Hi, Friend!

I wanted to take a break from our examination of the psalms today to share some extra encouragement from God’s word. I’ve titled this post “The Lord Protects His People” which is the title for Psalm 3 in my King James Bible.

The title reminded me of one of God’s names, Yahweh-Nissi which means “The Lord is My Banner”. I started thinking about how the kings of old would ride into battle with their personal banner flying over them to signify that they had joined the battle in person. Their appearance on the battle field gave the troops hope and courage; the king had arrived! Surely victory was at hand!

As I pondered whether David flew a banner while fleeing from Absalom, I recalled what he wrote in verse 3 of Psalm 3, “You Lord are my glory“, and I realized that, for David, God was his banner – with God on the battlefield, David knew victory was at hand.

And, Friend, we can have that assurance too! The Lord wants to be our banner too!

God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). To learn more about how God can be your banner, keep reading the post below from earlier this year. I encourage you to meditate on God’s protection through the weekend, and I’ll meet you here again Monday to dig into Psalm 4.

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is My Banner,

Exodus 17:15

Yahweh [yah-way] or Jehovah [ji-hoh-veh] is translated in English as “LORD” in all caps and is the proper name for God¹.

Yahweh-Nissi, pronounced [yah-way nis-see], also known as Jehovah-Nissi [ji-hoh-veh nis-see], is only used once in the Bible¹. Proclaimed by Moses after a victory over the Amalekites, Yahweh-Nissi expressed that God was with the Israelites’ during the battle and was their banner².

You see, during the battle, so long as Moses kept his hands and staff raised to God, the Israelites were winning, but any time he dropped his hands, they began to lose. Whether Moses was praying or praising or both, the Bible does not state, but we know that he kept his hands raised to God, sitting at one point on a stone and at another supported by his brother Aaron and a man named Hur. On that day, the Israelites looked to Moses’ raised hands for their encouragement and strength; like the banner of a king or captain is traditionally used to rally soldiers during battle and let them know their leader was on the field, God let them know His presence was there through Moses’ upraised arms. God was their rallying point, their banner. To read the full story, visit Exodus 17.

What does this name mean for us today?

Sweet friends, we may not be facing hordes of sword bearing nomads in our daily walk, but we certainly have our own daily battles. The enemy of our souls stirs up trouble for us in our finances, our relationships, our workplaces, our home maintenance – if there’s an area of our lives where he sniffs out an opening, he makes an attack.

So, how can we fight the enemy off?

Well, if you’re like I tend to be, you make a plan, two contingency plans, and three fail-safes for the contingencies. You wear yourself out planning, worrying, talking about what you plan and worry over, and possibly commiserating with others in similar battles. Then, when you’ve finally exhausted every avenue – and yourself! – you remember to turn to God.

Oh dear heart…what if – instead of tackling things ourselves and losing the battle – we learned to embrace God from the start as our Yahweh-Nissi – the LORD is My Banner!

As I think on the story of Moses and his outstretched arms, I am reminded that shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus stated, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.” (John 12:32). Beloved, Moses got tired. He needed a rock to sit on, his brother and a friend to prop him up, but Jesus is the Rock, the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He never gets tired physically and He never gets tired of interceding for us. He endured being raised on the cross and He ROSE UP three days later so that we can raise our hands in victory!

Beloved, victory is found when we meet our battles head-on with upraised hands, praying and praising and focusing fully on Christ for strength and encouragement!

May we be a people who rally around the cross of our Lord, drawn to Him for support in all areas of our lives, putting all areas of life under His care and reign! May our raised hands be a rallying point for those who are lost that they may come to know victory in Jesus!

Yahweh, LORD, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to be raised on the cross and RAISED from the DEAD, to be not just our salvation – though that is blessing far more than we deserve – but to be our banner, a daily sign of guaranteed victory forevermore! Forgive us Father when we forget to turn our eyes, our hearts, and minds to the Son, when we exhaust ourselves instead of coming straight to You for strength and encouragement, defense and victory. May we lift holy hands to You in all of our battles, rallied by You – our everlasting banner, our ever-present leader on the field of battle! Amen.

References:

1. Got Questions. What are the different names of God and what do they mean?. https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html
2. Got Questions. What is the meaning of Jehovah-Nissi?. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah-Nissi.html