The Lord is my Banner

You know, I have always wondered what ‘Jehovah Nissi’ or the ‘Lord is my Banner’ meant. I have heard it being sung; I’ve created banners at VBS that said Jehovah Nissi. I’ve even seen it on beautiful flags made for church. Webster’s says ‘Banner’ is:

1a: a piece of cloth attached by one edge to a staff and used by a leader (such as a monarch or feudal lord) as a standard. 

Upon my research of the word ‘banner’ I kept running across the word ‘standard.’ Here is the definition:

1: a conspicuous object (such as a banner) formerly carried at the top of a pole and used to mark a rallying point especially in battle or to serve as an emblem.

What stuck out to me is - a rallying point - especially in battle.

I stumbled across the definition tonight. I was looking up a scripture about a staff being held up when I saw the use of Jehovah Nissi. The Lord is our Banner. God is letting me see this in action with a beloved mentor.

We all have different people who speak into our lives. We all have people who teach us. Some people show us what not to do as well. But one thing God put in my heart early on was a love for his word. I remember sitting at camp in my teenage years (as a counselor) and reading the scripture to prepare for lessons I would teach. I didn’t quite realize how God was working in me then.

I grew up in church and have had a lot of teachers. But the one God has used most dramatically in my life is Beth Moore. I heard her speak at a conference right out of college and loved her style. A friend invited me to my first women’s Bible study, ‘A Heart like His’ by Beth Moore. God started then using her over and over to teach me the study of his word.

My biggest life change was her study ‘Believing God.’ I was a Mary Kay consultant at the time and wanted to become a director. I distinctly knew God was telling me to believe him for it; and I did. Six months later I became a director. This study taught me the importance of knowing and clinging to the word of God. I learned that God gives us specific scripture as we enter, then walk through, new seasons of life. I learned to look for the words God was saying. I learned to write down these scriptures on note cards, keep them at my side and pull them out when I doubted, or struggled, or needed a lift. I realized God was more than a Sunday school lesson. I realized he was real. He answered when I called on him. I saw his word stand in the darkest moments. What greater lesson than to learn God is who he says he is. The only way to learn this about God is by diving into his word. Knowing and understanding God’s word is knowing and understanding God. Beth Moore’s bible studies have been crucial in my journey of getting to know God through his word.

Why am I sharing this now? Because I am seeing a woman of God being needlessly attacked by fellow ‘Christians,’ calling her a heretic and other irrational things. Whether or not you prefer her style, Beth dives deep into scripture and brings out life-changing truth. I know she’s not perfect and she will tell you that. Nobody is. But when people spend their time trying to find flaws in a person of God and try to discredit them publicly, I wonder where their hearts truly are.

I am asking for you to pray for Beth Moore. She has a precious family who is also feeling the sting of this attack. I am praying that God protects her, her family and her ministry. I am asking God to close the mouths of those seeking to destroy. I would love for us to rally together and pray for this generation coming up in Christ to be a generation who puts energy into knowing the word. To spend their precious time encouraging and seeking out those who need Christ. Why are we wasting time pointing out each other’s faults, accentuating the negative? What if we instead looked for opportunities to praise people behind their backs, to catch people in the act of doing good? No wonder the church’s influence in culture and society has so sorely diminished. We don’t love. We parade around waving our morality police badges in everyone’s face.  

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. He then said the second is like unto it – love your neighbor as yourself. If we didn’t inherently love ourselves Jesus wouldn’t have said this. So, how do you want to be treated? How do you want to be loved? Your answer to these questions provide the blueprint to how you should love others. Trust me, I’m preaching to myself first and foremost. This convicts me.

So, where does ‘Banner’ come into play? When I was praying about this matter, as I said, I suddenly thought of Aaron holding up Moses’ arms during a battle.

Here is the story:

Exodus 17:8-16

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

⁸ While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. ⁹ Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰ So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. ¹² Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. ¹³ As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

¹⁴ After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).¹⁶ He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now^[c] the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Wow. Do you see the correlation? Moses was tiring from holding the staff so Aaron and Hur helped him with the load. When we see a fellow brother or sister in Christ suffering or going through something difficult, let’s take the time to truly pray for them. God designed us to need support, encouragement and ultimately love from each other. Just look at Jesus and his disciples.

But what struck me in this passage is Moses built an altar and named it, what? Yahweh-Nissi (the Lord is my banner.) The banner is what would be held up in battle. Sort of a way to signal what you’re fighting for. In this story, the staff Moses is holding almost represents a banner to me, and the significance is God won the battle. But he used two men coming to Moses’ aid to win the battle.

That’s amazing to me.

Let’s hold up each other in Christ, for his name’s sake and for his glory. He is the Banner. He is our standard, our emblem. Will you not only join me in praying for this sweet lady, but also join me in holding up and praying for each other? Let’s practice building up, not tearing down. None of us are perfect. God is the only judge. We need to stick to what God has commanded - go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). This is the right way to spend our time and energy. Let’s uplift this generation and teach them love, not criticize and hate.