Skip to main content

His Banner

 Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love. (Song of Solomon 2:4)

          Looking up the use of “banner” in Biblical times, one source describes it as “In the Bible, the term "banner" symbolizes identity, unity, and divine protection. It represents a standard or ensign raised high for all to see, serving as a rallying point for God's people. The Hebrew word for banner, "נֵס" (nes), signifies not just a physical object but also a spiritual concept deeply rooted in the identity and protection offered by God.” (Bibledictionarytoday.com )

          Armies rallied around and marched under a banner that told everyone who they were. Citizens welcomed the victorious with banners much as fans welcome the victorious do today, with banners, flags, and cheering. Their banners make it clear to everyone that they’re with the team.

          My problem with banners – or bumper stickers, or anything else that announces my connection with others is my expectation that I will be a disappointment to the others. There was an ad at one point in which a guy stands in the center of a plaza area, throws his arms out to the side and shouts, “I love you! I love you!” That’s waving a banner. The woman steps in closer and whispers, “I love you. I love you.” That’s me if I’m being bold. I can challenge people (sometimes) without a problem, but being emotionally vulnerable? That’s hard, especially face-to-face.

          But if “His banner over me is love,” then God is doing the “guy role.” Yes, I know He spread His arms wide, and I know that dying on the cross was His shout of “I love you.” I get that. I’ll even tell people that about them. Not about me except, perhaps, with me as just one of the flock, herd, mob, or the dehumanized entity called a collective.

          None of us does a good job of loving, and I think that’s one of my problems with this verse, and why I need to quote it a lot and aloud. I’m embarrassed because I’m not good enough. I’m not worthy. I can’t match Him (or you, or that other Christian) in loving Him or anyone else. But that doesn’t matter in this verse. That doesn’t change His banner.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more