Names of God - Jehovahnissi

Exodus 17:8-15

In this section of scripture we see a battle between the children of Israel and the Amalekites. Moses had told Joshua to get some men together and go fight against the Amalekites and while he did that, Moses would stand on the top of  a hill and hold up "the rod of God".  Israel, at first, was prevailing against the enemy. But afer a while,  Amalek and his crew would start to make a come back. The situation switched back and forth several times. They finally noticed that it was when Moses held high the rod of God that the battle would be in favor of the Israelites. When he let it drop, the Amalekites would start to win again. So Aaron and Hur, who were on the top of the hill with Moses, noticed it, they started working to ensure the battle. The first thing they did was to put a rock under Moses to hold him up. Then they stood on either side and held up his arms. This continued until the Amalekites finally gave up and ran away. Moses knew that the victory had come from God and immediately called to have the events recorded and had them build an altar in remeberance of what God had done for them that day. He gave a name to the altar of Jehovahnissi.

The word Jehovahnissi comes from two Hebrew words. Jehovah and Nes. The word Jehovah is the name that the Jewish people call God by and it means self Existent or eternal. Don't just slide by this and pay it no attention. This is important. By acknowledging the self ixistence of God, we realize that He is not dependant on us for anything. Not our money, time, abilities, or anything else. Instead, He desires that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable. The second part of the name, nissi, comes from the Hebrew word nes. In the figurative sense, it is a token or standard. In the litteral sense, it is a sail, flag, banner, or sign. Just as the rod in Moses hand served as a point of reference for all the children of Israel, Christ is our point of reference. All of us should be looking to Him in unity and fighting for the cause. We each must hold the banner of God's Word high and encourage one another in this battle we wage here on this earth. If we fail to take it up, we don't just let down ourselves, but countless others that may be looking up to us for encouragement.