Nuyaka Youth Group
Jehovah-Nissi, The LORD is My Banner
Locations & Times
2940 Lincoln Rd, Okmulgee, OK 74447, USA
Wednesday 7:00 PM
Jehovah-Nissi, The LORD My Banner
1. Flags and Banners
a. Illustration: After Germany surrendered in World War II, the war in the Pacific with Japan still had to be won. General MacArthur gained victory in the Philippines and, after months of battling and the heaviest losses in the Pacific war, the Americans captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This picture was snapped by a photographer as the U.S. Marines claimed Iwo Jima. They were planting the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, the highest point on Iwo Jima, which the Japanese had used to rain shells onto the landing beach.
b. Flags identify us and give us a sense of pride in our country, organizations, church, or other group. They also signal victory. In Biblical times, each of the nations of Israel had a flag, banner, or an ensign used to identify the tribe. When the Israelites marched in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, all the people of a tribe marched together. At the front of each tribe as they marched was a banner or a standard. The banner identified them, showing who they were.
2. Facing Our Enemies
a. Exodus 17:8-16- 8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throneof the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
i. In this story, victory did not come from Joshua’s efforts or the efforts of Israel in battle, but victory came from the LORD. Moses’ raised arms were a visual picture, a banner if you will, that victory came from God. God wanted to show Israel that He was the Victor, not them.
1. Side note: Amalek means, “hand on the throne of Yah.” But we know that God will not share His glory with another.
ii. The LORD is My Banner can also mean, “The LORD Who Prevails” or “The LORD My Victory.”
1. So while Jehovah-Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts shows protection from our enemies, Jehovah-Nissi, The LORD My Banner shows victory over our enemies.
iii. Some of the enemies we may face today are our own temptations, Satan, fear, anger, shyness, unkindness, etc. We have to decide if we will face them alone, or if we will rely on the help of God. If we trust in God, we can know we are on the winning side.
1. 1 John 4:4b- for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
iv. Now if we look at Scripture we will see many places where Israel failed while facing enemies, but God is always victorious. We too will be defeated when we disobey or fail to trust in God. Like the Israelites, if we attempt to forge ahead in our own strength, we will experience defeat.
3. The Greatest Victory
a. We must also remember that our view of what victory looks like may be different from God’s view. Jesus’ death on the cross didn’t look like a victory at first, but it is the greatest victory in the world. When we pray and ask God to defeat a situation in our lives, we might need to realize that the greatest victory is the enabling that God gives us over our hearts when we joyfully and patiently endure.
i. Psalm 20:5-8- My we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! 6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
1. Flags and Banners
a. Illustration: After Germany surrendered in World War II, the war in the Pacific with Japan still had to be won. General MacArthur gained victory in the Philippines and, after months of battling and the heaviest losses in the Pacific war, the Americans captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This picture was snapped by a photographer as the U.S. Marines claimed Iwo Jima. They were planting the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, the highest point on Iwo Jima, which the Japanese had used to rain shells onto the landing beach.
b. Flags identify us and give us a sense of pride in our country, organizations, church, or other group. They also signal victory. In Biblical times, each of the nations of Israel had a flag, banner, or an ensign used to identify the tribe. When the Israelites marched in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, all the people of a tribe marched together. At the front of each tribe as they marched was a banner or a standard. The banner identified them, showing who they were.
2. Facing Our Enemies
a. Exodus 17:8-16- 8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throneof the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
i. In this story, victory did not come from Joshua’s efforts or the efforts of Israel in battle, but victory came from the LORD. Moses’ raised arms were a visual picture, a banner if you will, that victory came from God. God wanted to show Israel that He was the Victor, not them.
1. Side note: Amalek means, “hand on the throne of Yah.” But we know that God will not share His glory with another.
ii. The LORD is My Banner can also mean, “The LORD Who Prevails” or “The LORD My Victory.”
1. So while Jehovah-Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts shows protection from our enemies, Jehovah-Nissi, The LORD My Banner shows victory over our enemies.
iii. Some of the enemies we may face today are our own temptations, Satan, fear, anger, shyness, unkindness, etc. We have to decide if we will face them alone, or if we will rely on the help of God. If we trust in God, we can know we are on the winning side.
1. 1 John 4:4b- for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
iv. Now if we look at Scripture we will see many places where Israel failed while facing enemies, but God is always victorious. We too will be defeated when we disobey or fail to trust in God. Like the Israelites, if we attempt to forge ahead in our own strength, we will experience defeat.
3. The Greatest Victory
a. We must also remember that our view of what victory looks like may be different from God’s view. Jesus’ death on the cross didn’t look like a victory at first, but it is the greatest victory in the world. When we pray and ask God to defeat a situation in our lives, we might need to realize that the greatest victory is the enabling that God gives us over our hearts when we joyfully and patiently endure.
i. Psalm 20:5-8- My we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! 6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.