Jehovah-Sabaoth

Lord of Hosts

I Sam 1:3 (H6635 )

1 Samuel 1:3

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.

Here are the ways that this word is translated:
host 393, war 41, army 29, battle 5, service 5, appointed time 3, warfare 2, soldiers 1, company 1, misc 5

Here are some other verses that use this name:

Joshua 5:13-15
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.


1 Samuel 1:11
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

1 Samuel 17:45-47
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.

2 Samuel 5:10
And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.

1 Kings 22:19
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.

1 Chronicles 11:9
So David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him.


I have been waiting and meditating and praying about this compound name of Jehovah for weeks now. . . nothing comes to me. . . I wait. . . Today dawns, the 11th of November 2007, with the realization of what this day is. It is variously across much of the world called Veterans Day or Remembrance Day. . . poppy day. . . remembrance of the armies. . . remembrance of the hosts that have gone before and purchased that which we have. . . It is the day on which World War I ended. . . the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a terrible war drew to a close. Just another terrible war, one more in a long seemingly endless line, not a war to end all wars, just another period of terrible slaughter and suffering coming to an end. . . a war of pain, destruction, suffering and sacrifice coming to an end 89 years ago today. We remember today, not just the end of that war, but the losses, the suffering, the sacrifices of soldiers in all wars. . .

Our God is known as the Lord of Hosts. . .Jehovah-Sabaoth. . .The Lord of an army. . . The Lord of Soldiers. . .

To be a soldier is to be intimately familiar with sacrifice. Those reading this who had thrust upon them, in whatever circumstance performed the duty of 'soldier' offered, but were not for what ever reason chosen for the ultimate giving of our lives. . . The offer was made. . . but not yet required. . . Abraham offered Isaac and through that offer thereby God knew his heart. . . It is through an offer that a man or woman's heart is known. To serve as a soldier is a selfless act. To throw one's self upon a grenade for the sake of others is as valiant an act as one can imagine regardless of whether the grenade goes off or not. . .

Being a soldier is about doing the right thing the right way. Honor and respect are important to a soldier. Honor and respect are important to the God of soldiers:

Joshua 5:13-15

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.

A repeat, very similar words to what had occurred with Moses and the burning bush so many years before.

Exodus 3:4-5

And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Joshua knew what Moses did not. A soldier knows what a shepherd did not. Joshua fell to his face and worshiped. Moses, the shepherd stood and asked questions. Joshua, A soldier, did not. He immediately fell to his face and worshiped. Even on the field of battle, in the midst of a siege holiness, honor and respect were due. . .expected and given. . . Joshua was a soldier and the Lord of Hosts led him all the days of his life. . .

Joshua 24:31

And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.

To be a soldier is not based upon your feelings. It is a commitment given, an oath taken, then followed and fulfilled. A duty, not the stuff of glamor and heroics except in the movies, a price paid, something greater than yourself purchased for someone else. . . a gift for future generations of someone else's. . .

To be a soldier is not determined by a smartly worn uniform and fancy ribbons displayed upon the chest, but by the loyalty to cause and passion of beliefs of the heart beating within that chest. . .

To be a soldier it is not required that the flash and stench of battle surround you. To be a soldier, it is necessary merely that you be in the army in whatever capacity required. Every soldier has the same commander-in-chief. Every soldier whether on the front lines or in the rear echelons and supporting roles is sacrificing in some way to the cause and necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. An army without food is as weak or weaker than an army without guns.

To be a soldier is in itself an act of faith. It is a demonstration, a persons actions based upon, reflecting an internal commitment to something greater and much larger than yourself. Wars may end. . . but the call to commitment and sacrifice never ends. That call continues on another battlefield, the same commander in another army, with a different objective on a different day, but no less today the soldier than then. . . the salute. . . the sign of respect. . . the honor due. . . remove thy shoe. . .bend thy knee. . . always when in front of God the ground upon which you stand is holy ground.

Let us remember today:

We remember today those who offered and lived to fight another day. . .
We remember today those who offered the ultimate price and it was required. . .
We remember today that the Lord of Hosts is our God, our commander. . .
We remember today that regardless of gender or age,
as we ever continue to draw breath,
as long as our hearts continue to beat within us. . .

We remember today that we are in His army fighting, not merely for ourselves and for our own salvation, but under His banner. . .
for His kingdom. . .
for His glory. . .
for Him. . .

First comes remembrance and then thanksgiving. . .

We give thanks to you God.
We give thanks to the soldiers who have offered and sacrificed before. . .
We give thanks to those serving and offering today. . .
We give thanks for the soldiers yet to come. . .

Dave Stokely

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