THE NAMES OF GOD – JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD IS OUR BANNER)

“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.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered.

So Joshua overcame the Amalekites as Moses had ordered.

Moses built an altar and called it the LORD is my Banner.

(Exodus 17:9-10, 15)

In the wilderness, Israel faced their first enemy, the Amalekites. The Amalekites were distant cousins of Israel as they were descendants from Esau (Gen 36:9-12). They came as raiding parties and attacked the stragglers behind the group (Deut 25:17-19).

Moses commanded Joshua to select some good, reliable and courageous men to fight off the Amalekites. Moses led Aaron and Hur up a hill overlooking the battlefield and held up the staff of God with his hands. On that day, the battle raged the whole day and eventually Israel prevailed over the Amalekites.

In gratitude, Moses set up an altar to the LORD and called it, ‘the LORD is my Banner.’

In the original Hebrew, it read, ‘JEHOVAH NISSI’. What is a banner? A banner is a standard or a signal or a sign. It is used as a symbol of a nation or a kingdom. In wartime, soldiers rally around a banner. Today, athletes participate under the flags of their respective nations.

On that day, Moses did not have the flag of Israel. Israel was not a properly constituted nation yet. What Moses had in his hands was the staff of God. When Moses held up God’s staff with his hands for the whole day, he was holding up God’s banner. The staff of God was the banner. But the staff had no power in itself. What the staff represented was the presence and the power of God. In essence, the staff represented God’s kingdom. When the soldiers of Israel looked up and saw Moses holding up the staff, they knew they were fighting under God’s power and not their own. They rallied around God’s banner and won.

The prophet Isaiah testified to a day when we will have another banner. And it will not be a staff. Isaiah 11:10 says, “In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him and his place of rest will be glorious.” The Root of Jesse is a Messianic Title. The person who is qualified to accept this title is Jesus Christ, the descendant of David and the Son of God.

Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross so that the nations will look up and rally around him. He will be the banner for the nations. Friends, who is your banner? Are you flying the banner of Jesus or your own? In coming under the banner of Jesus is victory and eternal life. For the LORD is our Banner. JEHOVAH NISSI.

Ps. Hiew

THE NAMES OF GOD – EL BETHEL (GOD OF BETHEL)

“So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him,

“Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you,

And purify yourselves and change your clothes.

Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will built an altar to God,

Who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me

Wherever I have gone.”

Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz

(That is Bethel) in the land of Canaan.

There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel (God of Bethel),

Because it was there that God revealed himself to him

When he was fleeing from his brother.

(Genesis 35:2-3, 6-7)

In this age of globalization, the significance of place has eroded while mobility has become the pervasive phenomena of our new generation. However the movement of people is not new for since ancient times, people have been on the move. We see the same with Jacob who lived a nomadic life with intermittent settlements.

So we ask the question, “Where is God in the movement of his people?” And the answer we can infer from Jacob’s life is that God travelled with his people and created places for their dwelling. After all, a place is territory with meaning. It has meaning because of past experiences and such enriched memories bring significance to that place. Without such a history, the place would just have been undifferentiated space; void of meaning, void of heritage and empty.

Such is the place called Bethel. Bethel had meaning for Jacob because this was where he first encountered God (Gen 28:10-19). Initially, it was just an overnight stop for sleep but when he saw the LORD in his dream, he named the place ‘Bethel’ which means ‘House of God’ (note the suffix ‘el’ in ‘Bethel’).

Jacob met God again at Peniel on his journey back to Canaan (Gen 32:22-30) and later God commanded Jacob to return to Bethel (Gen 35:1). Jacob’s heart was now converted and he was called Israel. He took the initiative to regain the spiritual leadership of his family by instructing the removal of all foreign gods in his household.

At Bethel, God met with Israel again. God reconfirmed his promises of land and a community of nations to him. In response, Israel erected an altar to worship the LORD (Gen 35:7, 9-15). Just as God prepared Eden for Adam and Eve, God prepared Bethel for Israel. We see that our God is the God of the places we live in. God is the God of Petaling Jaya, of Perth and of Paris. God is preparing a new place for us called the new heaven and the new earth. One day we will dwell there with God forever.

Ps. Hiew

THE NAMES OF GOD – EL ELOHE ISRAEL (GOD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL)

“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled

with God and with men and have overcome.”

But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother.

Keep what you have for yourself”

“No, please!” said Jacob. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been

gracious to me and I have all I need.

After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and

camped within sight of the city.

There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel (God, the God of Israel).

(Gen 32:24,27-28; 33:9,11,18, 20)

Jacob had been away for twenty years (Gen 31:38). He was now returning to Canaan with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, his children and his flocks. What lay ahead was a revisit of his past as the old animosity with Esau had to be settled before new spiritual blessings could come.

His scouts told him Esau was coming with 400 men. In his fear, he sent several entourages ahead of him while he remained behind. That night, God wrestled him at the Jabbok and changed his name to Israel (note the suffix ‘el’) which means ‘he struggles with God.’ Twenty years before at Bethel, he had made a conditional surrender (Gen 28:20-21). This time, it was total surrender. Before, Jacob prided in his self- sufficiency but now, he clung to the man (of God) until he received a blessing (Gen 32:26). On that day God overpowered him and it was memorialised with a limp as he walked (Gen 32:31). Self-sufficient Jacob was now dependent Israel.

And we see the conversion and life change after Israel’s encounter with God. Israel had a new

courage. Before this, Jacob was always self-preserving. He instructed the groups to walk ahead while he lingered behind. Now, Israel took the bold step to lead the group to meet Esau (Gen 33:3). And he showed a new humility as he bowed his head seven times as he approached his brother, Esau.

Israel had a new testimony. Both Israel and Esau were rich after years of hard work. Both said they had enough. But Esau had no testimony while Israel acknowledged God and gave thanks to Him (Gen 33:9-11).

Israel had a new altar. Israel began to worship God. No longer was God the God of his fathers. This God was now the God of Israel. This is why he could say, ‘El Elohe Israel’, God, the God of Israel. Have you sought God’s only Savior, Jesus Christ? Is God the God of ‘Your Name’?

Ps. Hiew

THE NAMES OF GOD – EL OLAM (THE ETERNAL GOD)

“Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech

And the two men made a treaty.

So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.

After the treaty had been made at Beersheba,

Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces

returned to the land of the Philistines.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba,

And there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God (El Olam).”

(Genesis 21:27,31-33)

Abimelech had first encountered Abraham in Genesis 20. He must have had a first bad impression of Abraham for his deception regarding Sarah as his sister. But gradually, that impression changed to one of respect and wonder. This was because Abimelech concluded that God was with Abraham. God had called Abraham a prophet and Abraham’s prayer had reversed the barrenness in Abimelech’s household (Ge 20:7,17).

Abimelech therefore was quietly afraid of Abraham. He came with his military commander to seek a peace treaty. In the negotiations, we see Abraham as the gracious gentlemen. Abraham only received what was rightfully his (the well that he dug) whilst Abimelech received the peace that he wanted and a gift of cattle and sheep. The treaty was confirmed at the disputed well with an oath so the place was called Beersheba which means ‘the well of the oath’.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there. By his act we see his belief in God’s enduring promise of Canaan though the land did not yet belong to him. His act was accompanied by his proclamation of God as El Olam, the Eternal God. ‘Olam’ means eternal or everlasting or forever. In this word we see God as ageless, limitless and tireless.

God is the Ageless One. All of us age but God does not. Before the world began, God already existed. And as he is above time, he is the ever present God. He sees the past, the present and the future all at once. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is also the God of our generation. At the end of time, God will still be there for he is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8). We are assured of seeing Jesus too for he claims the same title for himself (Rev. 22:13).

God is the Limitless One. There are no boundaries that limit him. While we are mortal and finite, God is immortal and infinite. As such no power or force nor anything in heaven or earth can separate us from God. Even death will not separate us from God.

God is the Tireless One. All of us will grow frail and tire. But God never tires. His energy is boundless. When we are weak and weary, El Olam comes to give strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:28-29).

Ps. Hiew