Our TRUE Banner
 |
| Photo by Robert Linder |
Within the span of 39 days, we Americans will celebrate two National Holidays: Memorial
Day, traditionally observed on May 30th, and our Nation’s Birthday
on the 4th of July.
Originally, Memorial Day was called Decoration
Day. It was and is the day proclaimed to remember our fallen servicemen and
women, to decorate their graves with the American Flag, to posthumously honor
and thank them for their sacrifice. Then comes the observance of our
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Still, to celebrate any National Holiday, we
raise our banner high. We
stand and rally around the flag of the United States of America while our hand crosses our chest to place it
over our heart. We pledge allegiance or sing our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, which now stands for all free and
brave Americans. It originally commemorated the battle for Fort McHenry,
Baltimore, Maryland, a night of fierce fighting that turned the tide in the War
of 1812.
“In August 1814, British forces raided
Washington, D.C. They torched the White House, the buildings that housed
Congress, and other government buildings.”[1] Americans were furious,
but the British, still irritated their colonies had revolted and won, were
determined to put them back under England’s rule. In September 1814, British
naval forces turned their sites on Fort McHenry. “Hour after hour, they lobbed
rockets and shells at the fort, more than 1,500 ka-booms in all.”[2]
Francis Scott Key, an attorney
negotiating the release of American prisoners, was being held on a British
warship eight miles off the coast. Through the night, he watched the battle
rage, fully expecting to see the British flag waving over the fort at daybreak.
However, “…on the morning of September 14, the American flag was raised
over Fort McHenry. It replaced the tattered storm flag, which had
flown during battle. The oversized flag was used every morning for reveille, as was the
case on the morning of September 14.”[3]
And the rest, as they say, is history. Praise
God! This Red, White,
and Blue banner is a uniting factor for all Americans who love
our country and died to keep it free. The country God gave us—the country
founded on His Word, Law, and principles, and the country He has delivered,
time and again, from the hand of oppressive enemy forces.
Only by His Almighty
grace will this banner continue to
wave.
But even if God Most High allows this banner to fall in our lifetime, since we see the
people now in power working so hard to destroy it, we Christians and Jews
have the Truest Banner,
YHWH Nissi – The
LORD our Banner.
Our LORD first made Himself known by this name
during the battle with Amalek.[4] As a Banner, He is our
Standard and Rallying Point. It is Him we worship. It
is for Him we stand, and to Him
we pledge allegiance, sing, and look for salvation by His Blood and deliverance
from our enemy, both physically and spiritually.
Years later, King David, the son of Jesse of
the tribe of Judah, wrote, “You have given a banner
to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. That Your beloved may be
delivered, save with Your right hand, and hear me.”[5]
The prophet Isaiah foresaw our Banner, the prophesied descendent of King David.
Isaiah wrote, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who
shall stand as a banner to the people;
for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be
glorious…He will set up a banner for the
nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the
dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.”[6]
US Dept. of State website
Ultimate fulfillment occurs
at His second coming.
Yeshua, “…the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed…”[7]
He is the One who deserves our praise, worship, and allegiance, for HE IS our True
Banner.
Have a Blessed Memorial Day,
Comments
Post a Comment
I would love to read your comments and try to answer any questions. Let's learn together.