The LORD of Hosts Is With Us!

Used almost 300 times in the Old Testament, the LORD of Hosts or Yahweh Tseva’ot is first used in the book of I Samuel. As I was researching this word, I found that it was deeper and more all-encompassing than I had at first assumed. I thought it meant Lord of the “angel armies.” But God isn’t limited by just one idea. He is so great, so all encompassing, why am I surprised when His name can have multiple ideas and implications?

The word, hosts in Hebrew is tsaba which means army—it can apply to a human army, angels, the sun, moon, and stars, and even all creation Strong's Hebrew: 6635. צָבָא (tsaba) -- army, war, warfare (biblehub.com).

One video I watched talked about how God IS the armies (YHVH Tsevaoth (Lord of Hosts) - Divine Names & Titles (Part 5) - YouTube). If we take His name personal, Yahweh, I AM, and add “armies” we get a rough English translation of “I AM armies.” He’s an army of one, but oh such a ONE! If HE is my army, then what can I fear? In I Samuel the Israelites are about to be attacked by their old enemies the Philistines, but the LORD of Hosts thunders and throws the Philistines into confusion. God wins the battle for them!

The LORD of Hosts is also the God OF the armies. His redeemed children are part of His army. In Ephesians we’re given the full armor of God to wage a battle against the spiritual forces of darkness in this world. David was part of His army. The last person in I Samuel to use this name for God is David in his speech to Goliath. He stands there with his sling, looks up at the giant and yells, "... I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." David knows he's one of God's warriors and with God on his side, he stands fearless in the face of overwhelming odds.

The angels are His army, for He truly is the God of angel armies. Remember when the Prophet Elisha is completely surrounded by an enemy army? He and his servant are defenseless, but Elisha isn’t concerned. He prays that God will open the eyes of his servant and the man sees the angelic horses and chariots of fire surrounding them. It’s almost unthinkable, this blazing angelic host!

And even more unthinkable is that the LORD of Hosts listens to us. He listens to a broken woman like Hannah, who calls on Him in faith. He listens to the shepherd boy, David, who stands before a giant unafraid. And He listens to us, His needy people when we call to Him. For whatever army or difficulty we face, He is the LORD of Hosts, who fights for us. As the psalmist says in Psalm 46:7, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."