Names of God 10. Jehovah Mekaddishkem

            Names of God 10. Jehovah Mekaddishkem

    Before we get to this name, I thought it would behoove us to review Jehovah Tsidkenu for a few minutes because understanding that is so crucial to understanding  Jehovah Mekaddishkem. The point I tried to make last week was that no one is righteous nor can they even be righteous. Imagine a land governed by a firm but fair and good king. Just off the shore is an island also subject to the king. The people of the island got together and decided that they no longer wanted to be ruled by the king so when the king sent his tax collectors, etc. the people sent them away. Nevertheless, on this island the people began schools, homeless shelters, clean water projects, free clinics, etc. They did a lot of "good" things. How did the king view those good things? He viewed them as acts of defiance and acts of rebellion saying, "we don't need you; we can do just fine - even better without you."  When an invading navy comes through and they cry for help, the king will say, "Sorry, you aren't my people."
   I give this story just to once again say that all our deeds are as filthy rags - fuel for the fire, and God, who alone is good, has made a new way, a new covenant whereby His righteousness now comes into us who believe and receive. This is why Jesus could say of John the Baptist in Matt. 11:11

¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John didn't have the Holy Spirit living inside him. He was the greatest prophet of the old covenant but we of the new covenant have God inside us. This explains the "greater things that Jesus talks about in John 14:12

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus walked on water, raised the dead, fed multitudes, yet we will do greater things? One thing Jesus couldn't do was put the person of the Holy Spirit into a believer because He wasn't sent yet. We, however, have the opportunity to lead someone to salvation and see them reborn! How great is that!!

       As I tried to illustrate in the pumpkin illustration, God has not only cleaned the gunk (sin) out from inside us, but He put His light inside us. The problem is that light is still surrounded by our flesh, our old sin nature, which is obscuring the light from shining through. It is like this light bulb you see below. It is painted black to illustrate our flesh keeping the light of the Holy Spirit from coming through. Sanctification is the process by which the sinful, old nature is being removed throughout our lives illustrated by the paint thinner wiping paint off the bulb to let more light shine through.
        

         This brings us to the name for today, Jehovah Mekaddishkem which means the God who sanctifies. We find this name in Exodus 31:12,13

Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy(Jehovah Mekaddishkem)

       So what does resting and Sabbath have to do with sanctification? Start by looking at Heb.10:14

 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

    See the two parts of sanctification - 1) You have been made perfect  2) You are being made perfect. In Exodus 31 you see that the Israelites had been made God's chosen people actually by faith applying the blood to the doorposts. Yet Hebrews 4:10 tells us

for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his

  So they were sanctified by faith and they were being sanctified by resting or "Sabatthing" in Jehovah Mekaddishkem the sanctifier. Ezekiel 44:18 says that priests should not wear wool but linen so they won't perspire. What is that all about? I think God is saying that the work , perspiration, has already been done by Christ - now it's time to rest in what He has done. He did the sweat drops of blood for us. Paul says in Phil. 2:13-15

 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

  So if He is working in us to sanctify us, why don't we look more like Jesus? Do we just sit back and do nothing? No, we must work "in the Lord". Did you know that in the New Testament, no one ever works for the Lord, they always work in Him. That means they are letting the Holy Spirit work on them from the inside out who will do the work of producing the fruit. Our work is to get rid of the deeds of the flesh that obscures the light (which He helps us do also) Paul says in Romans 6-8 that prior to salvation it was impossible to say "no" to the flesh but now, with God inside us we can. Look at the following diagram;

   This illustrates the tri-unity of man. When God said, "Let's make man in our image". I believe this is what He meant, three parts. The Body is that part that interacts with everything it touches and it is all about self-gratification, i.e. Lust. It sends messages to the Soul which is the will, the mind, the emotions and the Soul thinks of ways to achieve what the Body wants and gets mad, anxious, depressed, frustrated if something is blocking that from happening. The Body and Soul combine to make the Flesh. The Spirit is dead, asleep, dormant until the Spirit enters it in salvation but when He comes in, He starts working from the inside out. Let me give 7 ways that we start changing.
    
     1. The Holy Spirit starts changing our minds. From the diagram you can see is He is abutting our minds directly and "transforming us by the renewing of our minds" as Paul says in Rom.12:2. If He is really in there we can't help but change. When I plugged in my light bulb and turned it on in class, about three minutes later it started smoking as the paint was melting. Everyone freaked out. It was great! But that perfectly illustrates the principle
    2. He disciplines us.  If you are God's child, He will discipline the bad behaviors out of you. Say you are greedy and you are consumed with amassing wealth for this life here on Earth. What the Lord might do is have one of your investments tank and show you how uncertain wealth is and reveal to you how it had become an idol.
     3. We need to get strong. We need to know the Word, memorizing, reading, meditating etc. Jesus says in John 17:17
    Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. If you have the 2 people living in you - the old man and the new man, who will win the fight? Obviously the one you feed the most.
     4. Avoid temptation. As Joseph did with Potiphar's wife, run away.If there are places or times or situations where sexual immorality tempts you, avoid them like the plague. Take the other street.

            
      Before I give you the last 3 let me develop a type of Flesh in the Old Testament. Whenever you read about the Amelakites I believe God is using them to illustrate the flesh and what to do with it. Why?
   A. They were descendents of Esau who sold what had eternal value to gain temporal pleasure. What a great picture of the flesh
   B. They were the first enemy to battle after leaving Egypt (salvation) Ex.17:8 The flesh is the enemy in the parable of the sower and the seed that takes down the new plant
   C. They attacked from the rear those who were faint and weary. Deut.25:18
   D. They were to be destroyed completely or they will destroy you. Saul was told to completely destroy them, he didn't and ended up being killed by one  1Sam 15:1-23 and 2Sam 1:6-10
   E. Can't do it without God's help. Num. 14:40-45 

   So, if we get back to Exodus 17 which we discussed in Jehovah Nissi, we see the Israelites battling the Amalekites. There are 3 principles (5,6,7) that I see illustrated here.

     5. Pray- look to God. Moses lifted his arms in worship to God and whenever he did, they would win the battle. Are you praying specifically for help in defeating the flesh. If you have problems with filthy language or slander? You need to pray not for travelling mercies or so and so's cancer or out patient surgery but you need to plead with God "please tame my tongue" and pray all day long.
     6. Accountability - you need Aaron's and Hur's to hold your arms up. You need to have a friend who you meet with that says, "Hey, how are you doing with your pornography problem?" and he asks you, "hey, how are you doing with your anger management" and iron sharpens iron. Someone is rubbing paint thinner on your light bulb. James 5:15,16 says that if your brother has sinned go pray for him and confess sins to one another and we will be healed.
     7. Journaling - God told Moses to write this account down. To see God's faithfulness in changing you over the years shows his sanctifying power and how you never want to go back to where you were.

      I got these principles from Hebrews 12 so if you want to find them in there it would make for an interesting quiet time.

      In closing, let me ask you this question; Are you more like Christ this year than you were last year? Rest and submit to Jehovah Mekaddishkem.  Here are some songs that illustrate what I have been talking about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j_Hz-khSyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zgxMyHmZ6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMW4BL07BBo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKUcQpZ4nA

Frozen Pizza Playoff Brackets - Mtn. Time Zone

                        Frozen Pizza Playoff Brackets - Mtn Time zone

  The locations are randomly picked for the sake of making playoff brackets - ala the NCAA basketball playoffs. California Pizza Kitchen won the Pacific Coast Time Zone so now we analyze the next 8 pizzas and put them in the mountain time zone.


                                   




                                                             


                          
                                   




                                                                    


                                




                                                         


                                    both terrible


As you can see, Food City won this bracket. Of the 16 pizzas tried so far, California Pizza Kitchen and Food City are at the top. On to CST zone.

Kid's Video Devotion - Trusting God

  1. Watch the following Doug video

2. What award had Doug's dad (what is his name?) won with his kite - the Funnie 4?
3. What kind of kite did Doug picture making?
4. What did his kite look like? Why didn't he like it? What did he imagine?
5. What did Doug do about it? What was the result?
6. What did his dad do when he found out? Why wasn't he mad?
7. What did Doug conclude about his dad?
8. Have you ever had a similar experience? Tell about it.
9. Read the following verse;  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+14:12&version=NIV  Prov. 14:12 ( or 16:25)  Now  Read  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+9%3A30-33&version=NLT  Rom.9:30-33.  This is a little complicated but put these 2 passages together and try to come up with how they relate to this video
10. Read 1 Cor. 1:27-30  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+corinthians+1%3A27-30&version=NLT  How does this verse relate to this Doug? How does it relate to the Gospel?
11. Read 2 Kings 5:11-14  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+5%3A10-14&version=NIVUK  Why did Naaman originally refuse to wash in the Jordan?

Note to parents/teachers

In this episode, Doug wants a big, showy, impressive kite to win the competition because in his mind, that is what flies the best and gets the prize. His dad, being wise and a kite expert builds a simple diamond shaped kite without even a tail. Doug is embarrassed and even wishes he was someone else's son. He secretly changes the kite but now it won't fly. In humility and sorrow and shame, he confesses to the father what he has done and his failure. His dad, like God, when we confess our sins, forgives his sin and transforms his kite into a victor. The gospel, like this kite, is simple. A lot of people try to make it hard by working hard to get to heaven. God says, all you have to do is believe and receive (John 1:12) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+1%3A12&version=NIVUK Unfortunately most people think that is too simple, plus they want to build a life they can boast about, so they end up missing the salvation that God offers. Naaman was an example of this too. Naaman would have done any valiant feat requested of him or paid any fee for his healing. Instead, he was told to just bathe in a river. Naaman almost missed the grace God had for him because it was too easy and not at all what his mind had conceived for God to work a miracle. When he humbled himself and did it God's simple way, he was healed. Have you received the simple free gift of salvation?  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+3%3A16&version=NKJV

5 Minute Devotionals to Give Using Object Lessons - Pumpkins

 5 Minute Devotionals to Give Using Object Lessons - Pumpkins


                        

 

Bring in a precarved pumpkin with it's top opened but then closed and leave the junk inside. Say. "This pumpkin represents you. At some time God opens your lid (pretend to carve open the top and lift it up) and shines the light of the gospel inside. (illustrate with a small flashlight) At this point, you have a decision to make. You can put the lid back on and say 'I'm doing just fine without religious stuff or introspection - no thanks.' Or you could look inside and say, 'it looks fine to me. I'm filled with potential and goodness' and put the lid back on.

Or, you could look inside and say,'Gross! I am filled with gooey, nasty stuff. Who will take this away from me?' Jesus would say, 'That is called sin and I will take it on Me on the cross' (dig it out and stick it on a wooden cross) Sin is a real thing, it has to be dealt with not just forgotten. In fact , sin was so nasty that God the Father had to look away from Jesus and Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'

(show them the clean pumpkin)

That is what God does with our sin. But there is still one more part of salvation. If you stop there it is like being baptized and held under water. The part we forget is that God in the person of the Holy Spirit comes inside and puts his righteousness inside us. (put the turned on light inside, make it as dark as possible and show them the lit pumpkin with its top open)

When we are saved, we will start shining for God; we will start looking like Him. The world will see a difference.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matt. 5:14-16

Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your heart? Then shine for Him!

Names of God 9. Jehovah Tsidkenu

               Names of God 9. Jehovah Tsidkenu

  Jehovah Tsidkenu is mentioned twice in the Bible, and both times in Jeremiah. The previous names we have looked at were revealed in Genesis and Exodus, so let me give a quick historical summary up to Jeremiah. The Israelites were led by Moses up to the Jordan River, the border of the promised land. There they sent out 12 spies and 10 of them said it can't be done; these people are bigger and much more formidable than us. The other 2 - Joshua and Caleb said have faith in God, He has gotten us through much deeper water than this. Nevertheless, the people wanted to go back to Egypt again and stone Moses. God decreed that no one over the age of 20 would enter- they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation all died off. That happened and then Joshua led them into the promised land and defeated all the strongholds and then divided the land into 9 1/2 sections and said capture the rest of the land yourself. (2 1/2 tribes stayed on the other side of the Jordan) Every tribe secured most of their land but none of them kicked out all the indigents as God had commanded so soon they were intermingling intermarrying and worshipping the idols of the land. God raised up enemies to oppress the Israelites who would then cry out to the Lord for help. God would have mercy, send a judge to deliver them, the people would worship God a short time then return to their life of sin and then the cycle would repeat itself. Things got so bad that eventually the people did not want God to rule them anymore but rather a king. Saul started out good but ended up alienated from God. David was a man after God's own heart (the seed of Jesse) but then had a son who later in life fell prey to idolatry. After him the kingdom was divided into North and South and the Northern kingdom was so wicked that God sent them off into captivity by Assyria by 722BC. God even went so far as to say "I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery." Jer.3:8  As you can see, Judah was headed for the same punishment which occurred in 598BC at the hands of Babylon. This occurred later because some of the Southern (Judah) kings worshipped God. Yet, finally God sent them off for 70 years to be punished, though not "divorced" as He would never be done with them for the sake of His love for, and promises to David.

      This is where Jeremiah is prophesying, right before Babylon captures them and during the time of their deportation , 627 - 586BC.

     Jeremiah's message was this;
 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ Jer. 18:11

    The people's response was this;
’¹² But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’” Jer. 18:12

    In other words, "God is going to punish you for your wickedness; Repent and act right!"
                              "We would love to but we aren't capable." (gotta admire their honesty)

  Then God introduces a new name

    “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
    and do what is just and right in the land.
⁶ In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior. (Jehovah Tsidkenu) Jer. 23:5,6

  So now the conversation goes like this;
 
  Jeremiah; "God is going to punish you for your wickedness; Repent!"
     People;                         "We would love to but we aren't capable."
 Jehovah Tsidkenu ;  "I know. This is what I will do; I will be good for you. And this is how I will do it"; (see below)  "I will start a new covenant where I give you a new heart and put my Spirit in it  enable you to live rightly; the righteousness you were incapable of - I will be and do for you and in you."

    This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
³⁴ No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”  Jer. 31:33,34
^" I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your uncleanness." Ezek. 36:26,27

       Fast-forward 600 years and onto the scene comes this "righteous branch" from the line of David, Jesus Christ. He tells the people that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees (the professional do-gooders) they will never enter Heaven (Matt.5:20). Imagine the raised eyebrows - "How can anyone be righteous if they aren't; what hope is there?" Jesus is basically agreeing with Isaiah where he says in 64:6 where he says that all our righteous deeds are comparable to filthy rags. He is agreeing with Habbakuk in 2:13 where he says that the peoples good works are fuel for the fire. He agrees with David in Psalm 14:3 where he says that there is no one righteous - no not one.
       Lets look at one of these discussions that Jesus has with His disciples during an encounter with the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10:17-27

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

    The Rich Young Ruler starts out by calling Jesus "good". Jesus asks him, "Why do you call Me good, only God is good?" Why does Jesus say this? I can come up with three reasons. 1) Self deprecation/humility. Kind of an "aw shucks". Leonard Sweet tweeted on 10/20/14 " If Jesus was self deprecating - "Why do you call Me good?"- what's our excuse for not being humble?" Now since Jesus never turned down worship and gloried in praise (one of His proofs of divinity) it is a  BIG stretch to think he was being modest here.  2)He wanted to distinguish Himself from God and divinity. This is a passage often referred to by cults as proof that Jesus wasn't God. The discussion of this goes well beyond this blog  http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2012/06/is-jesus-god.html but most of my readers would agree that this is a wrong interpretation.(My wife pointed out that even in Jeremiah 23:5,6 the branch , Jesus, is called Jehovah) So that leaves us with #3 and that Jesus is calling attention to the fact that if He is good like the young man claimed, then He must be God because only God is good. I believe this is the right interpretation and Jesus dismantles the man's self righteousness by starting with the 1st of the 10 commandments "You shall have no other gods before Me" and shows him that money is his god. He can't even keep the first much less all 10! The disciples are wowed by this because they are thinking that if this "good" guy can't get in, who can? Jesus says that righteousness of man is impossible. But righteousness of God given to man is possible by faith.

      Paul spends a lot of time dealing with this concept

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall,
    and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.  Romans 9:30-10:4

 

that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  Phil.3:8,9

 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Cor.5:21

 

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior   Titus 3:5,6

 

      Peter also talks about it;

 

He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness  1Peter 2:24

 

      John also talks about it;

 

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  1John 2:29, 3:7

To summarize, watch this Youtube video of the Parable of the Pumpkin which hopefully visually demonstrates Jehovah Tisdkenu better than I can explain it.

         
²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.   Col.1:26,27

  I will talk some more about this next week but in closing look at the three songs that relate to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZMd9QnX1g8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5dvNI4kl4U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRBQtIEEkrU
   

 

 

     








 

Names of God 8. Jehovah Nissi

                    Names of God 8. Jehovah Nissi

    Last week we looked at Jehovah Rapha. God led the Israelites through the desert for three days, to an undrinkable pond of water. He then revealed a new name to them which seems to be God's most effective way of revealing Himself - when He has our attention. He showed them that He can take all the bitterness of the life in Egypt miraculously away if they just trust in Him. Did they? Lets look at the following passages;

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. ² In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Ex.16:1-3

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.

18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.

 

20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”  Numbers 11:5,18,20

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”  Numbers 14:2-4

Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”  Numbers 20:5

they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Numbers 21:5

             So many instances of wanting to go back to Egypt! And what was waiting for them? Slavery, pain, despair, no future, no hope, not to mention killing of their children. They remembered how the flesh was fed and forgot the negatives. How does this relate to us? Egypt is a symbol of the world or Kosmos, or Kingdom of the Earth. They were delivered from there by the Passover lamb symbolized by Christ, through the sea symbolizing baptism, and headed to the promised land symbolizing Heaven or The Kingdom of Heaven or God. We struggle with the same things; even though we have been delivered from slavery of sin and the Devil, we still end up desiring to go back or at least get as close as possible so we can partake in some of it. Is this an option for us? What does the Bible say?

   ^" But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” 1Kings 18:21,39

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matt 6:24

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.   Col.3:1-3

Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica  2Tim 4:9,10

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

   Note that the Bible says to be on both sides is impossible! You can't love the Kingdom of Earth that caters to the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life while loving the Kingdom of God which teaches us to put away lust and deny self. The Bible calls that adultery or being a traitor. And why would we want anything to do with the world when we remember all it leads to is slavery, pain, despair, no hope, no future, death and is led by the Prince of Darkness himself. What does this have to do with Jehovah Nissi? Look at Exodus 17;

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

⁸ The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
¹⁰ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
¹⁵ Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.(Jehovah Nissi) ¹⁶ He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord,

      Notice in verses 1-7 the Israelites once again wanted to go back to Egypt and in verses 8-16 God reveals Himself as their banner. The significance and meaning of a banner back in those days was - a flag, a pole, or standard that led into battle or that people rallied around or identified with. Look at the following videos and note the banners;

    

       

 

 

 

Here are some modern day banners;

 

We in America proudly align ourselves under this flag. We don't pledge to another. Nothing moves us like raising it at the Olympics, planting it on the moon or raising it in times of victory or tragedy

 

 

 

Nothing insults us more than when someone desecrates it

 

 

or when someone aligns themselves with something that wants to destroy us

 

 

 

Why? Because we have chosen a side even if it is a sports team

 

 

we can't align with another one, it just doesn't work!

 

 

So what does the name Jehovah Nissi mean? Well, among other things it means, I am a God that demands you pick sides. You are either with me or against me. Come over to my banner and align with Me. I will give you freedom, hope, purpose, and certain victory but you have to be "all in". Look on the mountain what happened. When the kingdom of God, the banner of God, was lifted high and looked to victory was attained. In the same way in Hebrews 11:13-16 we see

 

 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. (they were under a different banner) ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, (they didn't want to go back to Egypt) they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

 

We are under the banner of God and will be in the future for all eternity;

 

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isa. 11:10

 

and we are carrying the banner of God in the world as we represent Him. How are you representing Him?

 

You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth.  Psalm 60:4

 

Not only that but your family has a banner. Do people say about your family, "that is a Christian family" or do they identify you by some other characteristic?

 

The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.” Numbers 2:2

 

Here are some songs that tell the theme of this lesson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEh07WpUpLw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIItEigwW8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCX1G7Dwsu4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKUcQpZ4nA