THE BANNER STANDS UNFURLED
There were no cell phones in Old Testament times. There were no walkie-talkies or computerized communication systems. And so when a general had to relay an urgent message to part of his army, still on the same battle field but a mile and a half away, he used a banner. Or when a watchman on the hills around a fortified city needed signal to its citizens to run for cover, he used a banner. Or when a solider broke through enemy lines and needed to show his fellow countrymen where they were to rally together, he used a banner. And a banner back then was not a lengthy piece of canvass like we see hanging above a store’s front windows today, a “banner” in the Old Testament was a long pole held up in the air, on top of which was either a large metal symbol of some kind or a piece of cloth of various shapes and sizes, similar to a flag, that specified which army division was taking the field or a special predetermined signal or an important message that everyone on that side knew. These banners could be used in different ways at different times, but they were always a call to action.
The Old Testament Israelites understood how important banners were for those who counted on them more than we do today. Because they used banners themselves in the battles they fought and the armies they faced made use of them as well. And so they were well aware that banners had to be absolutely clear in what they stood for. They had to be lifted high for all to see. And the message each banner sent had to be taken seriously.
In Isaiah 11 we have a familiar advent prophecy about the “Root of Jesse.” It is probably something most of you have heard before because it is a popular Christmas time Scripture reading and even our previous hymn, “Behold, a Branch is Growing” is based on it. But you are most likely more familiar with the first verse then the tenth. At the very end of this Old Testament lesson the Root of Jesse is called something else that would have brought a very different image to the minds of those believers in the 8th century BC. Here, the Root of Jesse - the eventual offspring of David’s father Jesse - is actually called a “Banner.” “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit… In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
Isaiah prophesied that when the Messiah would come as a human being to this earth he would be a banner for all nations: a signal, a rallying point, an unmistakable call to Christians that this was the One who was prophesied about for all those centuries. This is the one around whom all believers among every people would gather. This was the one who would lead them to victory. What a striking visual this must have been for those Israelites 700 years before Christ! Vivid images of war and scenes of bloody battlefields and spears and horsemen and generals leading the charge undoubtedly filled their thoughts - especially because of the way Isaiah talks throughout the rest of his book! And it was probably exciting for them to think about such a Messiah. It was a prophecy that depicted their coming Savior as a triumphant King around whom they would rally after he gained a great victory over his enemies. Who wouldn’t look forward to that day while living in a country perpetually surrounded by adversaries!
As Christian we are perpetually surrounded by adversaries, aren’t we? And we look forward to rallying around the King too. We will do that in a formal way in just a few weeks at the celebration of Christmas. A special event at which we rally around an infant King, a time when we gather around a victorious general of war resting in his mother’s arms. But we also rally around this King in more informal ways: when we go to him in prayer, when we listen to him in his Word, when we visit him at his house, when we lean on him in times of distress. We just have to be careful that we don’t only rally around the King when we’re under attack, only when we find ourselves out of options and out of time. Because that is exactly what the Old Testament Israelites were infamous for.
During the time of the prophet Isaiah, God’s people weren’t rallying around the King. In fact, they were leaving the camp! They were rejecting him, ignoring him, overlooking him. Because everything was going just fine. They weren’t being oppressed by a major foreign power… yet; they weren’t in dire need of help… yet; they weren’t dealing with any kind of disaster that forced them to cling to their King… yet. And so they didn’t feel any need to rally around the Banner because they didn’t think that they were in any kind of danger. That’s why Isaiah was called on by the Lord to speak to them. It wasn’t until they were exiled when they finally began to rally around the Lord once again. It wasn’t until they were in great need and completely devastated when they finally forged their way back to the Banner that had always been flying in a way at the temple on Mt. Zion and would soon be completely unfurled at a birth in Bethlehem.
And don’t we fall into that same kind of pattern? We rally around the Banner but only in those times of trouble, only when we find out that we really do need some help, when we really do need some major support. We do not hesitate to rally around that King when we are sick or when our health is failing. We have no qualms about finding our way back to that place where he stands when we need something and we can’t seem to get it by ourselves. We are determined to find that unfurled banner waving high in the wind when nothing else has worked and we are at our wits’ end and we don’t know what else to do. But to gather around it and stay close to it and look up in wonderment at that Banner when things are going well, when life is smooth, when troubles seem far behind us and even farther away in the future? Then it seems unnecessary. It’s suddenly seems like a lot of work to march along with the Word of God and keep up with the pace of the King. And it feels OK for us to hang back a bit and enjoy the scenery and look into other things that we come across throughout the journey. Not to leave the camp totally, of course, but to stay on the outskirts and ease up on the training exercises and fill ourselves up on the bounties of the countryside through which we are passing.
But then the attack comes and we’re not ready. And those attacks can take on different forms. Maybe a natural disaster strikes close to home or our funds unexpectedly run dry or our health takes a turn for the worst or we fall into a nasty sin we never thought possible or a death in the family shakes the very ground we stand on and we end up trying to scramble back up the hill and frantically search for that old familiar Banner and desperately claw our way through the thorns and the thickets and hysterically dodge the arrows that are raining down around us because we know that we have to make it back to our King. And it runs through our minds that we should have never strayed from his side in the first place! We should have never had to rally at all! We should have never had to gather up everything in a rush and head towards that wind-swept flag in these moments of panic because he shouldn’t have be that far away from us to begin with! There are times when that happens to us, aren’t there? There are times when we find ourselves farther away from the King and his standard than we really should be. And that happens because we sometimes forget how important that Banner really is to our spiritual well-being. We disregard how essential his Word is to our faith and his throne is to our prayers.
But every time we find ourselves out of position and under attack and surrounded by enemies from without and within, every time we glance back up to the top of that hill where that Banner is unfurled, there it still stands. Every time we fall back to him in prayer, there he still listens. Every time we open up that Bible and dig into his Word once again to find that comfort and peace we have missed, there he still talks to us. Every time we walk through these doors after a terrible week of Christian futility and failure, here he still waits for us. This Banner stands. This banner waves. This banner beckons boldly and unmistakably for anyone to see at any time so that we know exactly where to find him no matter how far away we may be.
And it’s not as if we can mistake this banner for something else, because this banner is one-of-a-kind: it’s the only one well-worn with the fight for our salvation. It’s soiled with the dirt of a middle-eastern stable floor. It’s faded from the sun of the escape down to Egypt and the long afternoons preaching on the edge of the Jordan River and the constant trips over the mountains and the deserts in between Jerusalem and Galilee. It’s soaked in the sweat of Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. It’s torn by the scourges that found Jesus’ back. It’s tattered by the thorns that crowned his head. It’s punctured with jagged holes from the nails. It’s spattered with the blood that dripped from the cross. It’s saturated with the musty scent of a damp cave used as a tomb over the weekend. This Banner certainly isn’t always all that much to look at. And it’s not always something that gives us an easier life or more money or less problems just because we are near it and love it and cherish it. But this Banner still flies. And this colors of this Banner still remain brilliant. And the message of this Banner is still absolutely clear: You are forgiven. You are rescued. You are going home. Because this Root of Jesse, this Spirit-filled Savior has fought for you and still is fighting for you and he will place upon your head that victory crown in the end. He’s the banner of spiritual conquest! He’s the signal of salvation! And you are on the winning side.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” When this war comes to an end and the King goes home, his resting place will be “glory.” The word “glorious” is not used here; it’s actually “glory.” Our King’s resting place will be glory itself. And so his heavenly castle will not only be enveloped in the full extent of his majesty and power and brilliance and splendor, heaven will be glory. How can any human language do that justice when we have no idea what that is going to be? But that is where we are going to live. Those of us who have been rescued by the King. Those of us who have been led to that Banner and led by the Banner will live in glory forever.
And this Banner unfurled one night in a feeding trough of Bethlehem, this Banner found fluttering one afternoon on Calvary’s hill, this Banner soon to be soaring on the clouds with thousands of angels in its train, flies with just as much vigor and just as much intensity today; but only in his holy Word. And so get closer to that Banner in the words of Scripture. March right by its side. And never let it out of your sight. Because it’s the only place you’ll find this banner waving. It’s the only thing that will get you through this life. It’s the only thing that will remain standing when this battle is done.
Amen.
“The Lord will rescue us from every evil attack and bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 2 Tim. 4:18
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