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Exodus 17:8–16
“Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, ‘A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation’” (vv. 15–16).
The truth of God’s absolute, undefeatable power provides great comfort to His people. Because He can accomplish all His holy will, because nothing is too difficult for Him, He cannot fail to achieve His good purposes for us (Jer. 32:17). In turn, this means that the Lord is our impregnable stronghold and fortress where we are kept ultimately safe from our enemies (Ps. 9:9). They can do their worst to us, but we will rise again and finally rule and reign over creation alongside Christ (Dan. 12:1–2; 2 Tim. 2:12).
We noted a few days ago that one way that God exercises His power is as a dread warrior who does battle against all His enemies and the enemies of His people (Jer. 20:11). In today’s passage, we find a name of God related to His power as a warrior—Yahweh Nissi (or Jehovah Nissi, as it is sometimes said). This name means “The Lord Is My Banner” (Ex. 17:15).
Understanding this name requires us to know something about how armies in the ancient world fought battles. Customarily, leaders of armies would use a pole, sometimes with a piece of fabric tied to its end, as a point where troops rallied together to get ready for action and embark on achieving an objective. That pole was a banner for the army. The name Yahweh Nissi means that God is our rallying point, that He gives us direction and the objective. Any fighting that we do against His and our enemies must be in His power and for the sake of His goals, not our own. Matthew Henry comments: “The presence and power of Jehovah were the banner under which they enlisted, by which they were animated and kept together, and therefore which they erected in the day of their triumph. In the name of our God we must always lift up our banners.”
In addition to the name “The Lord Is My Banner,” today’s passage says: “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Ex. 17:16). This phrase stresses the exercise of divine power as God asserts His rule over those who oppose Him. Our Creator will tolerate rebellion for a time, but eventually He will bring the impenitent into submission to His righteous reign. With some people, this happens in the work of regeneration, whereby He gives us new hearts to believe in Him (John 3:5–7). Others He leaves in their sin, finally delivering a crushing blow against them (Ps. 2:9).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Do we rally under the banner of the Lord, or do we trust in our own power and plans? It is tempting to rely on our own strength to deal with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Yet our own strength cannot provide for us the victory over these enemies. We must instead follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, who gives us in the Word of God direction for spiritual battle and putting sin to death. As we follow His strategies, He will empower us to fight.
For further study
- Psalm 60:4
- Song of Solomon 2:4
- Song 6:4–10
- Galatians 5:25
The bible in a year
- Judges 19–21
- Luke 11:1–28