The Lord is my Banner

Jehovah-Nissi- The Lord is my Banner.

Exodus 17:14-15 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an alter and named it The Lord is My Banner; saying, “The Lord has sworn an oath; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.

I’ve been pondering a lot lately about all of the things that God has done in my life over the years. He’s worked miracles in my life, and in my family’s lives. Miracles of healing, deliverance, provision, protection and breakthrough’s.

I’ve been thinking about the balance between Isaiah 43:18 “Do not remember the former things, or ponder the things of the past.” and Psalm 77:11-12 “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; Yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your works and thoughtfully consider all Your deeds.” How can you remember the works of God if you can’t ponder on things of the past?

As I thought about this the Lord spoke to me and said He is God our Banner. I’ve heard that name of God before but truthfully wasn’t sure what it meant, so I looked it up.

There were 3 things stood out to me about these verses:

First, Moses was instructed to write what God did as a memorial and recite it to Joshua. Write down the things God has done and recite them! Bring them to memory regularly.

Then, He said He would wipe away the memory of the enemy! In the same verse God is saying both. Set up a memorial of what God did, and He will wipe away the memory of what the enemy did (the Amalekites).

Last, Moses set up an alter to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Nissi, God our banner. What does it mean that He is our banner? The word used is “nis-see”, from “nace” and it means: a signal, sign, standard.

The story leading up to this passage is the Israelites wandering through the dessert. In that process we see God perform many wonders and miracles for His people. These miracles include deliverance from the Egyptians, healing the water at Marah, leading them with a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night, water out of a rock, manna from heaven, and so many more.

So when it says that God is our banner, it means that God is our standard.

His standard is victory over the enemy. His standard is signs, wonders and miracles, and His standard is His presence with us!

As we remember and meditate on God’s faithfulness, His love, and all that He has done before, it encourages and comforts us, and prophesies to us that if He was faithful before, He will be again!

Make God your Banner today. Remind yourself of what He’s done before. He will be faithful again!