Exodus 17

Israel Defeats Amalek


8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation*.”

*Emphasis Added

Psalm 60

He Will Tread Down Our Foes


60 TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO SHUSHAN EDUTH. A MIKTAM OF DAVID; FOR INSTRUCTION; WHEN HE STROVE WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM AND WITH ARAM-ZOBAH, AND WHEN JOAB ON HIS RETURN STRUCK DOWN TWELVE THOUSAND OF EDOM IN THE VALLEY OF SALT.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!*
6 God has spoken in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.

*Emphasis added

The vision for this meditation, for that is what it is, stemmed from these two passages. The meditation has been over a year in its completion. The original intent was that of short story to flesh out the concept of “Yahweh (The Lord) is our banner.” And while this story could still be considered, short, it is far longer than I originally envisioned. Yet, there is something profound to me about the final product. God has used it mightily to invoke in my heart a deeper understanding of who HE is as our banner.


The imagery and context surrounding these declarations of “The Lord is Our Banner” are strongly militaristic. Banners invoke the image of a coming Savior, warrior, army. They are used as a call to arms to invite soldiers to join under the aegis of the king, the defender. They are used to invoke hope and comfort that help is on the way. It is warrior language. Make no mistake though, is about more than a mere piece of fabric. “The LORD is THE banner.” God is our defense, our protection, our refuge, our safety.


The story that follows was my attempt to flesh this concept out in narrative form. For a young banner bearer, enlisted against his will to serve the king, the journey of discovering what it means to be a banner bearer would take him to unexpected places. I pray that as we consider the truths of scripture ourselves, that the beautiful description of “The Lord is our banner” becomes real and palpable to us as well.