Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: ANCIENT (06/04/20)
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TITLE: Yahweh-Nissi | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn Meiners
06/09/20 -
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Billy, her five year old was in his playroom working on a lego truck he was trying to put together. Sarah, who was fourteen, was in the living room lying on the sofa, texting her friend Deb. Kevin, who was twelve, was sitting at the kitchen table working on his math homework.
As mom busied herself with dinner preparations she was humming along to the Praise Song being played on K-Love radio station entitled Jehovah Nissi.
Kevin stopped working on his homework and listened to this catchy tune, his fingers tapping along to the music.
When the song ended, Kevin asked mom, “What does Jehovah Nissi mean?”
Mom checked the temperature of the oven to make certain the roast would not overcook, then grabbed her Bible which was sitting on the counter where she had left it this morning after her devotions. Pulling out a chair, she sat down next to Kevin.
“Kevin, did you know that God has many names? Do you know what some of them are?”
“My Sunday School teacher prays to Abba Father. Is that a name for God?” asked Kevin.
“Absolutely! But God has many other names as well. Let me see if I can remember some of them. We studied them last year in Bible study. There is Elohim. That means God is our Mighty Creator. Then there is El Shadday which means God Almighty. One of my favorites is Yahweh Yireh which means The Lord will Provide.
Kevin, did you know when you memorized the Twenty-third Psalm you were learning about one of the names of God? Yahweh Roi means The Lord is My Shepherd.”
“Cool” replied Kevin. “Mom is Yahweh the same as Jehovah?”
“Yea, son, now you asked about Jehovah Nissi, God’s word has the answer to any question we might have, so let’s look at Exodus 17:8-15 and see what God has to say. Kevin, would you read this for me?”
Kevin began reading from Mom’s Bible.
“While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, "Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand."
So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, "Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means "the Lord is my banner”. (New Living Translation)
“Kevin, the altar Moses build wasn’t to himself or to Joshua or even to the victorious army of Israel. He was careful to give all the glory to God for the victory by building an altar to the Living God. In Egypt, ancient armies identified their troops with a banner displaying one of their many gods. As these armies went off to war, this banner with their false god went before them, lifted high, expecting victory.
Moses wanted to honor the only true God so he lifted up a banner and called it Yahweh-Nissi. The enemy soon realized they could not fight against the One True God of Israel.
When we allow God to fight our battles for us today, God always wins. But when we rely on other avenues for victory, the world for example, we can be certain we will fail.”
“That’s an awesome story mom. I’m going to my room and make a banner to Yahweh Nissi. I’ll put it in my room as a reminder to let God fight my battles for me.”
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