"Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah" (Psalm 60:4).

In this Psalm, God's "banner" (nehs) is mentioned, a word rich in significance and variously translated. Let us reflect on it, as the "Selah" suggests.

Jesus crucified and risen is God's banner (nehs). In John 3:14-15, Jesus explicitly referred to Numbers 21:8, where the word again is used: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole [nehs]: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." The snake on a pole prefigured Christ on the cross.

Isaiah 11:10,12 reads as follows: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign [nehs] of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek. . . . And He shall set up an ensign [nehs] for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

Jesus stressed Isaiah's universal theme in John 12:32. Isaiah added: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard [nehs] to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders" (Isaiah 49:22).

Again, in Isaiah 62:8,10-12, we read: "The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength . . . cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard [nehs] for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. . . ."

What was anticipated by Moses, David, and Isaiah, finally came. Jesus died on God's "nehs" so that His victory over sin and death might be bannered (nehsed) to the entire world. PGH