Jehovah Nissi: The Lord is My Banner

By Leah Adams

How well do you remember names? This is something that many people struggle with and I am one of them. I am seeking ways to be intentional about remembering people’s names when I meet them, because remembering someone’s name is a sign that you value them as a person. I would suggest to you that name remembrance is a learned habit and I’m trying hard to learn this habit!!

As I was dressing one morning, I glanced at a flip calendar that sits on my dresser and it happened to be recounting some of the names of God. These names struck a chord within my heart and I sensed the Holy Spirit urging me to delve deeper into some of the names of God. Why? In antiquity, a person’s name revealed much about their character. This is no less true when you study the names of God, for His names tell us a great deal about the person and character of God.

The first name that we will focus on is Jehovah Nissi – The Lord is my Banner. This name for God is found in Exodus 17: 15 (HCSB). Take a peek at the context with me from verses 9-16.

Moses said to Joshua, "Select some men for us, and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God's staff in my hand." Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. When Moses' hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put [it] under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword. The Lord then said to Moses, "Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven." And Moses built an altar and named it, "The Lord Is My Banner." He said, "Indeed, [my] hand is [lifted up] toward the Lord's throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation."

In this passage Moses held God’s staff in his hand and as long as his hands and God’s staff were raised, Joshua and the Israelites won the war with the Amalekites. What I want us to pay particular attention to is that this battle was all about God. Joshua, Moses, Aaron, Hur, and the Israelite armies were simply vessels God used, but the battle itself was orchestrated by God. Moses knew this and wanted to make certain the Israelites knew it and remembered it. Nothing that he or they did in the physical realm brought about victory. God’s presence and power took them into the battle and assured the victory when the battle was done.

What battles are you fighting today?

Is the battle you are in one that the Lord has chosen for you? Strange question, isn’t it? Scripture is very clear in this particular passage that the Lord, in fact, chooses certain battles for us to fight. Does He lead the way as Jehovah Nissi in your current battles?

Perhaps the battle you are in is a battle that you have chosen, one that is outside the will of God? Are you fighting in your own strength? Are you struggling to be victorious in the battle? If Jehovah Nissi is leading the way in your struggle, then you are assured success, but if you are fighting your battle in your own strength, your defeat is imminent.

Where in your life do need God to show Himself strong as Jehovah Nissi – the Lord my Banner – and go before you so that you may know victory?