Jehovah Nissi: Lord our Banner

Exodus 17:8-16.

ETS: Jehovah Nissi provided victory for the Israelites over the Amalekites.

ESS: We experience victory when the Lord is our banner.

OSS: [Devotional] {I want the hearers to depend upon Jehovah Nissi for victory in daily life.}

PQ: What are the implications in this text?

UW: Implications

Intro.:

TS: Let us examine a few implications together, now:

There is war being waged between good and evil. [vv. 8-9 and 15-16]

This is evident because the Amalekites were the often opposing force against the Israelites. This goes back the lineage of the Amalekites. Hemphill wrote, “The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, a grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:12)…The enmity that began during childhood (between Esau and Jacob) persisted generation after generation. Even though the Amalekites were direct descendants of Isaac, they became the hereditary enemy of Israel. The Amalekites represent the forces of evil that stand in opposition to God’s people.” [1]

Good is only victorious when the Lord is the banner. [vv. 10-13]

“The weakness of Moses showed that he was not the source of the victory.” [2]

Some [Barnes and Clarke] suggest that this is indicative of intercessory prayer. [3]

The “standards in the time of battle” during this time period was that the commander was to hold up his hand- as Moses held the rod and his hands up- this is indicative of the solders “fighting under the banner, i.e., under the direction and in the defence of that government. Thus, the Israelites fought under the direction of God, and in the defence of his truth.” [4]

The Lord will be victorious over evil. [v. 14]

CONCLUSION and REFLECTION:

[1] Who is your banner? If it is anyone or anything other than the Lord, then you are destined to fail.

[2] Reflective verse: Exodus 17:15.

Bibliography:

[1] Ken Hemphill, The Names of God (Tigerville, South Carolina: Auxano Press, 2014), 59.

[2] Dorian G. Coover-Cox, “Exodus,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 117.

[3] Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, New Edition., vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014), 388. and Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Exodus to Ruth, ed. F. C. Cook and J. M. Fuller (London: John Murray, 1879), 47.

[4] Adam Clarke, 388–389.