What’s so special about a flag? It’s much more than a cloth hanging from a pole. It can represent national pride and patriotism. It’s design symbolizes the special qualities of a people. It usually precedes soldiers going into battle, reminding them why they’re going into combat, and during that combat becomes a rallying point, seemingly giving extra courage and motivation to continue their fight, even at the cost of their own life. Statues of soldiers often have a flag included. The statue of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima in WWII is one of the most touching and inspirational depictions of combat history. Novels and movies reflect battles where a flag bearer leading a charge, a very vulnerable target, falls wounded, but another heroically picks up the flag, and continues the charge. The flag becomes a banner, under which the battle is fought, which nations later remember and celebrate with the victories of their history. After a distinguishing battle, a flag is often decorated with ribbons to memorialize significant battles.
Churches often have an American flag present as a banner reminding us of God’s help in building this nation and in the battles fought for it, Fifty stars represent the 50 states, with 13 stripes symbolizing the original 13 colonies. Each of the colors on the flag has meaning: Red for valor and bravery, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice. We regularly pledge our allegiance, our loyalty and promise of support, to the flag symbolizing this free nation and those who have given so much to guarantee our freedoms.
But there is also a Christian flag in Christian churches, which, sadly, often goes unnoticed, but actually has even more meaning for us. Were you surprised during the Prayer of the Church that included the Pledge of Allegiance to the Christian Flag? You wouldn’t be in a minority if you didn’t even know there was such a thing. Going forward, it’s a pledge I intend for us to use more often in the future.
The Christian flag also has symbolic meaning. The white flag, featuring a red Latin cross on a blue square in the upper left corner, represents Christianity as a whole, rather than specific denominations. The flag's colors also have specific meanings: white for purity and peace, blue for faithfulness and the waters of baptism, and red for the blood of Christ. Mainline Protestant denominations in the United States accepted the flag first, and by the 1980s many institutions had policies for displaying it inside churches. It was unofficially displayed since 1897, until the Federal Council of Churches approved its official place of honor alongside our national flag on January 23, 1942.
The term banner was first introduced in the Bible during Israel’s Exodus from Egyptian slavery, although initially not in the form of a flag. As Egyptians were bearing down on them, the Red Sea had become an insurmountable barrier to their escape. But God commanded Moses to stretch out his staff over the waters, and the sea parted to allow them to pass through the waters - on dry land. On the other side, Moses again stretched out his staff over the waters that now closed, drowning the Egyptian army. Moses’ staff was God’s first banner of the Exodus, rallying His people to move forward in victory. In fact, our Call to Worship was based on The Song of Moses, praising God after their miraculous crossing through the Red Sea. Moses refers to God’s strong right arm, His banner under which Israel overcame its first major obstacle in its quest to reach the Promised Land.
Now, a few weeks later, they had come to a place called Rephidim where God had brought Israel to camp and rest for a while. They had already started grumbling against Moses’ leadership, but now there was no water, and they were thirsty and irritable. Moses feared the people were going to stone him to death as an inept leader. God then commanded Moses to take his staff, as God’s banner, and strike the Rock, and water would come from it. Doing as he was told, Moses struck the rock in the sight of the elders of Israel, and water flowed from it. Enough pure water to supply the drinking and cleaning needs of the several million people for as long as they needed. Through His banner, in the form of Moses’ staff, God had miraculously more than adequately supplied Israel’s needs.
But a short time later, the Amalekites approached Rephidim to attack Israel. Amalek was the grandson of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. The Amalekites’ desire for vengeance against Israel, Jacob’s descendants, stemmed back to the time Jacob had convinced Esau to sell him his birthright for a bowl of porridge, then later deceitfully cheated Esau out of his father’s inheritance blessing. The Amalekites were fierce fighters, whereas Israel had been a generation of slaves in Egypt, unskilled warriors lacking great weapons and armor.
Here at Rephidim, where God had revealed His power to provide water, Israel was about to be attacked by the Amalekites. Under Joshua’s command, the Israelite army prepared for battle, while Moses went to the top of an overlooking hill, his staff of God in his hands, accompanied by Aaron and a man named Hur. The battle began, and as long as Moses held up his hands with the staff, Joshua’s army would be winning. But whenever Moses’ arms grew tired, and began sagging, Israel would be losing. So, Aaron and Hur propped up Moses’ arms, putting them over them on each side until sunset. God’s power through the outstretched banner of Moses’ staff, provided the complete and final victory that day. Recognizing that God had miraculously led them to victory over the heavily favored Amalekites, Moses built an altar, calling it Jehovah Nissi in Hebrew, or, The Lord is my Banner. Moses was not taking credit, nor giving credit for the victory to Aaron, Hur, or Joshua. God’s Banner had previously provided for Israel’s living needs, and was now also their banner providing for the defeat of Israel’s enemies.
The Lord’s Banner would become a more physical presence than Moses’s staff or his outstretched arms. When Israel came to Mt Sinai, where they would camp for a while, God directed an Ark to be built. It was a wooden chest, approximately 4 feet long, 2 ¼ feet wide, and 2 ¼ feet high. overlaid with gold, with winged seraphim on the top, facing inward, and two rings of gold on each side of the chest, for the two poles that were inserted for four priests to carry the Ark. Within the ark would be the tablets of the Ten Commandments, a large jar of the manna God had provided as Israel's food during the Exodus, and the miraculous budding rod of Aaron confirming his divine priesthood. It would proceed Israel whenever they moved or went into battle, in effect now becoming God’s banner leading them. You may recall the priests carried the Ark at the head of the column that circled Jericho for those six days, and seven times on the seventh day, before the walls collapsed without a single sword being drawn, or an arrow launched.
The Ark would be God’s Banner while Israel followed God’s instructions. Unfortunately, when the disobedient Israelites, facing the Philistines, brought the Ark to the battlefield, hoping for divine assistance, they were defeated, and the Ark was captured. The Philistines placed it in the temple next to the statue of their god Dagon. There, the statue of Dagon would be found broken each morning, and the Philistines experienced plagues and misfortunes while the Ark was in their possession, leading them to eventually return it to the Israelites. It remained in a small town for twenty years, until David made Jerusalem the capital, where the once mobile Tabernacle became the home for the Ark. When Solomon had the magnificent Temple built, the Ark was kept in the place of the Holy of Holies, behind the large curtain called the Veil, until the Veil was torn in two at the moment Jesus died on the Cross giving us access to the Father through Jesus, our banner. As Indiana Jones fans know, the Ark’s whereabouts is still a mystery.
Did the lost Ark mean that God was no longer the banner for His people? No. In fact during the Exodus God had already shown Israel a preview of Jesus who would give them access to the Father through His Crucified Son. When Israel had become rebellious at one campsite, God sent poisonous snakes throughout the camp. God’s remedy was to direct Moses to erect a pole with a crossbar, a type of cross, on which he placed a bronze snake. Then, anyone who looked up at that snake on the cross, would be healed. God was previewing His plan of salvation, that evil, represented by the snake, would be hung on that cross, symbolic of Jesus becoming the embodiment of evil, absorbing the venom of sin for those who looked upon Him, and be healed of their sin.
Centuries later, when Jesus actually took on the wrath of evil at the Crucifixion, paying the sin debt, He became God’s Banner of Salvation, leading us through the Veil that symbolized sin that had separated us from the Holy of Holies God, As God’s Banner of Salvation, Jesus had defeated sin and death and would be God’s Royal Banner throughout eternity. Just as the Israelites had to do during the Exodus by looking at the snake to be healed, we need to look upon Jesus, our Crucified Lord, God’s Banner of victory, to be healed of our sin.
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is attempting to reveal the Kingdom of God to the esteemed Pharisee, Nicodemus. Although Nicodemus struggles to understand the concept of being born again and being born of the Spirit, he would have been very familiar with Scripture telling of the healing of the Israelites being bitten by poisonous snakes, and having to look upon the bronze serpent for healing as a Messianic preview. Using that Scripture, Jesus tells him that just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life through Him. Despite being a scholar and a teacher of the Torah, Nicodemus was unable to make the full connection of OT Scripture with the Messiah before Him now. Despite his dedication to understanding Scripture, and being a highly respected Teacher of the Law, he still did not have God’s banner, Jesus the Christ, over him. Yet, Nicodemus was one who took Jesus’ crucified body from the Cross to the tomb. He was in the pre-dawn Easter procession to the tomb, and a witness to the empty grave. Perhaps Nicodemus had let Jesus become His banner.
But, like Nicodemus, we too face that critical question, Is Christ the banner for our life? Are we rallying around His banner, as Christian soldiers, with the Cross of Jesus going on before us? Many are still like Nicodemus when he met with Jesus, struggling to understand the salvation Jesus offers, those who are not under His Banner. Looking ahead to Revelation 19, Jesus is seen on a white horse, leading His army, those under His Banner, against those who were under the banner of the Antichrist. The battle is over in a very short moment, with Jesus as uncontested Lord, our Banner through whom we experience His victory. But for yet an undetermined time, we must continue to lift up His Banner over us, those who know Christ as Lord of our lives. As we sang in our Hymn of Preparation, as His soldiers of the Cross, we must lift high His Royal Banner, from victory unto victory, ‘til every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed. With today the noise of battle, the next the victor's song.
There are two flags before us here. One flag is the banner of this nation, the other a banner of God’s kingdom. One reminds us of those who have forged this nation in liberty and freedom during our lifetimes. The other reminds us the One who offers us freedom from sin and death through eternity. I hope every time you see the Christian flag, you’ll think of the Lord as your banner, Jehovah Nissi, as our only hope of victory over sin and death. Our only hope of salvation. Amen
