JEHOVAH NISSI: GOD’S BANNER OF LOVE
Even when we reside in personal
spaces of rebellion and disobedience to God, He shows up with amazing
grace that breathes freedom, transformation and life into our present and future. God’s
grace is prevenient, i.e. it is operative (while we are yet sinners) to
form, forge and foster our faith. (Romans 5:8) Moreover, God’s grace
is sufficient, i.e. it is more than enough to free us forever from the
power, penalty and practice of sin, thus paving our pathway into His eternal
presence. (II Corinthians 12:9)
Such was the case of God’s
intervention with the children of Israel. After experiencing more
than four centuries in Egyptian bondage, they were extricated by the power of
ten miraculous plagues, dispatched from Heaven for deliverance and
liberation. They avoided mass genocide at the Red Sea when the
armies of Egypt were in hot pursuit. And in a divine transaction of
restitution for generations of labor, they exchanged the worthless shackles of
slavery for enormous wealth as they exited Egypt. Yet, they found it
extremely difficult to trust their Awesome God to sustain them
through the precarious Sinai Peninsula wilderness. (Exodus 17)
They murmured. They
complained. They doubted. They dishonored God and His
chosen leader, Moses.
At Rephidim, the Israelites experienced
a serious scarcity of water. God revealed an ingenious solution to
their pressing problem, utilizing a rock and a rod. Nevertheless, as
is typical when anyone succumbs to fear and rebellion against God, the enemy
appeared. The Amalekites sought to destroy the Israelites at their
moment of greatest physical and spiritual weakness, and, without divine
intervention, they would surely have succeeded.
Moses enlisted Joshua to assemble an
army. They fought while Moses stood on the hilltop, empowered by the
rod of God. While Moses stretched forth his hands, the Israelites
experienced military success. When his arms grew weary and lowered,
the Amalekites prevailed. Wisdom provided a solution. A
stone was put in place; Moses sat on it; Aaron and Hur held up his arms and the
Israelites gained the victory.
Afterwards, God instructed Moses to
record the events of that day and to pass on its lessons to Joshua and the
people, who through the power of God would “utterly put out the remembrance of
Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:14) Years later, in Moses’
final directive to Joshua, he charged him to totally annihilate this enemy of
Israel, who had attacked God’s people in such dire circumstances.
Deuteronomy 25:19 (Moses’
Charge to Joshua)
Therefore it shall be, when the Lord
your God has given you rest from all your enemies round about, in the land
which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, you shall
blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shalt
not forget it.
At the site of their historic
victory, Moses erected an altar to the Lord and named it “Jehovah Nissi…because
the Lord has sworn that [HE] will have war against Amalek from generation to
generation.” (Exodus 17:15-16) Thereafter, “Jehovah Nissi” was
revered by the Israelites as the title or name for God which means “The
Lord Our Banner.”
My friends, I stand in awe of God’s
grace. Grace is totally unmerited, yet constantly motivated by the
merciful and matchless love of God. For example, whenever I think of
King Solomon, I picture him as a brilliant sinner. That is to
say, while his wisdom far surpassed his peers, his sins did also. Yet,
in the final analysis, Solomon had a crystal-clear vision of the grace of
God. In his own words, "He [GOD] brought me to the banqueting house
[in spite of my spiritual condition], and his banner over me was
love." Undoubtedly, Solomon remembered that the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob was, is, and always shall be “Jehovah Nissi,” The Lord Our
Banner. What a mighty, majestic and marvelous God we serve!
Sisters and brothers, be continually
blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON
COMING KING. Maranatha!
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