One of the names of God is Jehavah Nissi. It means, ‘The Lord is my Banner’
This is mentioned in Exodus 17:15 When God fought against the Amalekites who had come to attack Moses and the people of Israel.
When the battle was won, Moses built an altar and called it ‘The Lord is my Banner, because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord.’
It goes on to say the Lord will be at war with the Amalekites from generation to generation. Whether that means up to when Jesus was crucified or to the end completely, I’m not sure, but I think if an Amalekite believed in Jesus, he/she would be born again the same as any other person who accepts Jesus as their Saviour.
Anyway, a banner is a flag/strip of cloth with a message written on it, or coat of arms - (a visual design to represent a family, country or cause).
In the confusion of battle, you kept your eye on the banner to see whether your army was going forward or retreating, to see where you should be aiming for and, I think, it would also remind you what you should be doing and who you were fighting for.
They also used flags for passing messages over long distances as shouting in a battle would be no use at all!
So a banner is a sign of something important. When you see one, you should take a look at it and see what it means.
In Isaiah 5:26, God is warning the Israelites that He is lifting up a banner for the distant nations to come against Israel because when he looks for good in Israel – he sees only evil. (Including those ‘who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. To those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks…..’)
(Personally, I think that people of today should take note of this bit!! because when they are drunk, they are incapable of making good decisions!)
In Isaiah 11 there is a prophesy of Jesus being a banner.
It say’s ‘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.’ Jesus family was descended from the line of Jesse - that's what this means- 'A banner will arise from the family line of Jesse.'
If you notice it says that the nations will rally to him. Not the nation (of Israel), but the nations (all of us).
So, my message is, Keep your eyes on the banner. The world is in ever increasing chaos and will become more so as we get nearer to the end time. It will be easy to loose sight of who and what we are fighting for – because standing your ground when all around is pressuring you to do what they do is a battle. But it is a battle we have won through Jesus. We are just waiting for the trumpet to sound so that we can all go home to where Jesus is. A glorious resting place!
This is how I understand my God
Read for yourself, see what you think.