Joy can be contagious. Whether it reaches someone in the form of a personal presence, a word of affirmation or encouragement, or some deed of assistance cheerfully done, joy can spread to others and affect their soul, if only for a brief while.  So if our enjoyment of God is continuous and growing.

“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.” Isaiah 11.10

And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner… Exodus 17.15

God’s banner

The idea of God raising a banner over His people occurs with some frequency in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. 

His banner flies over the people who fear His Name (Ps. 60.4). 

He drapes a banner of love over His Bride (Song 2.4). 

He intends the nations of the earth to see His banner and be drawn to it (Is. 5.26; 11.10; 13.2). 

Over us is a banner of salvation for God’s people (Zech. 9.16, 17) and it proclaims the goodness, beauty, and bounty of the Lord. 

As is perhaps obvious, the banner God raises over us His people is the banner of His own Name, His dwelling with and among us to make us into a powerful nation, characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Is. 18.3-7; Rom. 14.17, 18).

In the truest possible sense, the Lord Himself is our banner, that which proudly waves by us, over us, and ahead of us as we seek the Kingdom and righteousness of God.

Thus, necessarily, that banner represents the joy we have in the Lord and signals to the world that, far from dreading the consequences of fearing and submitting to God, we actually enjoy Him Who has made us and saved us, and Who daily abounds toward us in every good thing.

The role of banners

Occasionally, when I was a kid, my dad would take his sons to a baseball game at old Busch Stadium on Grand Avenue in St. Louis. It was always a great time because my dad was adept at explaining what was going on and telling us what to watch for when runners were on base.

On one such occasion, my dad bought me a St. Louis Cardinals pennant. Red with white lettering, and a cocky cardinal perched above the sweet spot on a baseball and two crossed bats underneath. I was a Cardinals fan. And I had a banner to prove it.

That began my love for pennants of the teams I cheered for as a kid. Soon I had an Illinois pennant pinned to my wall next to the Cardinals one.

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