The With Us God: The God Who Fights For Us! Exodus 17:8-16 NLT
This Advent season we are taking a journey deep into this name, Immanuel. We know what this name means thanks to Matthew—God is with us. In the Hebrew, this name is comes from two words: ‘Immanuw’ which means“with us, or toward us. The other word is ‘El’ which means “God.” To look at this word literally, we could say it means: The With Us God. He moves from the realm of eternity and infinity and steps across into the limitations of time and place. He is the With Us God because He became one of us.
Have you ever been talking about an issue or problem and shared with someone what you think ought to be done and their reply was “I’m with you.” It means they understand and more than understand, they are willing to put themselves on the line with you. This is what Immanuel means. God puts himself on the line with us. God has chosen, out of His infinite love and grace, to be with us in the most unique way. He surrenders His place in heaven and chooses to become wrapped in human flesh.
And why? Why would God enter our world as one of us? I mean, He has the ability to step out of eternity and into our world without ever shedding any of His eternal nature. Yet He emptied himself of that eternal form and exchanged it for a human form. Why did God do that? The most obvious answer is because He loves us enough to do just that. But my inner child wants to know more; more than just the “why” of incarnation, but I want to know the what!
What is God seeking to do in humanity, and what is God seeking to do in me? The“Why” Of Love Is Found In The “What” Love Does For Us. So this Advent season we are going to be looking at just what God wants to do in us, for us, and through us.
We are looking at this through some of the names that God revealed Himself through in the Old Testament. Each of these names reveal something about God and something about WHAT it means to have this “With Us God” as we go through life with all of its ups and downs.
Today we are going to look at another name: Yahweh-Nissi. It means: The Lord Is Our Banner. This name is found in Exodus 17:8-16 NLT:
“8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 9 Moses commanded Joshua,“Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill,holding the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.
11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.
12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
14 After the victory,the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).16 He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”
As you know, the Exodus from Egypt to The Land of Promise had more than its share of problems. But still they are moving every closer. Earlier they were running out of food, and God provided them with manna and quails. They were running out of water, and God gave them water out of a rock. And now they are facing a battle with the Amalekites but these are people who had been slaves, notwarriors. Moses instructs Joshua to assemble an army to go out to fight. That next day Moses stands on a hill overlooking the battle.
As he raises the Staff, that Staff that Moses held when he encountered God at the burning bush. That staff represented God’s calling and anointing. As Moses holds up that anointing and calling, Joshua and the army gets the upper hand. But when Moses’ arms get tired and he lowers them, the Amalekites get the upper hand. Aaron and Hur support Moses’ arms and finally they win the battle. Then Moses gives that place a name that reflects the truth that God had fought for them. He names the place YAHWEH-NISSI! The idea of “banner”isn’t a sign. It’s the banner of an Army—the Army of God. But spiritually it means that God fought the battle for them.
This is more than history. It’s about the one who is always raising his fist in defiance against the God of Heaven. No, not the descendants of Amalek. It’s none other than Satan himself. Satan is waging war against God and His purposes.
Here is the One Thing You Need To Remember: God’s Purpose Is To Bring Sinners Like You And Me Back To Himself. And Satan is shaking and raising his fist against that purpose.
And the battle is not a valley in the Sinai desert. The battle is going on inside every person, and inside each of us. If Satan is anything, he is persistent, and he does not give up easily. And you and I know that battle all too well. Just when we think we are getting the upper hand, we get beaten back again and again and again.
Maybe someone here this morning is fighting a battle deep inside you. Maybe it’s an attitude that you don’t like but it keeps coming up again and again. Maybe it’s a habit that you are trying to break, but it has broken you. Maybe it’s the feelings of guilt and condemnation that you just can’t shake off.
Maybe it’s over some thing that is controlling your life and making you miserable. You struggle and struggle and struggle, but the result is always the same: defeat! And maybe you have reached the point where you wonder, “Why keep on trying?” Maybe you have even raised the white flag of defeat and the banner that is flying over you is defeat and despair.
God knows that when it comes to warfare with Satan, we cannot win. We are like Joshua’s army when Moses’ arms dropped. Satan gets the upper hand. Regardless of how hard we try and fight, we always lose the battle with Satan when all we have is our own strength. God knows how weak we are in this battle.
So 2,000 years ago, God sent an angel to a carpenter named Joseph with an incredible message: “Your fiancé is pregnant and you, Joe, will be the father on earth to the Son of Heaven. This Son will be known as Immanuel—The With Us God!” This With Us God is the Yahweh-Nissi—The God who fights for us!
As when Moses raised his staff and the battle with the Amalekites changed, so The Battles We Face Change When We Know That With Us In The Battle Is Yahweh-Nissi. There are three things you can count on when you give your life to Yahweh-Nissi:
1. He Fights For You Even When You Are Unaware Of His Presence.
Do you doubt this? Do you feel, “Well, if God is so concerned about me where is He now? Why can’t I beat this habit? Why is all this happening to me?” Listen carefully to Paul in Romans 5:8—But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The battle Jesus fought in the Garden of Gethsemane wasn’t just about Him.
It was about humanity and about us. At stake was whether or not we could be forgiven of our sins, released from our guilt and condemnation, have a real purpose for life, have a relationship with God now and a home in heaven later. THAT was the battle that Jesus fought in that olive grove. And if He fought that hard for you then, don’t you think He still fights for you now? Does a bear like honey? Does a cow eat grass? Do gasoline prices go up? Does Immanuel fight for you even when you are unaware of it? The answer is the same of all these questions: unequivocally YES. He stepped out of eternity and into time to be with you in the battle for your soul.
2. He Equips You With The Weapons To Win Those Battles.
Because this is a spiritual war, conventional weapons of strength and knowledge will not work. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. And Paul tells us what we can count on from The With Us God in Eph. 6:12-17…
“12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Message puts it like this: Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. The weapons we need come from the arsenal of God himself. Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation,And The Word Are More Than Words. They are the weapons of God’s design that Satan can never defeat. He is with us to equip us so that Satan will lose the battle.
And we know we can trust and rely on these weapons to work because Jesus used these same weapons to conquer Satan. He is With Us so that we can win the battles that wage inside us by giving the only weapons that are proven successful again and again and again. The proving ground of these weapons was a cemetery outside Jerusalem that failed to hold on to the body of Jesus.
3. He Will Stay In The Battle With You Until The Final Victory.
Maybe you heard the joke about a time when the Lone Ranger and Tonto were surrounded by the Apaches. The Lone Ranger looked at Tonto and said, “It looks like they have surrounded us.” And Tonto replies, “What do you mean, us, pale face?” Have you ever had been abandoned by someone you thought you could count on? It hurts, doesn’t it. The sting is painful and the bruise goes deep. But God will never do that to you.
In Deut. 31:6, God reveals something of His heart to Joshua as he is about to lead the Hebrews into the Land of Promise—The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. This is the nature of God’s heart to you. Skip town on you? Never! Run and hide in the thick of battle? Forget that ever happening! Slip away during the night? Ain’t gonna happen! How do I know this? How can you know this? Listen again as Paul opens the door of heaven and gives us a glimpse of the With Us God: Phil. 1:6—And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. And you can be certain too, that God will continue His good work within you until the day when Jesus returns.
How? Because one night a long time ago, an angel visited carpenter with a message and a name—Immanuel! The With Us God. If you think your god is far off and distantly removed from you, then it’s time you meet the only God who dared to do the unthinkable: He became the With Us God. And one reason He came to be the With Us God is so that we might know Yahweh-Nissi: The God Who Fights For Us. You can run away from Him this morning—but He won’t ever give up His pursuit of love for you.
Next Step: Get To Know The Weapons
Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, And The Word. Make a commitment now to study, then use them.
Kingdom Pastor 
What a great reminder. God has our backs. If he is for us, who can be against us. Blessings.
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Amen, John, Amen!
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