3-16-15. Exodus 17:14-16. Strength and Unity, Faith And Victory…Our Banner Is The Lord –my devotional

Exodus 17:14-16                                                    Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 17:16                                                     3-16-15

“He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”  (NIV)

God wanted his people to remember his grace and rally together for he is their God and leading them on the path to victory. Look at Exodus 17:14-16, “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 name of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”  (NIV)

    God felt that the events of this battle needed to be remembered. Moses was to “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered.” The command was to write about the great victory that the Lord brought about in a book….and not just any book. It was to be on a scroll that was to be preserved and remembered from generation to generation. It was to commemorate the grace of God shown to his people. This verse points to the birth of the Bible as a written book.

The people could see with their eyes that the Lord answers prayer. They were recipients, once more, or God’s grace. They knew with certainty that he was with them through the thick and thin.. Such grace must be commemorated.  That is one reason why it is said in verse 14a, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered …”

I pray that I may never forget the grace of God poured out on humanity through the cross of Christ. Nor can I ever forget the grace of God poured out on my life continuously. I can never forget the grace of God poured out on the ministry to Northern Canada. It must all be commemorated and told generation after generation.

God wanted Joshua to hear about what Moses was to write on the scroll. Look at verse 14b, “…and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”  Why did God want this to be said to Joshua? It is safe to say that God was concerned with the spiritual condition of Joshua. I can think of two reasons why he was concerned. First, God wanted Joshua to keep a humble heart. And second, God wanted Joshua to know that his efforts are accepted by God and God himself will complete what Joshua could not complete himself.

First, God wanted Joshua to keep a humble heart. Joshua and his army did bring about a great victory. It would be so easy for Joshua to think, “I did this with my own strength, military prowess and a warrior’s courage.” He could have become proud and thus rendered himself useless for further service to the Lord. But God was there to help Joshua keep his heart in check, by saying, “I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

Spiritual pride is something that we must always be concerned about. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6. God may work through us to accomplish great things for Christ’s glory, but an once of pride can render us useless and bring whole ministries crashing down. “Lord, protect our hearts and keep us humble.”

Second, God wanted Joshua to know that his efforts are accepted and God himself will complete what Joshua could not complete himself. Joshua may have also lamented the fact that he did not completely annihilate the enemy. God may have seen this condition of heart and wanted to tell him and his army, “You tried your best. I acknowledge that. Don’t worry. I will make sure the job will be completed.” God himself will make sure that there will be complete victory against the Amalekites one way or another.

Victory is in the Lord’s hands and not in ours. It would be accomplished by the power of God. We may try to accomplish some mission, and we may even do our best. But our best human efforts cannot complete the task. Jesus comes through and brings about his complete victory. Try your best and let God do the rest. Offer up your five loaves and two fish to feed the nations. Have the faith of a mustard seed.

This is actually comforting to know.  I know how frail and useless are my own human efforts. I can not accomplish much on my own. I worked hard to be a Bible teacher and shepherd for 26 years. Fourteen years of that was heading up a single family house church ministry. There was a lot of sacrifices to be had. But that was all over in 2012. This spring the site of our old Bible house will be bull dozed to the ground with no trace it ever existed. Even the huge oak trees are cut down. The only thing to commemorate what happened there is the work of God in our family and in a few dozen people that studied the Bible with us as they passed through our doors. Did I finish the mission I set out to complete. No. But God is continuing to the work and he will finish it. He accepts my family’s efforts as our five loaves and two fish. Philippians 1:5 reads, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

With the Lord, I know that he can work through me. He can complete what I could not complete on my own. I can see how God is leading me into all the right places in our church’s foray into Native ministry. It seems that we are experiencing one timely “bull’s eye” after another. This is not of my doing. It is only Jesus with the team helping us to complete the mission.

Moses built an altar and called it, “The Lord is my Banner,” for hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. (17:15,16) Here we are introduced to altars and banners. Altars have been altars of thanksgiving, altars of grace associated with the grace of forgiveness and the grace of victory and being able to start all over again with a new beginning.

What is a banner? Banners are used to rally the fighting forces. Armies may be outnumbered but they raise the banner and then comes strength, unity, faith and victory. (Audio Adrenaline: Raise The Banner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnQ9sO9-UXs)

Let’s consider the words of the song, “Lift High The Banners of Love”

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZLMfibffMo

Lift high the banners of love, hallelujah! Sound the trumpets of war. Christ has gotten us the victory, hallelujah! Jericho must fall. The body of Christ is an army Fighting power unseen. Bringing the captives to freedom. In the Name of Jesus, our King.

Here are some Biblical verses about banners.

Psalm 20:4-5, “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God.”  (NIV)

Isaiah 5:26, “He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!”  (NIV)

Isaiah 11:10, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” (NIV)

And so let’s put it all together. This altar is the banner of God’s love and grace to his people. Though this is a fallen world and to live a Christian life is never easy, we must not despair nor give up hope. We have a banner. This banner is meant to gather God’s people far and wide to come to the Lord and rally before his throne as the body of Christ to live in the victory he brings. Raising a banner is saying, “It is time to gather. It is time for the people of God to rally in the name of our Lord. It is to enter into his victory and to enter into his sanctuary. It is a unifying call for the body of believers to glorify the Lord together. He is alive and with his people. He is saving his people by his right arm.  The Lord is our banner. Jesus is his name.

This banner is lifted for us today. Therefore come people of faith, it is time to rally together around the throne of God. Gather around Jesus Christ. Live in his victory, Enter into his courts with thanks giving and praise. Raise high the banner of love for Song of Songs 2:4 reads, “Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love.” Jesus is our my banner.