THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #36 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #18
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3718
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #36
THE LIFE OF MOSES #18
GOD'S MOST HOLY NAME: YHVH #11
3 REVELATIONS OF YHVH'S NAME GIVEN TO MOSES #6
YHVH NISSI ( PART 2 )
This is the second revelation of God's Name ( YHVH ) given to Moses at the Battle of Rephidim.
We tend to focus on the Rod of Moses as if it were a magic wand.
But it actually foreshadows and points to Jesus as the Rod of God.
Although Rephidim in Hebrew means “refreshment, rest” on the way to Mt. Sinai/Horeb, it was the scene of a fierce battle with the Amalekites (descendants of the grandson of Esau).
The Amalekites were thus related to the Israelites but they refused their kinsmen passage through their territory.
They also employed devious tactics in attacking the stragglers of Israel at the tail end of the Israelite camp on their march - those who were at their weakest and slowest. It was a cowardly act to attack from the rear.
Joshua and his troops were sent into the valley of Rephidim to confront the Amalekites while Moses (& Aaron & Hur) stayed on the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hands.
But it wasn’t only Moses’ intercession that won the battle, but it was the ROD OF GOD in Moses’ hand that was God’s Banner!
It was the same wonder-working ROD which:
a. Brought the 10 plagues on Egypt;
b. Parted the Red Sea and closed it.
c. Smote the Rock and brought forth water.
4. It was the ROD, as the Banner of God, which brought the victory.
Under God’s raised banner, victory is always certain.
Do you see the Rod as a powerful symbol of Jesus as our Redeemer?
We will see this in 3 respects:
1. JESUS IS OUR BANNER; HE IS THE RESISTER OF THE EVIL ONE.
He will fight our spiritual battles if we come under His command as our Lord of Hosts.
Whose flag is waving over your heart? Jesus’ or the devil’s? Have you allowed God to rule your heart?
Is the Spirit creating resistance in you? If not, you need to pray!
Are you willing to die to preserve the standard? This is what a battle means - a fight to the finish, to the last man standing.
The Amalekites represent the spiritual forces arrayed against us.
Israel’s best men couldn’t defeat them; only by spiritual warfare could they be overcome.
2. JESUS IS GOD’S BANNER, HIS RALLYING POINT
The prophet Isaiah had this to say. “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my Banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips” (Isa. 49:22)
In any battle, the Banner rallies an army to move forward or retreat. It must not fall or go into the hands of the enemy.
The first thing an Enemy tries to do is take down your flag and put up his.
But with the Lord Jesus as my Nissi/Banner, the believer can say, “My Banner is raised on high. No enemy can go to heaven and take Him down!” We’re on the winning side!
3. JESUS IS GOD'S BANNER BY THE POWER OF HIS REDEEMING NAME.
What the Rod was to Moses, the Name of Jesus is to New Testament saints.
How did the disciples carry out the miraculous ministry even before Jesus had been crucified?
By the power of the Name of Jesus!
Because God is our Banner, there should be 3 R's in our lives:
1. Resistance to the world in us.
2. God should be our rallying point.
3. The Redeemer's Name ( Jesus Christ ) gives us victory over sickness and demons and it saves us and gives us authority to use His Name in all our prayers of intercession and spiritual warfare.
