Thoughtful Thursdays: Jehovah Sabaoth: The Lord of Hosts

I have been sharing the notes that I handed out in the ladies’ Sunday School class I taught using Kay Arthur’s book, Lord I Want to Know You. The ladies read just that book, but I prepared the handouts after studying several books. You can find a list of those books I used by clicking the “Names of God” post on the bottom of this post.

So far, I have shared posts for 11 of the chapters in that book which brings us to the name of God, Jehovah Sabaoth.

Jehovah-sabaoth appears over 250 times in the Bible. We see it used many times in the prophets and the Psalms.

The name Sabaoth means “armies” or “hosts.” It could also be translated “The Lord of Armies” or “The Lord Almighty”.

One meaning of the name is that God is superior to any human army, no matter its number. (Judges 7:12-25) Another possible meaning is that God exercises control over all the hosts of heaven, or the heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, and stars).  Psalm 148:2-3

The name of God, Lord Sabaoth or The Lord of Hosts, does not appear in the Bible until I Samuel.

In I Samuel 1 we see this name of God two times. We see it in verse 3: “And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.”

Then we see Hannah actually using it when she prays to God in verse 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. “

When I study a name of God, I love to see how it is used for the first time and the story that surrounds that name of God.

With this name of God, we look at the life of Hannah. Here is the poor woman who was loved by her husband, but she was barren. In her culture, it was a huge disgrace to be barren. Not only that, her husband’s other wife mocked her for being unable to bear children.

In this chapter, Hannah has gone to the tabernacle for their once-a-year trip to offer sacrifices to the Lord. In verse 10, it says, that Hannah “was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.”

Then she prays a vow to the Lord. She prays to Jehovah-Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts and promises that if He will give her a son, she will give him back to the Lord.

Here Hannah is facing an insurmountable obstacle. She could not have a child. Her womb was closed, and only the Lord who is greater than all of the armies, the Lord who controls the setting and rising of the sun, could give open her womb and give her a son.

Not only does she realize that it is only God who can open up her womb, she knows that God can defeat her adversary. She is being attacked by her rival, so she calls upon The Lord of the Mighty Armies to be her protector.

The Lord of Hosts comes to her rescue. He opens her womb, and she gives birth to Samuel.

Who do you run to when you face insurmountable obstacles? Who do you call upon when you are attacked by enemies? When you have a spiritual battle, do you ask The Lord of Armies to fight the battle for you?

Run to Jehovah-Sabaoth!
Call upon The Lord of Armies!

Next week, I’ll share the printable handouts that go with this lesson as well as how we can apply this name to our everyday life.

Here are all of the other posts that have been published so far for the Names of God:

• Names of God (List of books I used to study for this series)
• Elohim, The Creator God (free printables)
• El Elyon, The God Most High (free printables)
• El-Roi, The God Who Sees (free printables)
• El-Shaddai, The All-Sufficient One (free printables)
• Adonai, The Lord (free printables)
• Jehovah, The Self-Existent One, Part 1
• Jehovah, The Self-Existent One, Part 2 (free printables)
• Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Will Provide, Part 1
• Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Will Provide, Part 2 (free printables)
• Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord Who Heals, Part 1
• Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Who Heals, Part 2
• Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Who Heals, Part 3 (free printables)
• Jehovah Nissi: The Lord My Banner, Part 1
• Jehovah Nissi: The Lord My Banner, Part 2 (free printables)
• Jehovah-mekoddishkem: The Lord Who Sanctifies You, Part 1
• Jehovah-mekoddishkem: The Lord Who Sanctifies You, Part 2 (free printables)
• Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Is Peace, Part 1
• Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is Peace, Part 2 (free printables)
• Jehovah-Sabaoth: The Lord of Hosts, Part 1

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