Jehovah Nissi, our Banner

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ August 10, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

Joshua 8 (NIV) 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Have you heard the phrase “swan song?” It is a final gesture one makes before the end—the final soliloquy in a play, the last action one takes, perhaps a good deed. It actually originates from the ancient belief that swans, whose songs are not known to be particularly melodic and sometimes silent altogether, sing a beautiful song while dying.

When I read this chapter in the Old Testament, I feel as though this is Moses’ swan song. He is telling the people that his part of this journey is over.

I love the way Moses steps out of the way and ushers Joshua in. From a human perspective I think of all Moses sacrificed to free the Israelites, to lead them through the wilderness for forty years—a disobedient, stubborn people who complained incessantly and returned to their idols whenever Moses was not in their presence.

And then I realize I probably identify more with the Israelites than with Moses. I hope if I had been in his place, and God allowed me only a glimpse of the Promised Land, I could have departed with the same spirit as Moses, but I fear God would have heard a lot of complaining. “But, YHWH, don’t you remember all that I did, what about that time…?” Or, God forbid, “I deserve to go.”

But, Moses, knowing the battles that faced God’s chosen, tells them and Joshua to be strong, reminding them that God would go before them. Jehovah Nissi, God their banner, would go ahead of them, and as long as they proceeded under the banner of God, victory would be theirs.

Even Christ followers can step away from God’s banner. We marry the wrong spouse, and suffer a lifetime because we believed surely God brought us together; we take the wrong job, and perhaps a series of jobs, but years later realize God was not in those decisions either.

May we, at whatever stage we are in, recognize it is never too late to come under God’s banner. Will there still be consequences from not waiting on God? Yes—bad choices produce bad results. But take courage, child of God, the battle is not over and the victory will be yours.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.