Getting to Know God ¡V Jehovah Sabaoth ¡V The Lord of Hosts
This day and age is unique in the art of war in that we are able to see first hand ¡V blow by blow - how a battle is unfolding. It is not unusual these days for the journalists to end up getting killed because they are sitting right there in the front line, bullets whizzing around their ears and really don¡¦t have any training or survival savy. It was interesting watching the recent Iraq war and to see how swiftly it ended. Now I know there were some hiccups, but there was really no doubt what so ever and what we saw on TV was a victory of firepower.
The Iraq army did not really have a hope did they? They were out numbered, out muscled and out technologied if there is such a word. It was no surprise really to see America and the Allies sweep to victory. Believe it or not, the events we witnessed in the last couple of months have a lot to teach us about God. Just as the Allies¡¦ victory was assured because of superior fire power and resources, so God¡¦s ultimate victory is assured because of superior fire power and resources.
Tonight I want us to look quickly at another of the names of God that we find in the Bible. It was a name which the people of Israel used when their backs were against the wall. It was a name which reminded them of God¡¦s vast fire power and resources and gave them the confidence to trust in him. That name was Jehovah Sabaoth ¡V The Lord of Hosts, of the Lord Almighty all you with the NIV.
Before we begin to unpack this name and what it has for us, let¡¦s pause and pray.
Lord, life is not always easy. Often we face situations in life which seem insurmountable to us. We sometimes feel that our backs are against the wall so to speak and we wonder where help will come from. Tonight as we look at your name ¡V the Lord of Hosts, help us to see that our help comes from the Lord who made both the heaven and the earth. Help us to recognise the vast resources that are ours in Jesus Christ and the victory that we are assured. This we pray, in Jesus¡¦ name. Amen.
The Origin of the Name
The name Lord of Hosts seems simple enough. The ¡§Lord¡¨, part is usually the word Yahweh, which we¡¦ve spoken about before, but on occasions, (particularly in Amos), we see a slightly different combination - God of hosts or LORD God of hosts.
The word ¡§hosts¡¨ comes from a Hebrew root meaning a mass or a large quantity. It became common to use this term in reference to a large group of people like an army. And so in Scripture, it was used of the large congregation of Israel in Numbers. It was also used to describe the hordes of spiritual beings ¡V both angelic and demonic when used in the context ¡§host of heaven.¡¨ And then we find it as part of the name ¡§Lord of Hosts.¡¨„Ã
Use of the Name
The name Lord of Hosts or the Lord Almighty is interesting because it is a name which is quite late in its development. The first use of this name is in 1 Sam 1:3. This is the story of a man who had 2 wives. One of them had children, but the other ¡V his favourite, Hannah, had none. The story goes that every year, Elkanah and his wives went up to offer sacrifices to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh ¡V where the tabernacle was located. Each year they prayed to the Lord of hosts for a child. Do you find it interesting that they prayed to the Lord of mighty armies, asking for a child? It¡¦s not so strange when you think back to our analogy about the Allied army in Iraq. The Lord of hosts has great power and resources to bring plans to fruition. Power is a plenty with the Lord of Hosts ¡V power even to grant the request of a barren woman. This is why the NIV translation the Lord Almighty is quite reasonable.
The next time it is used is in 1 Sam 4:4. The Philistines had made war on the people of Israel at a place called Ebenezer and had defeated them good and proper. 4000 Israelites were killed in one battle. The leaders couldn¡¦t work out why God had seemingly abandoned them and so they arranged for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts to be brought down from Shiloh. Now you have to recognise that the ark was the symbol of God¡¦s presence and the people almost worshiped it as an idol. To have it on the battle field was a physical sign that God, the Lord of the mighty armies and infinite resources was present. This buoyed the spirits of the Israelites and made the Philistines shake in their boots.
David used this name when he was up against Goliath ¡V
1 Sam 17:45 David said to the Philistine, ¡§You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I¡¦ll strike you down and cut off your head.
His back was against the wall but he claims that he has the Lord of hosts ¡V the Lord of the mighty armies and infinite resources on his side and could help in seemingly helpless situations.
The pattern continues right through the Old Testament. Whenever the people were up against it and needing some help, they called out to the Lord of Hosts. The name therefore became synonymous with the all-sovereign, all-powerful God who was able to achieve the impossible and deliver his people ¡V if only they would repent. In this context, the name is commonly used in the Prophets, but interestingly enough, not all the prophets.
Usage by the Prophets
To show you what I mean ¡K Look at this little table ¡K
Isaiah 53
Jeremiah 71
Ezekiel 0
Daniel 0
Hosea 0
Joel 0
Amos 0
Obadiah 0
Jonah 0
Micah 1
Nahum 2
Habakkuk 1
Zephaniah 2
Haggai 12
Zechariah 46
Malachi 24
So what? I hear you saying. It is meaningless until I put it on this diagram for you ¡K.
This shows a bit of the history of the Nation of Israel and Judah and it shows when and where the prophets were ministering. What I¡¦ve got is 3 lines showing the Northern Empires (Assyria, Babylon and Persia), Israel and Judah. You might remember that after Solomon, the nation of Israel split into 2 ¡V the Northern kingdom (called Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah). They each had their own kings ¡V shown by the crowns ¡V I haven¡¦t labeled them for clarity. I¡¦ve also shown on there each of the prophets and where they were preaching. Amos and Hosea were proclaiming in Israel prior to their capture. Ezekiel and Daniel, were prophesying from Babylon and the rest were in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
The prophets¡¦ period of ministry is shown by the arrows and I¡¦ve put in brackets behind each prophet how many times they use the name the Lord of Hosts. Those that use this term, I¡¦ve coloured their arrows blue, everyone else has a yellow arrow. You¡¦ll note that this term is exclusively used by those prophets in the Southern kingdom of Judah ¡V Now do you see a pattern?.
In 722BC, the Assyrians swept down from the North and defeated Samaria and carried off Israel (the northern kingdom) into slavery. They have never existed as a nation since this time. Both Amos and Hosea (the prophets in the north) warned Israel again and again of the position they were in. Israel, it seems were tolerating idolatry and all kinds of other evil and God was preparing a judgment for them. That came in 722BC in the form of Assyria.
As you could imagine, the destruction of the North sent a shock wave through the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And after the defeat of the Northern Kingdom, Assyria pressed on into the South and lay siege to it¡¦s capital Jerusalem. We¡¦ll find out what happened during this siege a bit later ¡V it is a testimony to the provision of the Lord of Hosts. Imagine it, here was this huge empire Assyria, spreading its wings. And Judah could see that they were next in line to be gobbled up and spat out by this expanding empire. It was only a matter of time they too were carted off into slavery. What hope did they have? Who could save them? Yahweh obviously couldn¡¦t ¡V He didn¡¦t save Israel did he? So why should they believe that he would be able to do any better for them?
About that time, there was also a swag of prophets beginning to prophesy in Judah the Southern Kingdom ¡V Isaiah, Jerimiah, Micah and so on. They came with a two fold message.
1) Firstly they wanted to reassure the people that Yahweh could help. He was the Lord of Hosts ¡V the Lord Almighty and there is no other power on earth or in heaven which could match him. What he has decided to accomplish will happen.
Isaiah 14:24 - The LORD Almighty has sworn, ¡§Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand. 25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.¡¨ 26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
2) Secondly they wanted to warn the people that the Lord of Hosts was also a God who judges. You would not have thought that the people would have needed to be reminded of this ¡V I mean, the Northern kingdom had just been wiped from the face of the earth.
But in reality, the people of the Southern kingdom needed to hear this message because they weren¡¦t really any better than the north and if God judged Israel, why wouldn¡¦t he judge the South in the same way.
Jer 6:1 ¡§Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy the Daughter of Zion, so beautiful and delicate.
3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.¡¨
4 ¡§Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long.
5 So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!¡¨
6 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
¡§Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. 7 As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. 8 Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.¡¨
Here we see an example of another common usage is in the phrase ¡V ¡§This is what the Lord of Hosts says ¡K¡¨ How would you react if the all-sovereign, all-powerful God said something to you? Here is the God who is known for his power. Wouldn¡¦t you sit up and take notice of what he said? You would think that most would, but not all.
This was desperate times. Their backs were against the wall, there was an enemy at their doorstep and so the Prophets¡¦ warning was both clear and relevant ¡V the Lord Almighty is ready to protect us ¡V he can help, but we¡¦d better get our act together, listen and obey or we can expect little else than judgement.
Back to the Timeline quickly ¡K
The Southern kingdom had the benefit of seeing what happened to Israel, but unfortunately not all the kings took notice. Some continued in their sinful way and as a result God allowed the Babylonians to come down and carry the people of Judah off into exile over a period of 19 years. Daniel was in the first group that were exiled to slavery in 605 BC. Jerusalem was finally destroyed in 586BC. The exiles started to return after the Persians overthrew the Babylonians. Groups returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah.
I find myself amazed that the Southern kingdom didn¡¦t learn from the mistakes of the Northern kingdom. It had to be so clear to them what the consequences were of their disobedience, yet they ignored the demands God placed on them to be a holy people. I find myself wondering how different are we? We find ourselves living for the present, according to the standards that we have each developed for ourselves. We pick and choose what in the Bible we will accept and what we will reject. because it is just too difficult or too unfashionable.
It is a bit like what some members of the Uniting church are doing with the issue of homosexuality. If we don¡¦t like it or it doesn¡¦t suit our lifestyle, we¡¦ll ignore it and expect God to adjust his standard to suit us. Well God doesn¡¦t change his standard for us and he judged the South just as he did the North. I want to challenge you tonight that we need to learn from the judgements that God has recorded in his Word. I know we live under grace and not according to the law, but God is the God of Hosts and he doesn¡¦t change ¡V his standard is constant. The Lord of Hosts, the almighty God will judge, we can be certain of that, so let¡¦s sit up and take notice of what he says.
Rather than end on a doom and gloom note, I want to go back to where we started. The name ¡§the Lord of Hosts¡¨ does speak to us of God¡¦s judgement and his standards, but it also tells us about his incredible resources ¡V sufficient to give a barren woman a child, sufficient to help an army win the battle, sufficient to help a kid up against the giant. What mountain are you facing today. God has revealed himself as the Lord of hosts so that you can take heart and see that with his strength you can overcome anything.
I want to end with a true story ¡V a city was under siege from the great Sennacherib ¡V emperor of Assyria. He had just conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and was on the rampage through Judah. Other neighboring fortified cities had already fallen and now the army was camped around your city Jerusalem and they were taunting you. Their field commander makes jokes in full hearing of everyone in the city about your military strength or lack of it. He laughs at the thought that anyone can save you and even boasts that he is there as a servant of your God, the one you worship, the God who you rely upon to defend you. He says, that your God told him to come and destroy you. He offers you an ultimatum - surrender or die. A bit of grim situation don¡¦t you think ¡V a life of slavery or death. What should you do ¡V what will your leaders do? Your king ¡V a man by the name of Hezekiah - is a Godly man and his response to this ultimatum is recorded in Isaiah 37
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: 16 ¡§O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
18 ¡§It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.¡¨
Hezekiah in his situation of dire need knelt before God and took his mountain to him in prayer. He asked the Lord of Hosts to intervene in this hopeless situation. He acknowledged that God was the Lord of Hosts and he alone held the power to achieve the impossible. He asked for a miracle, but note, it was not for his own glory, but for God¡¦s. And you know what, God answered this faithful prayer ¡K
33 Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria:
¡§He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,¡¨ declares the LORD.
35 ¡§I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!¡¨
36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning¡Xthere were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
Sennacherib had destroyed Israel and was on the verge of doing the same to Judah, but for the prayer of one faithful man and the power of an Almighty God. We serve an Almighty God who has reserves of power that we cannot even imagine. How do you react when you are faced with a huge mountain? We can learn a lot from Hezekiah who took it before the Lord Almighty in prayer.
