What’s In A Name?, Pt 11: YHWH Nissi
Exodus 17:15-16 15Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Deuteronomy 20:3-4 3He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Isaiah 11:10-12 10In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. 12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
In Hebrew Yahweh-Nissi means the Lord our Banner. We don’t see banners much these days, but in times long gone banners were used by foot-based or horse-based soldiers fighting in a battle. They were multicolored, variably shaped flags held aloft on poles and were used to signify various regiments on either side in a battle. They carried insignia indicating for whom they were fighting and when a soldier was said to fight under a certain banner it meant he fought for the country whose banner it was.
The Exodus verse above is found at the end of the story about the Israelites’ battle with the Amalekites. The Amalekites were a nomadic tribe encountered by the Israelites during their journey to Canaan and they attacked the Israelites at the vulnerable straggling end of their procession. During the battle Moses was watching from a bluff and raised his staff (banner) in prayer. Whenever the banner was raised the Israelites were winning; when it was lowered they were losing. Moses kept the banner raised, often with his arms supported by Aaron and Hur. It was clear the victory was a result of the supplication to YHWH and so Moses dedicated the site.
But it is not often that the modern believer finds himself in that sort of military battle. Nonetheless we are occasionally in a battle with Satan’s principalities and powers and in such occasions we need to remember who it is actually fighting the battle. Remember also that the ultimate banner of YHWH is the God-man Jesus Christ who announced to Satan at Caesarea Philippi that He was coming after him. That’s when Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” (See the Welcome Page of this Blog.)
We live in a highly secularized culture which poo-poos anything supernatural. But nonetheless the struggles we face are not with the humans through whom those struggles come, but with the motivating forces behind them. Although we are not in military battles very much these days we are in fact engaged in battle much of the time. This battle is with Satan’s schemes and dominions, which the Bible calls powers and principalities, which endeavor to turn us away from God. Satan wants to use such deception as a way to defeat us, make it seem futile to follow Jesus, and otherwise make us ineffective in the battle to spread the Gospel throughout the world.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:12-18)
This is where YHWH Nissi comes into the picture. We are not physically carrying a pole with a flag on it, but we do have Jesus in our heart through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Banner of YHWH and it is He that gives us the strength, who holds up our hands in prayer, to resist those struggles Satan sends our way. So following YHWH Nissi means doing the things of Ephesians:
1. Place the belt of truth around our waist. The truth of God’s word means we won’t stumble over Satan’s lies. God’s Word is the foundational truth that supports everything else.
2. Don the breastplate of righteousness. Protect our heart by living as righteous life as possible. Follow the Lord’s commandments so as to avoid the consequences of ungodly living. Protecting our heart means to protect our integrity, and that means to be on alert for the little sins and the seemingly inconsequential actions which really are the first feet placed on the slippery slope of disaster.
3. Be ready to take the battle to the enemy. Know and share the Gospel with those not yet in the Kingdom. We are to be sure of our salvation, that Jesus paid the price and our sins are forgiven. Satan can bring up our past and make us self-doubting and afraid. But with the knowledge that God has paid our sin price we can stand firm when evil attacks. We can rest in Jesus when old guilt comes up.
4. Carry the shield of faith. The Roman soldiers would soak their shields in water for days ahead of a battle so that the shield would self-extinguish flaming arrows. In addition, they were built to interlock so that each helped protect his neighbor. God never intended for us to fight sin on our own. He never intended us to go into battle by ourselves. If we are not trying to make our faith bigger and soaking our faith in the scripture, then we are opening ourselves up for spiritual attack. Our faith, our openness to God that allows Christ’s full living in us and His deep love, this is what shields us from believing the lies that we’re not good enough, that we’ve sinned beyond hope, or that we simply don’t need God.
5. Wear the helmet of salvation. We are to protect our minds with the knowledge that God has saved us from our sins. We know that a blow to the head, if hard enough, can kill us. If we are not able to fight those false truths with the understanding of our salvation, then Satan can deal a spiritual death-blow.
6. Be ready with the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is offensive as well as defensive, but using it properly means we must be well practiced. We can’t expect to win a spiritual trial with the Word of God we’ve hardly ever looked at.
7. Be constantly ready to pray. Through all of our battles and trials and temptations we need to be in communication with God. We need to come to God in prayer asking for His spiritual power and presence in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. We need to confess our arrogance and independence, thinking that we can do it on our own. Or that we can help others by our own powers. Before we march into the world we need to get on our knees.