Rally 'round the flag

And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; - Exodus 17v15

God knows exactly how to evoke just the right images in our mind through His word. He gives us truths that allow us to see exactly what He is trying to get across.

Here is a case where my mind floods with images. The battle with the Amalekites was over. Israel had won the battle. As was his custom Moses set up and altar there and called the place Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord is my banner.’ The banner was a sign of victory and support.

A few images come to mind immediately. I have a mental image of Roman troops returning from battle in the great Triumph Parade with their banners and emblems proudly displayed. I have an image of a World Cup final where the supporters from both sided are fervently waving their national flags to spur on their side and then the mad waving of the victorious side.

I have to admit though that one image is clearer than the others. Hanging on the wall of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington is an American flag with fifteen stars and fifteens stripes. It old and tattered and shows the effects of time. It sticks out in my mind because of its history.

It was the 3^rd September 1814 and the young United States was in serious trouble. They were involved in a terrible war with Great Britain. A young man named Francis Scott Key was seeking the release of an American prisoner. He was sent out to a ship in Baltimore Harbour and negotiated the release, but was held on the ship until the battle was over.

As he and another agent watched the battle they could see the American flag flying over the harbour. As night fell and the battle raged they really did not know the fate of Baltimore, and possibly their nation until the next morning.

As dawn broke the next morning they looked to the shore, and their they saw that the American flag still flew over Fort McHenry. The day was saved, the battle was won, and the Star Spangled Banner still waved in triumph.

From that Francis Scott Key wrote a poem which has since become the national anthem. The words of the first stanza are:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The Star Spangled was a sign of hope and confidence for a country in serious trouble. Many years later the world saw the importance of the flag as a nation symbol to American as fire fighters erected a flag in the ruins of the World Trade Centre after the terrorist attacks of 911. On the news the next morning I saw a well known American actor being interviewed. In the background was a government draped with a massive American flag. Americans all over the world could not miss the symbolism. A new day had dawned. America was in trouble, but the flag still flew.

As inspiring as these stories are, especially to Americans, they quickly pale in comparison to the image of God being our Victory Banner. No matter what troubles we face, no matter what battles we encounter, no matter how dark the night our Jehovah-Nissi, the God who is our Banner, still waves.