Jehovah Sabaoth (yeh-ho-vaw’ se ba’ôt), which is the Jewish meaning for The Lord of Host (or The Lord of Power).
“Lord of Hosts” is a title, a position of authority that belongs to God alone for all eternity. No force, or power can wrestle or take that position of authority from Him
Please click on link to read part-1 of this article. (The Lord of Host (1) – Feast of light)
God as Lord of Host also controls the human armies
1 Samuel 17:45; David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (NLT)
David at only age 17, had deep spiritual knowledge of who God is in relationship to God’s position as Lord of Host. He boldly announced to Goliath, that the God he serves, is the Lord of the Heavens armies (some translation would say “the God of the angel armies”, MSG) but not only that, he declared to goliath that God was also in charge of the human army, He is the God of the armies of Israel. But not only does He control the human army of Israel but all human armies of the earth are under His control and when He wills, He showcases His dominion over them!
One of the passages of Scripture that shows us that God is in charge of all armies in heaven and on earth is found in 2nd Kings 6. The King of Syria sent his army against Elisha but this did not perturb the prophet Elisha as he knew very well that they were surrounded by the unseen angelic army from heaven, but his fearful servant was more focused on the vast Syrian army right in front of them. (2Kings6:16-19)
16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
18 As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
We can deduce some things from this story in relation to our theme
- God will send His angel armies to protect and defend His own (you and I that believe in Him)
- God struck the army of the Syrians with blindness. Meaning that The Lord of Host has control over any human army on earth and not just the army of Israel, and when they think they can defy His will, He will show them that HE controls them. That every cell in them, every breadth in them must obey His will. That is why by His awesome power every cell in the eyes of the Syrian army had to obey the decree of The Lord of Host and stop working and hence they went blind.
God’s title as Lord of Host is not limited to just controlling the armies in heaven and earth but everything in life
The Lord of Host is related to God’s supreme power & authority (sovereignty)
Nehemiah 9:6, You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you. (NLT)
AMP would say “You (God) gives life to all of them
The Lord of Host created everything in the heavens and the earth and gives life to them all. And because He made everything, He controls everything as Lord of Host
In 2 Kings chapter 20, King Hezekiah prayed to God for healing and asked for the shadow on the sundial to go backward as a sign of God’s power. God granted his request and made the sun’s shadow move backwards by ten steps (or by ten degrees). Although, God used this event as a special sign to show Hezekiah that he would regain his health but this display of total power by The Lord of Host, causing the shadow of the sun to move backward highlights the awesome sovereignty that God (The Lord of Host) has over all the works of His hands in the universe.
The Lord of Host was backing David and hence he became more & more powerful
(1 Chronicles 11:9; And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was with him.) NLT
This verse shows that when The Lord of Host is backing a man, that man will grow and become powerful. That man will become greater and greater.
You could say that God’s title as The Lord of Host or The Lord of Heavens army is linked to making His children great in life, to empower them and help them to fulfil their God given destiny if they seek Him and obey Him
The office or title as Lord of Host owned by God is linked to answered prayers
1 Samuel 1:11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”
Hannah knew that The Lord of Heaven’s army had power and absolute authority and could help her conceive a son. As a result of her heartfelt prayer, God granted Hannah a son, Samuel, whom she presented to the tabernacle as a servant of the Lord, set apart for His work (1 Samuel 1:20; 26-28)
God as Lord of Host who control the whole gigantic galaxies and everything in it is also concerned about meeting the needs of His people at an individual level also. This to let you and I know that even the sphere of your existence which in comparison to the vast galaxies may not be colossal, yet He still controls it and He is more than willing to meet you at your point of need
God is the Lord of Host and therefore all glory in the entire universe and heavens belongs to Him
Psalm 24: 8-10
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
9 Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
10 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory. (NLT)
The Lord of Heaven’s armies (The Lord of Host) is also the King of glory. Connected to His identity as Lord of Hosts is His glory. All glory belongs to Him. Ephesians 3:20, “Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (GW)
The Lord of Host fights for and also defends His children
1 Sam 15:2; Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.
God as The Lord of Host punishes, He deals with those who oppress His children
Also in 1st Kings 20:28-30 we see how The Lord of Host can fight for His children. This is the story of how the King of Syria with his own army also hired 32 kings with their armies to fight against the nation of Israel. In terms of military strength, Israel had no chance of defeating this vast army in the physical until The Lord of Host stepped in.
28 Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 29 And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left.
The Lord empowered the army of Israel and they were able to kill 100,000 soldiers. But a scientific Christian or critic may argue, they were valiant that is why they won! But look at verse 30, “a wall” fell and killed 27,000 enemy soldiers that were left. Question to those who doubt the ultimate power that the Lord of Host possesses, what made a single wall to fall on its own and then wipe out the remnant of Israels enemies? This is the supernatural ultimate power of God, The Lord of Host in display. It shows us that when the Lord of Host intervenes in a problem confronting you as a believer, He does not stop at giving you only 70% victory (which represents partial or incomplete victory) but even the remaining 30% of the problem remaining, He arises to deal with it. The Lord of Host gives us total or complete victory.
The title of Lord Host also describe what God will do in the future (end-times)
For instance if we consider the whole chapter of Isaiah 24: In summary Isaiah 24, is considered a prophetic chapter and contains several prophecies about the future. The chapter describes the destruction of the earth and judgment on all nations. It also talks about the punishment of the wicked and the redemption of the righteous.
In Isaiah 24:23, Then the moon will be disgraced. And the sun ashamed; For the Lord of Hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.
This tell us that following the destruction of the old earth and heaven, The Lord of Host will create the new earth (or the new Jerusalem) and the new heaven, where He will reign and every believer in Christ will be there to bask and enjoy His presence and glory
In Zechariah 14: 16-19; describes the millennial reign of Christ, The Millennial Reign of Christ is a period of time in which Jesus Christ will reign on earth for 1,000 years as the sovereign ruler, in fulfilment of many Old and New Testament prophecies. During His reign, Satan will be bound and sealed in the bottomless pit so that he will have no influence in the earth to deceive mankind.
(See Zechariah 14:16-19)
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the [i]punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (NKJV)
During the millennial reign of Jesus Christ is also a period where the Lord of Host must be worshipped by all nations
In Summary: The Lord of Hosts is not just a title but one of the names of the Almighty God. The Lord of host is a name of God that denotes His universal sovereignty over every army, both spiritual and earthly. The name is used 235 times in the Bible, and first appears in the story of Hannah, who called God by this name in her prayer for a child. The Lord of Hosts commands and controls the entire universe and its many celestial bodies, as well as the host of angel armies that announce great events, proclaim God’s protection and presence, and will ultimately be victorious. This name which demonstrates God’s complete and total power as King of all, will ultimately be revealed in Jesus’ Second Coming, where He will rule over the world.
God bless you.
Prayer: LORD OF HOST my God, just like You empowered King David to excel in life, please empower my life and destiny to flourish in life, in Jesus Name.
Feast of Light Global Ministry
