Considering the Bible

Names of God – JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD MY BANNER) – 14


My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

14
 
JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD MY BANNER)
 
Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,
This name of God comes out of a bloody war with the Amalekites, a nomadic tribe, with the men of Israel led by a young man named Joshua. It is actually the first time we come across this young man, who is destined to bring the Israelites into the promised land.

Joshua was the physical arm of God in the fight, but the source of power and authority over the Amalekites is to be recognized in the actions of Moses on the hill. Joshua, as he was fighting would see Moses pleading with God for victory. Even in the act of prayer for victory, we find that Moses needed assistance from Aaron and Hur, in holding up his arms in prayer, so that Joshua would recognize the continual effort of prayer being performed.

Eventually, Joshua gained the victory over the Amalekites by the sword.

The victory was to be recorded in a book, in front of Joshua, declaring that the Amalekites would be destroyed from under heaven. The last verse of chapter 17 insinuates the war with the Amalekites would continue through multiple generations. In addition to the written declaration of continual victory over the Amalekites, witnessed by Joshua after his first military campaign, Moses built an altar. This altar is called Jehovah-nisssi.

As I have been under various teaching through my pilgrimage on this ol’ planet, teachers have described this banner as a long cloth like flag, used as a commemorative display in the marching of the troops. As I have done a bit of study, it seems there was no physical banner or flag referred to here, but that the altar is commemorated, or named after the Lord, and the character of the Lord that is emphasized at this altar is that He is the standard or rallying point the Israelites were to recognize in their battles.

The Lord is the rallying point that the armies of the Lord were to look to. A tremendous lesson for a young, impressionable man named Joshua as he prepares (unknowingly) for battles with the Canaanites in the promised land.

Look to the Lord! He is the rallying point for His people in the midst of war!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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6 responses to “Names of God – JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD MY BANNER) – 14”

  1. The simple form Jehovah – he causes to become or I will be what I will be
    Understanding how we relate to God and his purpose requires modesty and humility because he reveals himself through creation, the bible and the his impact on our lives as we follow his counsel. So Jehovah causes me to become what I need to become when I am led by him.
    The only thing that separates us from God’s love is our arrogance – we are not able to achieve everything we set out to so get the best support we can.

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