Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts
Isaiah 47:4 – “A for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.”
A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. "Young man," said the professor, "If you can tell me something God can do, I"ll give you a big, shiny apple." The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Mister, if you can tell me something God can't do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!"
As the Lord of Hosts, our great God shows His omnipotence and omniscience. There is nothing that God cannot do – there is nothing that God does not know. Amos 4:13 tells us, “For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.” Again in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Christ tells John in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, … which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Christ, our Redeemer, is Jehovah God – the omnipotent [all-powerful] One – the omniscient [all-knowing] One – the omnipresent [present everywhere] One. Thus is the greatness of our Lord and our God.
This particular name gives Him all authority over all the hosts [or armies] of heaven and earth. This truth is given in Daniel 4:35, “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand.”
But what does all this mean to us – the individual child of God? How does this help us? How does Christ’s position as the Lord of hosts help us? Let’s look at an example in the history of Israel, God’s chosen people. In 2 Kings 6, the nation of Syria camped about Israel and besieged the capital city. The Prophet Elisha was not worried, but his servant was greatly distressed and asked the prophet, “What are we going to do?” Elisha’s answer is in verse 16, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” And then he prayed that God would open the servant’s eyes, which He did, “And he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” These were the hosts of heaven. And we have access to the same hosts that Elisha did. In Hebrews 1:14, God tells us, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” He says that we are surrounded by ministering spirits [angels] who will fight for us just as these hosts in their fiery chariots did for Elisha.
This is how David can with such confidence declare in the Psalms: “He is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence (Ps 62:2)”; “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and horn of my salvation and my high tower (Ps18:2)”; “He is a buckler to all those that trust in him (Ps 18:30)”; “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies (Ps 27:6)”; “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me (Ps 56:11)”; and “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God (Ps 20:7).” The sweet psalmist of Israel knew that each one of us can put his trust in the great God, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. Paul says with the same confidence in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And in Hebrews 13:6, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” And we can have the same confidence that David had – the same confidence that Paul had – the same confidence that Peter had – and the same confidence that John had. For we have as our God the great Jehovah Sabaoth.
Quote – “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.” – Martin Luther
