The Context of ‘The Lord Is My Banner’ in Battle
To understand the concept of the banner let’s go to the first place in scripture where God is identified as “Jehovah Nissi,” which means, “The LORD is my banner.”
The children of Israel were wandering through the wilderness on their way to the promised land when the Amalekites attacked (Exodus 17:8). Moses sent Joshua to lead the army into battle but told him that he would stand on the top of the hill overlooking the battle with his arms raised to the Lord.
As long as Moses kept his arms raised in worship, the Israelites were winning. If Moses’s arms started to drop, the Israelites started to lose the battle. When Aaron, Moses’s brother, noticed this trend, he and Hurr climbed the hill and put a rock under Moses to sit on. Aaron and Hurr then stood on either side of Moses holding up his arms.
As a result, the Israelites defeated the Amalekites. After the incredible victory experienced on the battlefield, Moses built an altar to the Lord and called it, “The LORD is my Banner” (Exodus 17:15).
As I’ve thought about this story, I realize it has huge implications for you and me today.
Many of Us Feel Like We’re in the Wilderness
As if the circumstances of the wilderness aren’t enough, there’s an unexpected attack. Perhaps, circumstances feel very dark in your world. It could be that just when things were finally going well in your marriage, the unexpected strain of working from home has brought new friction.
Or you’ve been fighting the invisible enemy of cancer. Or maybe you just felt like you were getting to a good place financially, and unexpectedly you lost your job.
Maybe, you were so excited to finally get all the kids back in school only to discover that online learning at home is your only option due to COVID-19 restrictions. Ah, desperate times. You feel like you’re stuck in the wilderness with a battle on your hands.
What exactly does it mean that the LORD is your banner today in your personal wilderness? Here are four truths to embrace:
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