight the battles that we have to fight. So how does God equip us for battle. Like everything God says its in his word looking at Ephesians chapter 6 starting at verse 10. ^"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against ^[e]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ^16 [f]in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

     Looking at each of these verses individually. In verse 10 our Bible tells us to be strong in Lord because of his power in might. So when we do battle with the forces of Satan God is with us and gives us power and might thus we have no reason to be afraid of battle for our God is w us and he is all powerful, I will let you in in a little secret at the end of the final battle we win. Verse 13 tells us that when we take the armor God has provided for us then we will be able to stand and resist the devil. We know that all of the promises in God’s word are true so if he tells us he has given us the tools to resist the devil and stand against him then we know it is true. We have to think about when the Bible was written and what the men would ware to battle. We then get into the specific pieces of the armor; the first one listed is the belt of truth guards the lower body and also functions to keep the rest of the armor together.  The first thing we are called to use is the truth, where do we get truth it comes from the Bible. We cannot go to battle against Satan if we do not know the truths of God and if we do not focus on those truths then we will be lost. We need to keep God as our focus as our Banner. 

    Next we discuss the breastplate, now the breastplate is the portion of the armor that goes over the vital organs like the heart so it is very important for protection, so in the same way being righteous is also very important. Being righteous is doing what God calls us. It means that we are without sin. Now this does not mean we have not sinned because we all know that we sin, but it means we are viewed by God is though we have no sin. God views us this way after we accept Jesus as our savior because it tells us in I John 2:2 and he is the propitiation for our sins and not ours only but also the sins of the whole world.  

      Now what does propitiation mean, it means that Jesus making the sacrifice for us in the cross has appeased God and no longer sees our sin bur sees Jesus so we are righteous in Gods sight not because of what we have done but what Christ did for us. Because we are righteous in Gods sight then we are protected from the attacks of Satan just like we have a breastplate on. 

       Looking onto verse 15 we are supposed to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace, this means that we are supposed to not only know what the gospel is and what our bible says but also to live it out. We are supposed to be walking w God every day and people on the street should be able to see that because of how we behave or act not matter what happens. We are then called in the next verse to take up the shield of faith and use it to extinguish all the missiles of the devil. If you have accepted Jesus as your savior and have faith in him then it doesn’t matter what kind of attacks get launched at you by Satan your faith is able to deflect and protect you from all attacks. I know from own experiences that Satan likes to attack us about things we have done in our past. Or he will say things like you have messed up once God doesn’t want you, you are nothing but worthless, you can’t do anything right. In a situations were Satan does that we are called to use our faith in Jesus as a shield and respond yes that is true I am a sinner, I have fallen short of what God calls me to be but God doesn’t see that all he sees is Jesus.  

       See how as we look at each piece of armor is brings our focus back onto God, how we use God as our rallying point in battle thus Jehovah Nissi the Lord is my Banner. Then the helmet of salvation this is a picture of having the most vulnerable part of the body protected, through salvation in Christ it doesn’t matter what happens or what is said we are saved through accepting Christ and deciding to follow what he teaches. Once you have accepted Christ as savior then we are protected from the most dangerous thing ever an eternity separated from God. 

         I always thought this was interesting Paul tells us here that the word of God is a sword. As we have been looking through this passage everything else has been what God gives us to protect us in the battle but then we are given the word of God which is our weapon our sword. We are not called to be weak but called to take up all of the armor of God and fight. We are not called to fight against people and take lands from them but we have been called to do battle against Satan, we have been called to stand up to his followers. We have been called to fight for God, thus God is should be our focal point in everything we do especially during warfare so he is still our banner to this day.

       The one instance of Jehovah Nissi being used in our Bibles was after a great battle to show that God fought for the Jewish people. God helped them to prevail in this back and forth battle, God still helps is today in battle. Even though we are not called into physical conflict, God still fights for us and gives us the tools to fight also. We need to keep God as the focus of our lives as our banner in battle as our Jehovah Nissi.