Lift Up the Banner

There are so many kinds of flags in the world today. We can find national flags, state flags, military flags, club flags, and sadly even flags that promote wickedness such as the twenty plus of the LGBTQ+ movement. It seems everyone has a flag. Connected with the concept of a flag is that of a banner. A banner was used as a rallying point for a group (cf. Num. 2:2). It was also used as a standard to signal war (cf. Jer. 4:5-6, 21). After the defeat of the Amalekites, Moses built an altar and named it “The-LORD-Is-My-Banner” (Ex. 17:15-16). With so many banners in the world today, God has elevated one above all.

When the children of Israel complained in the wilderness, God sent fiery serpents to bite them (Num. 21:4-6). Once they acknowledged their sin, they requested that Moses pray to God to remove the snakes (Num. 21:7). Moses prayed and God instructed him to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. The Hebrew word translated as “pole” is translated as “banner” in Ps. 60:4. When the people bitten by snakes looked upon the bronze snake they were healed (Num. 21:8-9). Jesus used this reference to refer to Him being lifted up in John 3:14 when He said to Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,” (Jn. 3:14 NKJV). Jesus was speaking of the cross when He said this (cf. Jn. 12:32-33). Thus, the cross serves as a rallying point to Jesus or a banner for salvation.

No wonder the apostle Paul sought to preach Christ and Him crucified (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18-25, 2:1-5). The banner we must be lifting up to all is the very One that God lifted up on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ! The words of the hymn “There’s a Royal Banner” seem appropriate here:

There’s a royal banner given for display, To the soldiers of the King;
As an ensign fair we lift it up today, While as ransomed ones we sing.
Marching on! Marching on! For Christ count everything but loss,
For the King of kings toil and sing ‘Neath the banner of the cross.

Trent Thrasher