Faithful in Leadership Responsibilities

“So Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek.  Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’  So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side.  So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” -Exodus 17:9-13 (ESV). 

The Israelite nation’s problems were not nearly over when they escaped from Egypt.  The Egyptian army, in heavy pursuit, was stopped at the Red Sea as the Israelites proceeded over on dry ground.  But in the wilderness, they complained to Moses about the water, the food, and other major inconveniences.  We can’t fail to mention enemies on every hand, such as the Amalekites who inhabited the northern Sinai peninsula and the enemy in today’s focus, a warlike group near Rephidim.  Joshua comes on the scene as a strong military leader, who was instructed by Moses to gather an army from among the Israelites and face Amalek and his forces. 

Moses had a strategy.  As Joshua led the army against the Amalekites, Moses would stand with the staff of God in his hand, a symbol of the presence and power of the Lord among the Israelite people.  Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill where they had a commanding height over the clashing armies.  So long as Moses was able to hold up the staff of the Lord, the battle proceeded in the Israelites’ favor.  When his arms tired, and he lowered the staff, the Amalekites prevailed.  It was then Moses’ helpers stepped up to seat Moses and to hold up his arms so that the staff of God would be ever aloft.  There was no magical  power in the staff Moses held.  It was representative of the presence of Almighty God, and the very fact that Moses, Aaron and Hur saw that it was held up during the conflict indicates that they were, for the whole period of time, interceding earnestly for Israel’s victory.  Joshua and the army could not have succeeded without the prayer vigil of Moses and his two assistants.  On the very spot where the staff of God was held aloft, Moses built and altar following the victory over King Amalek‘s forces.  Moses called the place, “The Lord my Banner.”  In the very place on the hill where hands were lifted up to God in prayer, a memorial was raised to the power and effectiveness of genuine intercessory prayer.

Prayer.  ’God our Banner,’ we are coming to the day we have been praying earnestly about for forty days.  We plead that stalwart, courageous leaders will be elected, those who will not be ashamed to stand and be counted as leaders who fear and honor the Lord God.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.  

“Yahweh Shammah”—The Lord Is There

“The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits.  And the name of the city from that time on shall be, ‘The Lord Is There’”-Ezekiel 48:35.  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’”(God with us)-Matthew 1:23. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 18:20b.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” –Hebrews 13:5b.  “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” –Revelation 22:4 (ESV).

How many of us have said to a family member or friend, “I’m here for you”?  These words of reassurance indicate that we want to share in sorrow, the down times, the good times and be an encouragement to others.  One of the great “I Am” statements of Almighty God is “Yahweh Shammah,” Hebrew for “The Lord Is There.”  And God is always there, ready to hear our prayers, ready to lift and succor us, ready to be “”a very present help in trouble” and our light and guide along life’s way.  The verse from Ezekiel may need some clarification.  Ezekiel prophesied at a time of great confusion for the nation.  In 597 B. C., Judah’s king, Jehoiachin had been exiled to Babylon along with several thousand, among whom was the prophet Ezekiel. His message is one of judgment and condemnation but also of hope.  In chapters 40 through 48 he sees a vision of the restoration of the nation, a division of the land among the twelve tribes, the rebuilding of the temple, and the city of Jerusalem, the wall of which will stretch 18,000 cubits around the restored city.  But when it is rebuilt, it will have a new name:  “Yahweh (Jehovah) Shammah”—“God is there,” or God is with us.” When Mary was told she would bear the Messiah, the angel gave a name for him:  “Immanuel”(also spelled Emmanuel)—God with us.  As “God with us,” Jesus came to save the people from their sins.  When Jesus had finished His work for which He came to earth and was ready to ascend to the Father, He gave the disciples their working orders:  “Go and make disciples…teach, preach, baptize, teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  But then He gave a great promise:  “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (or the end of the age).  In our work for the Lord, He is there.  The writer of Hebrews reconfirmed the promise of Immanuel, God with us”  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  And in telling about the New Jerusalem with the Bridegroom (Jesus) coming down from Heaven to receive His bride (the redeemed) unto Himself, John declared that we will see the face of the Lord and our names will be on His forehead.  He will be there; He will know us individually.

Almost, this characteristic of the Great I Am is beyond our finite comprehension.  Now we can see it as through a glass, darkly.  But in our hearts we know God made the provision for; He will never leave us desolate and alone.  “God is there!”  Bless His holy name!  Let’s review the nine “I Am” principles that help us to know and better understand how to relate to God our Creator and Redeemer:  (1)  “Yahweh Jireh”—the Lord will provide (Gen. 22:14); (2)  “Yahweh Rophe”—the Lord heals (Exodus 15:26); (3)  “Yahweh Nissi” –the Lord is our banner (Exodus 17:15); (4) “Yahweh M’Kaddesh” –the Lord sanctifies (Lev. 20:8); (5)  “Yahweh Shalom” –the Lord is our peace (Judges 6:24); (6)  “Yahweh Rohi” –the Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23:1); (7)  “Yahweh Sabaoth—the Lord of hosts (Psalm 46:7); (8)  “Yahweh Tsidkenu”—the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6); and (9) “Yahweh Shammah” –the Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:35).  We probably won’t remember the Hebrew terms for the Great I Am. But their English interpretations can be a constant reminder to us of how great our God is and how in His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience He surrounds, loves, saves, leads, protects and sustains us! To God be the glory!

“Yahweh Nissi” – The Lord Our Banner

“And 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.” – Exodus 17:15-16 (ESV).

The Great I Am told Moses, “I am the Lord, your banner.”  This occurred just after a terrible battle the Israelites had with the Amalekites, a very warlike tribe of people who attacked the Israelites at Rephidim shortly after their exodus from Egypt.  Amalek was the grandson of Esau, the son of his son Eliphaz and the concubine Timna (Genesis 36:12).  The Amalekites dwelt in the desolate wasteland of the northeast Sinai peninsula.  The first battle was won when Moses held up his hand with the rod of God in it.  If he tired and lowered his hand, the battle favored the Amalekites.  Then Aaron and Hur came to Moses’ assistance, holding up his hand for him.  Joshua was able to rout the Amalekites and win the battle.  These warlike people were actually kinsmen of the Israelites, descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob, whom Jacob had tricked in order to receive Isaac’s blessing and the birthright intended as Esau’s as firstborn of the two sons.  And here, as kinsmen (although they may not have known fully the descendency lines), the Amalekites chose to fight the Israelites and try to keep them from settling in the land.  Joshua, mighty warrior, with God’s help, won the victory.  But the Amalekites were not through harassing the Israelites.  After Israel settled in Canaan, war with the Amalekites continued.  God commanded the first king of Israel, Saul, to completely rid the land of the Amalekites.  When Saul did not obey God, he lost his life at their hands (see I Samuel 15).  They kept harassing the Israelites until the eighth century B. C. (see I Chronicles 4:43).  It is interesting that in all the archaeological explorations in that area of the Holy Land, no artifacts have been found of the Amalekite tribe.  In the “Great I Am as the Banner” that went into battle for the Israelites, it was a sign that God was with them.  It was used, both figuratively and with a specially-made flag on a staff to indicate God’s presence.  When Israel left Sinai to march into Canaan, they marched under the flags (banners) of four of the tribes, Judah, Reuben, Epharim and Dan (see Numbers 10).  Much later, when Babylon threatened Israel, the prophet Isaiah made this rallying cry:  “On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them” (Isa. 13:2). 

How many of us have thrilled to the strains of “The Star Spangled Banner”?  During the War of 1812, after an especially hard battle, Francis Scott Key looked out early one morning upon Fort McHenry and saw the U. S. flag still waving.  To him it was a symbol that God had spared the U. S. forces.  The flag was still flying and the battle had been won.  Key’s words speak of God as our banner:  “Blest with vict’ry and peace/may the heav’n-rescued land/Praise the Pow’r that hath made/and preserved us a nation!/Then conquer we must,/when our cause it is just;/And this be our motto:  ‘In God is our trust!”

But there is a requirement for God to be our banner.  Frances Scott Key expressed it, and Moses and the great leaders of the past emphasized it:  “God our Banner—‘In God is our trust!”  If we forget this major tenet and fail to put our trust in God, then His banner will not go before us to herald victory nor will it fly in triumph over won battles.  Oh, America, return, return to God!  We need to say again, and mean it from the depths of our hearts, “In God we trust!”  Only then will His banner distinguish us as a called-out, God-destined nation.  “Yahweh Nissi”—God our Banner, will help us fight our battles, both personal and corporate, and win the victory.  But we must first acknowledge that God is in charge and we are soldiers in the Lord’s army, as our childhood song taught us to be.  May our faith increase, as well as our assurance that God wants us to be victorious over sin and evil and over those who dishonor His name--  “God our Banner”!