The Names of God
08/19/2001 - Jehovah Nissi, "The Lord Our Banner"
On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler invaded the country of Poland and triggered the events that would lead to World War II. Hitler made no bones about it. His goal was to take over all of Europe and eventually the whole world and usher in his Third Reich, a thousand years of worldwide domination under his Nazi party. Using a tactic called Blitzkrieg, "Lightning War," he rumbled across Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. And by May of 1940 he had 500,000 British and French troops cornered, with their backs up against the English Channel, in a little coastal town in northern France called Dunkirk. Hitler was 15 miles away from what could have been his final victory. All he needed to do was to unleash his savage war machine on those two armies and we'd all be speaking German right now. The war could've been over that quick, in less than 10 months!
But on May 26, 1940, something incredible happened that changed the course of the war and the course of human history. On that day King George VI of Great Britain called for a national day of prayer. All of England stopped and churches were crowded with people who pleaded with God Almighty to spare their husbands and their sons and their fathers at Dunkirk. It would take a miracle of God and they knew it.
At 7 o'clock that night the order was given to send every single boat that could float across the treacherous waters of the English Channel to rescue as many soldiers as possible before the Germans could massacre them. So in one of the greatest evacuation stories in history thousands of boats--military boats, fishing boats, pleasure boats, sailboats, rowboats-rescued 336,000 men from the beaches of Dunkirk. And what was remarkable was that Hitler didn't lift a finger to stop them. He had victory in the palm of his hand, yet for some unexplainable reason, still unknown, he wouldn't let his troops finish the job. To this day historians have cal l it a miracle.
Winston Churchill the Prime Minister of England at that time knew what was at stake when he said, "If Germany had defeated either Britain or France or both, she would give no mercy. We should be reduced to the status of vassals forever. If we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and care for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age."
But God heard the prayers of his people and we're still speaking English and the nightmare of Nazi tyranny never triumphed. Prayer is powerful. Prayer works. Prayer can stop armies and win battles. One of the greatest lies of Satan is that prayer is ineffective, it's a waste of time, it just doesn't work. Don't believe that lie for a minute. As believers in Jesus Christ, prayer is our most powerful weapon. It makes Satan cringe. Which is why we all need to pray. Prayer triggers miracles. Prayer changes history.
But if you're like me, the evil one will do anything he can to keep us from praying. He won't keep me from working, but he'll keep me from praying. He won't keep me from playing, but he'll keep me from praying. A while back I read a quote by Paul Little. Paul Little has written some very helpful Christian books called Know Why You Believe and Know What You Believe and How to Give Away Your Faith. And in that book he said, "The thing that I know will give me the deepest joy and most vigorous strength, spending time alone with the Lord in prayer, is often the thing I want to do the least." Boy, can I relate to that and maybe you can too. I'm just too busy to pray.
Yet if we're going to win the battles in our own lives, we need to pick up the weapon of prayer. We need to set aside time often for personal prayer, just like England needed to set aside time for national prayer, because we're all fighting battles. What battles are you fighting this morning? Are you relying on your own strength and ingenuity or are you depending on the power of God released through prayer?
Last week, we found the Israelites in the midst of their own battle. On one side was the raging Red Sea and on the other side was the brutal Egyptian army closing fast. What were they going to do? They were caught in a vice with no way out. It looked hopeless. They needed a miracle. Then God send in Exodus 14:14, You need only to be still. The Lord will fight for you. It didn't make any sense, but it was their only hope. And right before their eyes God fought for them and pulled off one of his greatest miracles when he parted the Red Sea, saved the nation of Israel, and totally annihilated the Egyptian army. It was their Dunkirk evacuation.
In this life we all have battles to fight, but we don't need to fight them alone. Sometimes we need only to be still and let the Lord fight for us. This morning we're going see another example of the power of prayer and discover yet another name for God, Jehovah Nissi, "The Lord Our Banner." If you have your Bible turn with me to Exodus 17.
The Israelites, all 1.5 million of them, have now crossed over the Red Sea and set up camp in the Desert of Sin, at a place called Rephidim. God had miraculously fed the whole bunch with quail meat and manna from heaven. He quenched their thirst with water gushing from a solid rock. God was clearly among them and taking good care of them when the next crisis hit.
Look at Exodus 17:8-9, The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
Moses is faced with yet another crisis. This time it's the Amalekites, the first nation to declare all out war on Israel. And their mission was simple, wipe out the children of God. Take no prisoners. Nuke 'em all.
So Moses calls an emergency meeting. He invites his commanding officer, Joshua, into his tent for a military briefing. This was going to be the first Desert Storm in history, the mother of all wars. And after a lengthy meeting, Moses announces his battle plan.
He says, "Joshua, tomorrow you take the best fighting men we've got, Israel's finest, and you lead them into desert to meet the enemy. And while you're doing that, I'm going to take my brother, Aaron, and my friend, Hur, and climb the hill that overlooks the plain and position myself so that you and the rest of the troops can see me out of the corner of your eye while you're doing hand to hand combat. And there, at the top of the hill, I'm going to raise my hands to heaven and pray for you. I'm going to pray that God pours out his courage and strength and skill and stamina and protection on you and your troops. I'm going to pray that we win this war. And together we're going to see God fight for us. Sound like a plan?"
I can't help but wonder if Joshua went, "Wait a minute! There's something wrong with this picture. I'm going out to the front lines against those bloodthirsty Amalekites and you're going to take a hike up that high mountain to pray? How 'bout you go out and fight and I take the hike up the hill?!"
That's what I would have said. But that's not what Joshua said. Instead, like a good soldier he does exactly what he's told. He carries out his orders perfectly and this is what happens.
Look at verses 10-11, So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
Moses climbs the hill and begins to pray. And as long as he holds his hands up in prayer, the Israelites win. But eventually his arms get heavy and begin to burn with pain so he drops them to his side. He puts his hands in his pockets and watches the battle. But when he does that, to his horror, the tide begins to turn. Joshua gets beaten back.
And for a moment he wonders, "What's happening? God where are you?" Then he remembers, he stopped praying. So he stretches his arms toward heaven again and the momentum shifts back to his side. But his arms grow weary again and he needs help.
Look at verses 12-13, When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Aaron and Hur roll a rock under Moses so that he can sit down. And then Aaron crawls under one arm and Hur crawls under the other and they literally support him in prayer until the sunsets and the battle is won. That's why he didn't go up the mountain alone, he needed prayer support and he found it in Aaron and Hur.
And because what happened on that day was so significant, God tells Moses to write it down so that it would be read by Joshua and by Valley View Community Church 3,500 years later.
Look at verse 14, Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.
That's the first time in the Bible we read that God commands something to be written down and what he commands to be recorded is a story about the power of prayer. Do you think prayer is important to God? I think so. I love how graphically this story describes prayer's power.
So Moses built an altar, verse 15, and called it The Lord is my Banner, in Hebrew Jehovah Nissi. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is My Banner. Banners were taken into battle back then, just like banners and flags are taken into battles today. They rallied the army and directed the troops. And so here Moses is saying, "Lord you are my banner. By prayer, you went before us into battle, you rallied and directed the army and you gave us the victory. And we worship you for that, Jehovah Nissi!"
This story is a reminder that we need to take God into our battles every single day. That's why God had it written down, because life is a battle and we fight Amalekites every day. And we need the Lord to rally us, to direct us, to help us defeat our enemies. We need him to be Jehovah Nissi to us.
The Amalekites in this story were descendants of Jacob's brother, Esau, and they hated God's people and they harassed them continually.
In Numbers 14:45 we read, The Amalekites ... attacked the Israelites and beat them down.
In Deuteronomy 25:17-18 we read, Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind. They had no fear of God.
In Judges 6:3-4, Whenever the Israelites planted their crops ... the Amalekites ... invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.
In 1 Samuel 30:1-2, Now the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old.
The Amalekites were big trouble. They preyed on women and innocent children. They destroyed crops and stole sheep and cattle. They beat up old ladies and killed grandmothers and grandfathers. They bullied the weak who straggled behind at the end of the line. They had no mercy. They were always opposed to the people of God, from generation to generation, until God finally said, "Enough!" and blotted out their memory from the face of the earth. Today you can't find an Amalekite anywhere. They're gone. They made war against God and God made war against them. And guess who won?
The Amalekites we fight every day are not the descendants of Esau. The Amalekites we fight are the devil and his angels. Jesus said in John 10:10, the devil is the one who comes always to steal, to kill and to destroy. Everything we value in life is a target for the evil one. He hates God's people and he's out to harass us continually. He wants to steal our love and our joy, our peace and our contentment. He wants to kill our relationship with God and each other. He wants to destroy our marriage and our family and our very life. Everything we hold dear is on his hit list.
And if we try to do battle with the Amalekites in our own strength, without the power of prayer behind us we have no hope of victory, because it's prayer that invites God into the battle to fight for us. It's prayer that unleashes Jehovah Nissi. It's prayer that is our greatest weapon.
Where are you doing battle right now? Are you battling a temptation, a lust, or an addiction you just can't beat? Are you being seduced by the world and finding your love for God fading? Are you plagued by a spirit of fear or guilt that just won't go away? Is your marriage or your family under attack? Do you sense the enemy opposing you at work or in your neighborhood? Or are you just plain worn out by the battle, tired, depressed, restless maybe? Whether we like it or not we're caught in the crossfire of an ongoing spiritual conflict between the kingdom of light and kingdom of darkness. And if we're going to do battle with the Amalekites we need to pray.
We need to pray by ourselves, we need to pray with others and we need to have others praying for us too. I love the whole image of Moses taking his brother and friend with him up to the top of the hill. And when he couldn't lift his hands any longer in prayer, Aaron and Hur lifted his hands for him. They supported him in prayer. They were there for him in the midst of his crisis. We call that community, being there for each other.
Do you have a few people in your life that support you in prayer, people you can go to in a crisis and they'll be there for you, not to offer advice or half-baked solutions, but to pray? Sometimes we get so weary in the battle, we can't even pray for ourselves. We need others to lift up holy hands for us. We can't fight the Amalekites alone.
I love what happens here at the YMCA on Tuesday mornings. Every week a few of us come here from 7-8:30 a.m. and take all the needs we're aware of in the church and lift them up to the Lord in prayer, because those burdens are too heavy to carry. And after we're done praying there is such a spirit of relief that God is going to fight the battle for us. That prayer time is like an oasis in the desert of sin. And it's open to anyone who wants to join us. We're always looking for others to come up on the hill and give the battle back to the Lord. And we've seen answer after answer after answer to prayer. It's incredible what God does when we cry out to him in prayer. Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our Banner.
We have some who come each Sunday morning at 8:30 and pray just for our worship and teaching time. But I'd love to see others join them and maybe some who worship at 9 and then pray during the 10:45 gathering. A woman approached last week about wanting to help with prayer after each service. We want prayer to be the air that we breathe around here.
One reason we're appointing elders this fall and enlarging the leadership team is because we need more people praying for the needs of Valley View. The work has gotten much too large for just a few of us to carry. We need others up on the hill praying for the battle below. So maybe this story today is a call back to prayer for you. I know I often need the reminder of the power of prayer.
But there's someone else praying for us too. He's on top of the heavenly hill, looking down at us in the midst of the battle. His name is Jesus. And the Bible says that he ever lives to make intercession for us. One of the things that Jesus does for us right now, 24/7, is to pray for us. Whatever battle you're in right now, Jesus is praying for you. We don't need to face the Amalekites alone. We need to take Jehovah Nissi with us. And we take him into the battle when we pray.