Jehovah Tsebaoth - The Lord of Hosts
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Introduction
Introduction
This evening we continue our study of God’s names as noted within the pages of Scripture. As you recall, the Word of God is God’s revelation of Himself to us. It is through the lenses of these pages we can see, know, and understand God as He has chosen to reveal Himself. It is important to understand that we can only know God when we read His Word and have His Spirit to guide us. And, as you are already aware, you cannot have His Spirit until you first accept His Son.
Currently, in our study of God’s names, we are working through the compound names associated with His name, YHWH (Jehovah). This evening we are going to fill in the fifth box on your chart. You should chart so be like the one on the screen.
YHWH Rohi (The LORD is My Shepherd)
YHWH Jireh (The LORD will Provide)
YHWH Nissi (The LORD my Banner)
YHWH Shalom (The LORD is my peace)
Now fill in the next box with...
YHWH Tsabaoth (The LORD of hosts)
For this name, we are going to start in the New Testament. This is change from the other names as we started in the Old Testament. Don’t worry for we will be going back to the Old Testament shortly. However, for now, I would like to direct your attention to a couple of New Testament passages as we begin this study.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
You will note that in these two verses we have the word “sabaoth.” This is a transliteration and not a translation. A transliteration is when translators transcribe a word phonetically from one language to another. In other words, they give the exact word as it is in the original language but using similar pronunciations in the second language. So, for instance, the word “sabaoth” was transcribed letter for letter into the Greek language. Thus, in our English Bible, we get the same word as in the Old Testament. We see that more in a bit.
In the Old Testament, you will find the phrase “The LORD of hosts” listed many, many times. My research showed it is used 245 times in Scripture and in 235 different verses. Here are couple of examples.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
20 But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
The Hebrew word “tsaboath” (transliterated in the New Testament as “saboath”) is rendered several different ways.
Host (as in a vast multitude)
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Army/Armies
3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
War
3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.
“that were able to go forth to war”
20 And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
Service
23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Bands of Soldiers for War
4 And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons.
Company (1 verse only)
11 The Lord gave the word: Great was the company of those that published it.
As you surmise, this word is directly related to soldiers enlisted to do battle.
The very first time we see Jehovah’s name associated with the word “sabaoth” is in...
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
Now, remember that Samuel is the human scribe chosen to pen the words of God in the Book of Samuel. So, Samuel becomes the first person to use the term “The LORD of hosts.”
One other thing to note is this.
The word “sabbath” and the words “sabaoth” are two different words. They are not the same and should not be confuse with each other.
As you study through the Old Testament, we find that many of the prophets employed “The LORD of hosts [YHWH Tsaboath]” quite frequently. Isaiah and Jeremiah especially were fond of using it. It is used sixty times in Isaiah and seventy times in Jeremiah. In the short book of Haggai, it appears fourteen times. Malachi uses it twenty-four times.
Now, remember when we were talking about just the word “sabaoth” and we noted its usage in the Old Testament? It is used first in Genesis 2:1
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
As we noted then, the word “saboath” or “hosts” was used to designate all the heavenly bodies that God created. Every single star, planet, and constellation was created by God and there is a vast multitude of them. He is the YHWH (Jehovah) of the entire universe.
One last interesting connection between the phrase “the LORD of hosts” and the prophets is found in the book of Zechariah. Just like the other prophets, Zechariah employs this name of God heavily. What is interesting is this? Zecharian spends a large amount of time talking about God’s judgement versus God’s blessings upon Israel. Quite frequently, Zechariah employs this formula.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.
The reference here is to the coming millennial kingdom. At that time, the LORD of hosts to whom all things belong will once again possess all things as He should. Consequently, His kingdom will be a great kingdom of blessing as He will be in complete control of all things.
Now let me circle back around one more time to give you another equation for this particular name. Moses used this name in slightly different manner. Look at Exodus 12:41
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
Now, note that he uses it as “the hosts of the LORD (YHWH/Jehovah).” Instead of saying “the LORD of hosts,” we have “the hosts of the LORD.” Later, as we get further into God’s dealings with Israel as they journeyed towards Canaan, the word begins to imply an army. Israel became a mighty army marching out of bondage to freedom. Throughout their journey, they face many trials, tribulations and battles. Thus, they were indeed the “hosts of the LORD” of the “the army of Jehovah.” Later, as Joshua is about lead Israel in their conquest, we find this story.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Note that the warrior standing before Joshua identifies Himself as “captain of the host of the Lord.” Literally, this warrior was the Commander of Jehovah’s Army. Let me ask you this. Who was this warrior? Personally, I believe this was the Lord Jesus Christ. We often call such revelations of Christ in the Old Testament as theophanies. Christ visibly manifested Himself to Gideon as assurance that Israel would indeed succeed in their conquest of Canaan. Was was Joshua’s reaction? He fell to the earth and worshipped Him with a humble request for instructions. He humbled himself for the Lord and made himself ready to obey.
Taking all that we have learned, we can boil the name Jehovah-Tsaboath down this one statement. YHWH (Jehovah) is the LORD of all might and power ruling over both material and spiritual. He is all-possessing and all-controlling. With that in mind, let’s consider the scope of His name Jehovah-Tsaboath.
He is LORD of All Angelic Hosts
He is LORD of All Angelic Hosts
We just celebrated Christmas. Each Christmas we spend time thinking and reading the Christmas story as we did this Christmas. In that story are the angels singing and praising God as they appeared to the shepherds. Remember the verse that says...
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Throughout God’s Word, we find angels described as “the host of heaven.”
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
In the Psalms, the term “ministers” is used to refer to these majestic beings.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his hosts.
Over in Nehemiah, we read.
6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Many times we see angles as an extension for God’s divine authority and always acting in accordance with His will.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
No one knows the exact number of angels outside of God. However, ten thousand times ten thousand pretty much sums it up. When we consider this vast multitude of angelic beings, we understand that the LORD Jehovah is the LORD of Angels.
That thought should be one of great comfort to us as believers. No matter who difficult things might become here on earth, our God has at His disposal an immense, invisible, and invincible army ready to engage at a moment’s notice on our behalf.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
As their creator, He is in complete control of their movements and through them He carries out His purpose. Just as an example note...
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Another great example is good ole King Hezekiah. If you recall, Hezekiah was faced with a very dire situation. Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, had his entire army set their sights on Jerusalem. They were coming and not anything stood in their way. Already, they had wiped out towns, villages, great cities, and whole kingdoms. Sennacherib sends his most trusted general, Rabshaken, with a defiant, threatening letter. It was a letter of surrender or die. Hezekiah did the only thing he knew to do. He spread that letter out before the LORD and prayed. Note the words of his prayer as they are recorded in Isaiah 37:20
20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only.
What was God’s answer?
36 Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
One angel of ten thousand times ten thousand destroyed the entire Assyrian army of 185,000 mighty and seasoned warriors. Note they “were all dead corpses.” Can you imagine what God could do with twelve legions (72,000 angels)?
Here is the next thought concerning Jehovah-Tsabaoth.
He is LORD of the Entire Universe
He is LORD of the Entire Universe
Let’s go back to Genesis 1:16
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
In Genesis 2:1
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Remember we learned that the word “sabaoth” is connected with God creating the entire universe and all that is in it. Isaiah proclaimed...
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And behold who hath created these things, That bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names By the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; Not one faileth.
Over in Psalm 147:4
4 He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Thinking back to Isaiah 40, it is interesting that the Holy Spirit notes that “not one faileth.” Every star, every planet, and every galaxy obeys the Creator when its name is called. Amazingly, God has already name every star, planet, and galaxy. Isn’t man full of arrogance? We think we are the ones to name the planets and the stars. Yet, as we slowly discover this star or that galaxy and then naming them, God already knows each one and already named them.
By the way, God is in complete command of every aspect of the universe. Time and time again, God has demonstrated that control in the many recorded stories of the Bible. In the book of Judges, He commanded hail to rain down upon the enemies of Israel. During Joshua’s battle with the Amorites, God made the sun stand still. King Hezekiah witnessed God setting the sun 10 degrees backward in Isaiah 38:8. In the New Testament, God even used a star to lead the wise men to the babe in Bethlehem. During Christ’s earthly ministry, the LORD Tsabaoth commanded the winds and the waves to be still and they obeyed. He is LORD of the entire universe.
Here is the next thought.
He is LORD of All Created Beings
He is LORD of All Created Beings
By “created beings” I am referring to all that walks upon land, all that flies in the sky, and all that swims in the water.
He commands the “fowls of the air.”
He commands the “fowls of the air.”
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
Later, by the brook Cherith, God commanded ravens to feed his prophet Elijah.
He commands the “beasts of the earth.”
He commands the “beasts of the earth.”
We know that Scripture speaks of how He owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. Not only does He own them, but He commands them. Ask Daniel! He knows. It was Daniel who witnessed God commanding hungry, ravening lions to keep their mouths shut. Remember how anxious Darius was for Daniel’s safety. Darius didn’t sleep a wink that night pacing back and forth thinking of Daniel being torn apart by those ferocious beasts. In the meantime, Daniel slept like baby perhaps using one of the lions as a pillow (that is my interpretation).
22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Note the following verses that finish this story.
24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
God shut their mouths to save Daniel and then opened their mouths to consume His adversaries.
He commands the “fish in the sea.”
He commands the “fish in the sea.”
The classic story illustrating this all important point is Jonah. Jonah was running as fast and as far he could away from God’s will. He wanted no part of God saving Israel’s enemies. Yet, God had other plans. The great storm came and the only way to save the ship was to throw Jonah overboard. What did God have waiting for Jonah? A great big fish (perhaps a whale) that was capable of swallowing Jonah completely. The LORD of hosts commanded that fish to be there ready for a big gulp. Later, He commands the fish to spit Jonah out.
You see He, the LORD, is indeed the LORD of hosts both in heaven and on earth.
Here is the last thought.
He is LORD of All Humanity
He is LORD of All Humanity
Whenever you get into a study like this, it tends to make you think about the silliness of men. Nation after nation along with kings, presidents, and all sorts of rulers think they rule the earth. Even now, our present government thinks they know what is best for all Americans and even the rest of the world. Meanwhile, we read...
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, And are counted as the small dust of the balance: Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
The Bible is filled with accounts of God raising up one nation only to cast them down and raise up another. Time and time again He thwarts the evil plans of godless, wicked men. All of their schemes and designs brought to nought by Him. As I stated, even now the majority of nations think they do not need God and fail to recognize Him. In a sense, that is okay. We know the rest of the story. There is coming a day when He will have all of them in derision. He is the One Who created all men. Our job is not fear other men, but to fear Him. He is the one that able to destroy both the body and the soul. All those who strutted across the world’s stage such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and others are realizing even as we speak how unimportant they truly were. They now know that Jehovah Tsabaoth is the one who sets nations and kings in order. It is by His hand that they rule and reign.
1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever he will.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let me finish with this last thought and I hope it is one of encouragement this evening. We have spent the entire time considering God as the LORD of hosts. Essentially, He sovereignly reigns over all things. We discussed His lordship over the angels, the universe, all creation, and all humanity. However, the is another group that is under His beck and call that refuses to admit and submit. And, whether or not they choose to admit and submit is of no matter for He controls even them.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
I believe we need to be reminded that even the rulers of darkness are subject to God’s control. The book of Job teaches us this was a very real story. Satan wanted to make an example of Job. However, Satan could not lay a finger on Job until God allowed it.
Fast forward to the cross and we find another example of God’s complete authority. Christ is hanging between earth and heaven. In his final moments before death, Christ utters “It is finished.” Many have claimed that at that moment all Satan’s hellish host including Satan cheered thinking they had won. However, I submit to you that in that moment Satan trembled. For on the third day, the stone was rolled away and the LORD Tsabaoth walked away from the grave robbing Satan of any authority he thought he might have. Even in the days leading to the cross, each time a demon encountered Christ, that demon would beg for mercy. Why? They knew He was the LORD of Tsabaoth.
Here is our encouragement.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
As believers, we can live with confidence serving the Lord with boldness because we serve the LORD Tsabaoth - the LORD of hosts!
