The Lord Our Banner

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.