Jehovah-nissi: Jehovah is My Banner

Go now and strike the Amalekites; and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxen and sheep, camel and donkey.

And Jehovah sent you on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. 1 Samuel 15:3, 18

God hates the Amalekites as they represent the enemy of God and His people. The Amalekite is a type of the flesh, warlike, always against God and His people. Therefore, the command against the Amalekites is to utterly destroy them until they are fully consumed. God hates the Amalekites to the extent that not utterly destroying them as per His command would mean disobedience and even a rebellion.

Saul fought against the Amalekites and won the battle but he was not completely obedient to what God commanded. He reserved the "good spoils" that God commanded to utterly destroy. Therefore, he failed God.

And Samuel said, Does Jehovah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed, than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination,  And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king. 1 Samuel 15:22, 23

This morning the Lord convicted me deeply of my failure in not dealing with my flesh utterly and absolutely. I was reminded of the case of Saul how God commanded him to fight against the Amalekites and utterly destroy them. I failed to fight against the flesh and utterly destroy the flesh, and therefore, I was convicted deeply. Fighting against the flesh is a matter of the Spirit in my spirit, and I cannot do in myself. 

The picture in Exodus 17 is the way to deal with the flesh. I need the interceeding Christ. As Joshua obeyed Moses and fought against the Amalekites, I must also obey the speaking Christ to fight against the flesh. As in the case of Samuel, he was completely consecrated to Jehovah and took the Nazarite vow. I was commanded to completely consecrate myself to Lord and make a vow before the Lord, a Nzaraire vow, to separately and sanctify myself from the defilement of the "wine and strong drink", the earthly pleasure and worldly entertainment and anything that is the "product of the vine", anything that is of the world, which has no source in God. This was the Lord's definite speaking to me today. 

A Vow to War Against the Flesh

Therefore, today, in my morning prayer time the Lord convicted me of my failure and need for making a vow to be fully consecrated to God, and in the afternoon prayer time, I took the vow, trusting in the Lord's grace to keep the vow.  I know myself too well and how vulnerable I am to the attack of the enemy and how wishy-washy I have been in my stand against the flesh. Therefore, my burden was mostly on the Lord's grace to lead me through this battle all the days of my life. I have no confidence in myself nor in the vow I make, but I put my confidence in the Lord to whom I make the vow and upon whom I depend and put my full trust. 

And Moses said to Joshua, Choose men for us, and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And when Moses lifted his hand up, Israel prevailed; and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And Jehovah said to Moses, Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi; Exodus 17:9-15

Today, as I ministered the word to the group of believers in Madhya Pradesh, I ministered my very experience of the Lord in fighting against the flesh.  The Lord comforted me so much when the Bible mentioned that Joshua did as Moses had said and fought against the Amalek, and Joshua defeated Amalek! And Moses built an altar and call the name of it Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah is my banner!.

God spoke, He commanded, He shows the way to obey His commandment, and also comforted me with the confirmation of victory so that He can be my Jehovah-nissi! Hallelujah!

Now, all my worries fled away for it is He who fights and wins the battle for me and He is my banner. Henceforth, I can boldly declare that Christ is Victor! Yes, Christ is my Victor!