The Power of God’s Names- Nissi & Tsaba

Today we will look at two more names of God. We looked at Elohim- God the Creator, powerful Then we looked at Jehovah- God’s more personal name a transliteration of the name Yahweh And Adonai- the God who rules, or God my master

And today we look at two names that are combined with the name Jehovah

Those are Jehovah Nissi, and Jehovah Tsaba.

We start with Jehovah Nissi. For that one, we will look at the life of Moses in Exodus 17.

INTRODUCTION: If you’ve ever watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, you’ve seen the moment that the athletes walk in carrying their flags. There are flags and athletes from almost every country in the world. If you are from that country, it’s a moment of pride, as you celebrate the best of the best from your country. All under the banner of the USA!

We see fans with flags at football games.

I have here a “cascol”, from Portugal, for a soccer team. Fans wear these around their necks and pull them out during the game for spirit. When I wave a banner, I’m stating that this is the team I’m committed to, this is who I am, this is where my allegiance lies, and this is the one I’m looking to for victory. Now as you know, it doesn’t always turn out your way. Your banner may not wind up signifying the winner because of the limitations of the players operating under that banner. Your team has a competitor with other people waving banners for them too.

Thus, banners signify where your allegiance lies, under what authority you’re operating. And the goal of a banner is always the same—victory. Did you know you’re waving the banner of victory?

This is the picture of this name of God- Jehovah Nissi The Lord is my banner!

Jehovah Nissi = The Lord Is My Banner

This name comes from Exodus 17, where God defeated a group known as the Amalekites. Israel had crossed the Red Sea, they were on their way to the Promised Land. God had provided Manna, and water, and they came to a place and needed water again.

Then they came up against a group known as the Amalekites. AMALEKITES: Amalek represents the forces of evil because he stood in opposition to God’s purposes and God’s people.

The Amalekites were a nomadic tribe and a persistent enemy of the Israelites, Mentioned repeatedly throughout the Old Testament The Amalekites were descended from Amalek, the grandson of Esau, brother of Jacob. The rivalry between the Amalekites and Israelites is often linked to the historic conflict between Esau and Jacob. They would be in several battles against Israel, but this was the first.

Anything in your life that blocks you from doing what God wants done is your Amalek. Amaleks try to thwart God’s purposes, programs, and progress.

Deuteronomy 25:17–19 NKJV

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

God wanted them gone. He wanted Israel to “blot them out” Don’t tolerate it. They represented sin, that thing in your life that is trying to fight against God’s purpose in your life. God had a purpose for Israel. They were in the way.

ADDRESSING EVERY SIN IN YOUR LIFE: If you have cancer, you really want to get rid of it all. You don’t want even a little bit of cancer hanging around. Why? Because it will come back with a vengeance!

Some of us are still hanging out with some of the evil in our lives; it keeps coming back! We don’t have it as full-time evil; we have it as part-time evil. Or maybe we don’t have it as part-time evil; we just give it visitation rights. But then visitation rights become squatters’ rights! What does a squatter do? They make themselves at home! and now it makes itself home again. And you wonder why it’s worse! God said He wanted to “utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14). God says you must address it all if you are to have spiritual victory. Amaleks show up many times in the Old Testament, always trying to block God’s people from getting to where God wants them to go.

So let’s look at what happened in Ex. 17.

1. FACE YOUR FEARS WITH GOD’S HELP.

Moses told Joshua they had to fight against the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:1–2 NKJV

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”

Exodus 17:3 NKJV

And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

Exodus 17:9 (NKJV)

And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”

REPHIDIM: Rephidim is a rugged desert place near Mount Horeb, where the water source had been very low. God’s people were weary from thirst. Just when things appeared to improve because the Israelites finally got some water, things went south again because the Amalekites wanted to fight them. They came up behind them, and attacked them from the rear. The attacked and killed the stragglers, probably the older ones, weaker one. To the Israelites, it looked as though the Lord was not on their side.

There was no way to avoid them, Israel didn’t attack them, they were attacked. Some obstacles in life you cannot hide from, just as Moses and Joshua could not hide from the fact they had to fight Here is how God wanted them to fight, this was the plan: Moses stationed himself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands while Joshua was to fight down below in the valley. Moses was not to fight down below in the valley. Instead, He was to wage war in the spiritual realm by lifting up the staff of God.

MOSES’ STAFF: Moses’ staff was a shepherd’s hook that had been sanctified. God had sanctified it sometime earlier. It was the same shepherd’s hook that brought about the plagues and that opened up the Red Sea. Through Moses’ sanctified staff, God used the natural to perform the supernatural.

2. FIGHT COURAGEOUSLY WITH DEPENDENCE ON GOD’S HELP.

When fighting, you must rely on God’s help. You cannot fight with only human effort. You must turn to God for power.

Exodus 17:10–13 (NKJV)

So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

So Moses was on the mountain fighting. Joshua was on the ground fighting.

The key to fighting is bringing both the mountain and valley together.

There must always be that balance between what God does on the mountain, and what you and I are responsible for in the valley! Amalek wasn’t just a physical problem, they were a spiritual problem. Israel needed boots on the ground, and boots on the mountain. In order to address something evil, something Satan has put in your way, don’t just look at the physical, maybe a person, or a situation, remember to look at the spiritual side, attack both!

We tend to do one of those two extremes, not both. One extreme is to abdicate personal responsibility and not fight. “I’m trusting that God will fix it” Yes, but you he wants to include you in this battle. He wants to use your hands and feet and mouth and brain. Could that be an excuse for not taking action? Maybe I’m afraid? Maybe lazy? Another extreme is to fight with only human capability. They leave God out of it. The don’t bother God about it. This person relies only on their skill, training, and strength without relying on God’s help. I can do this. I can control this situation, this person. I don’t really believe prayer is doing anything. To have victory, we need to bring the mountain and the valley together. We do all we can do, and we pray for the Lord to do what only He can do. We need both.

We have to give God something to work with! “God you fix it” and i’m gonna sit here and watch.?? Moses didn’t go to the mountain, and watch Joshua and the boys have a nap.

We can’t shift our responsibilities to God. We can’t shift God’s responsibilities to ourselves.

3. FACE YOUR FEARS IN BIBLICAL COMMUNITY.

Spiritual battles are tiring!

Have you ever just held your arms up in the air? It’s more tiring that you would imagine. Holding a staff would have made it worse. Have you ever been in a spiritual battle and you get tired? Tired of praying? You maybe lose interest? Lose the determination?

When Moses’ hands were heavy, he got the help of Aaron and Hur.

Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses and supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other (Exodus 17:12). Their only job was to help Moses maintain contact with God by supporting him. Because spiritual matters can often weigh us down, we need to have brothers and sisters in Christ support us and help us maintain contact with God by reading His Word and by praying.

Do you have someone in your life to hold up your arms? When they see you losing strength When they see you dropping your arms

Maybe you need to pray about that, and approach someone and say “would you be my Aaron and Hur?” You help me and I’ll help you.

So

In response to all this, God told Moses to build an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner. The Lord secured a victory for His people against the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:15–16 (NKJV)

And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Moses built an altar and named it Jehovah Nissi, that is, The Lord Is My Banner. It’s as if God was saying, “Whenever Amalek shows up, I will show up. Amalek is on My radar, and whenever Amalek messes with you, Amalek will mess with Me, because I am your banner.”

Holding up that staff meant Moses was going to operate underneath the banner. What’s our banner today? Is the name of the Lord your banner?

So we will always be in a battle.

As we switch quickly from one battle to another famous battle, we see a new name for God.

Jehovah Tsaba = The Lord of Hosts

The word hosts is a translation of the Hebrew word sabaoth, meaning “armies”—a reference to any army, spiritual or earthly. The name Lord of hosts emphasizes God’s sovereign control over every power, dominion, force, and realm. The NIV translates the name as “Lord Almighty.” The NASB has the broader “Lord of armies,” The ESV sticks with “the Lord of hosts.”

For this name we will look at David, and see where this name was famously used in battle with a giant named Goliath.

What was the difference between all the soldiers of Israel, who had been there for weeks faced off against the Philistines? How could that young shepherd boy, walk up and not understand why no one was standing up to this giant??

1 Samuel 17:26 NKJV

Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV

Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

The key was, he had a different perspective, didn’t he? He knew God intimately, and he knew God by that name. He knew God was Jehovah Tsaba!

4. Change your perspective by applying the character of God’s names.

Just like Moses, David had a perspective that included the spiritual realm

1 Samuel 17:45 (NKJV)

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

David countered Goliath’s mockery by announcing that he had the Lord of Hosts (Jehovah Tsaba) on his side, whereas Goliath did not. David saw the spiritual reality behind the physical problem. David understood that Goliath was not circumcised and did not have God’s covering. David told Goliath that he had offended the Lord of Hosts and that the Lord would kill him. David had confidence because he knew the power of God’s name. What was everyone else focused on?

The Israelites’ perspective focused on Goliath’s physical stature, David’s perspective focused on God’s power.

5. GIVE YOUR BATTLES TO GOD.

Remember, we’re seeing this again, just like the last battle. God used David, because David was willing to get in the fight. He didn’t just sit on the sideline. He was going to do all he could do, and it wasn’t much! But he took those rocks, and the sling, and he went to work. But he knew, God will do HIS part.

Perhaps you are facing a giant-sized problem too. Perhaps you have a fear that seems impossible to defeat. For those of us in this camp, we have another name of God to encourage us—the Lord of Hosts. David knew God was the Lord of Hosts. God always rises to victory. The Lord of Hosts always wins.

David understood God was supreme over the situation. David informed Goliath that the Lord would deliver him into his hands (1 Samuel 17:46).

1 Samuel 17:46 NKJV

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

1 Samuel 17:47 (NKJV)

Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

David didn’t shirk his personal responsibility. David chose to pick up stones for his sling and to engage Goliath in battle. David trusted God for victory. David claimed, “The battle is the Lord’s”

We have to CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE: The sun is staggering in size. But if you hold a quarter up to your eye and look directly at the sun, that small quarter can actually block out the enormity of the sun. Sometimes we allow the size of our problems to eclipse the size of God. That’s how we lose our battles. We allow something small to eclipse a larger power.

The next time the enemy seems to large to defeat, remember you have a name for that situation Jehovah Tsaba! The Lord of Hosts, The Lord of Angel Armies! The Lord our Warrior!