8After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.” 10Joshua did as Moses had instructed him and fought against the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. 12When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword. 14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER →Israel had barely gotten out of Egypt when the first real fight came. The Amalekites attacked at Rephidim. These were not trained soldiers on Israel's side. They were former brick makers with whatever they had carried out of Egypt. Moses sent Joshua down to the valley to fight and went up to the top of the hill with the staff of God in his hand.
Then something strange happened. As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed. When his hands dropped, Amalek prevailed. The text does not explain the mechanics, and we should not invent them. But the message is plain enough. The battle in the valley was being decided on the hill. Joshua's sword mattered. But the outcome belonged to God.
And Moses got tired. Of course he did. He was a man, not a statue. His arms grew heavy. Here is one of the most human scenes in the whole Old Testament. Aaron and Hur found a stone, sat Moses down on it, and stood on either side holding his hands up. One on the left, one on the right, until the sun went down. That is how the battle was won. Joshua in the valley. Moses on the hill. Two friends holding up his arms.
Let me ask you something. Who are your Aaron and Hur? Who holds your arms up when you cannot? And whose arms are you holding up? Some of you are trying to fight every battle alone, and you are wondering why you are exhausted. God never designed you to be a lone ranger. The church is not a spectator sport. It is a hillside full of people holding each other's arms up.
When it was over, Moses did not build a monument to Joshua. He did not throw a parade for Aaron and Hur. He built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner. A banner was a flag on a pole, raised high so soldiers could see it and rally around it. Moses was saying, We did not win this because of our strength. We won because we fought under His name. He is the flag we follow. He is the reason we are still standing.
That word for banner shows up again in Numbers 21, when Moses lifted a bronze snake on a pole and everyone who looked at it lived. Jesus took that very picture and applied it to Himself. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” The banner God raised for us is a cross. That is where the real war was won, against sin, death, and the devil. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
So what are you fighting this morning? A temptation that keeps coming back. A fear that wakes you up at three in the morning. A sin pattern you have hidden for years. Discouragement that has your arms hanging at your sides. Hear me. You do not fight under your own flag. You do not win by trying harder. You win by looking to the One who was lifted up, and by letting His people hold your arms up when you are tired.
Before the day gets going, decide whose banner you are standing under. Your reputation? Your bank account? Your own grit? Or the LORD? Raise His name high today. Rally to Him. And when your arms get heavy, and they will, do not be too proud to sit on the rock and let someone help.
Nes means a banner, standard, or signal raised on a pole so people can see it and rally to it. Moses named the altar YHWH Nissi, “The LORD Is My Banner,” combining God's name (H3068) with this word. The same word is used for the pole on which Moses lifted the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:8-9. Many interpreters connect the name with Moses lifting the staff of God during the battle, though the text does not spell out that link.
OPEN H5251 IN THE DICTIONARY →LORD, You are my Banner. I confess I often fight my battles under my own flag and wonder why I am worn out. Thank You that Jesus was lifted up on the cross and won the victory over sin and death for me. Help me look to Him today. Give me the humility to let others hold up my arms, and the love to hold up theirs. Let my life raise Your name, not mine. In Jesus' name, amen.
Text or call one person today who is in a hard fight and tell them you are praying for them. Then actually stop and pray for them right then.
- What battle are you facing right now that you have been trying to fight alone?
- Who are the Aaron and Hur in your life, and who might God be calling you to support?
- How does Jesus' words in John 3:14-15 help you understand what it means for the LORD to be your Banner?