Hello, John and Doves,
Here is a copy of a pdf file I downloaded from the internet about the name of God,
“YHWH Sabaoth.”
~Blessings,
From: gladevillechurch.org
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April 11, 2010 – Names of God – YHWH SABAOTH
This morning, we’re continuing our corporate worship focus on the
names of God.
As you probably remember, we devoted a number of Sundays back in
February and March to looking at different Biblical names of God and
how He reveals different aspects of Himself through these names.
As a very quick review, so far we’ve looked at the names:
YHWH, ELOHIM, ADONAI, EL SHADDAI, YHWH RAPHA, YHWH
M’KADDESH, ELOHAY TEHILATI, & YHWH SHALOM.
(If you missed any of these, you can go back and watch the videos or
read the notes on our church’s website.)
The Bible contains many different “names” of God. And there are just a
few more of these that I want us to consider before we wrap up this
worship series.
Today, we’re going to focus on the name YHWH SABAOTH.
This is another compound, or “two-part” name for God.
In fact, it’s the most-repeated compound name for God in the Bible, it’s
used over 270 times.
YHWH, as we’ve learned previously, is God’s most personal name,
rooted in a Hebrew verb that means “to be” or “I Am.”
SABAOTH comes from the Hebrew word TSABA, which is most
frequently translated in scripture as “host.”
TSABA means “a host, a large group, a vast army”
TSABA comes from a Hebrew word for “warfare,” so it has definite
military overtones.
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One Bible dictionary translates TSABA as “that which goes forth.”
So we’ve got a “host,” a “vast group or army” that “goes forth.”
In the Bible, TSABA can refer to stars, or to angels, or to armies (human
or angelic)
Psalm 33 says:
Psalm 33:6
By the word of YHWH the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of His mouth all their TSABA, (their host.)
Clearly, in this verse, TSABA refers to stars or to heavenly bodies in the
cosmos.
Psalm 148 says:
Psalm 148:2
Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His heavenly host.
(His TSABA)
In this case, TSABA refers to angelic host who worship God.
Of course, these angels can also form an army.
In Joshua chapter 5, as Israel prepared for battle, a heavenly being
holding a sword appeared to Joshua and told him:
Joshua 5:14
“I have come as Commander of the army (the TSABA) of the
Lord.”
So, YHWH SABAOTH is the Lord of the angels, of the armies of
Heaven.
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Most English bibles translate YHWH SABAOTH as “the Lord of
Hosts.”
(which is a reasonable and accurate translation)
The NIV (unfortunately) translates it as “Lord Almighty,” which to me
seems less accurate and less helpful given what SABAOTH actually
means.
The New Living translates it as “Lord of Heaven’s Armies,” which is
much better!
The MESSAGE paraphrase translates YHWH SABAOTH as “God-ofthe-
angel-armies.” I like that!
So… hopefully you’re starting to get a feel for this name.
YHWH SABAOTH a very COMMANDING name.
It’s an ACTIVE and POWERFUL and FIERCE name.
Which is fitting. Because our God is not a “tame” God.
He’s not a “domesticated” God. He is not a passive God!
NO! Our God is a wildly powerful God, a decisive God who takes
action in mighty ways. Our God is a warrior! The Bible says:
Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is His name.
Isaiah 31:4
As the lion growls over his prey, …so the Lord of Hosts (YHWH
SABAOTH) will come down to do battle upon Mount Zion.”
Picture in your mind a lion, growling & guarding his prey.
That’s a fierce, powerful, intimidating image. That’s YHWH
SABAOTH!
The Psalmist writes:
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Psalm 24:7-8, 10
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, , strong and mighty, the Lord, , mighty in battle.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts - YHWH SABAOTH - He is the King of glory!
He’s the Commander of mighty armies, the King of the heavenly host.
All the stars in the sky and all the angels in Heaven obey HIM.
He’s the God-of-the-angel-armies – YHWH SABAOTH, the Lord of
Hosts!
This is a transcendent name, the kind of name that puts an end to
thinking of God as “the man upstairs” or “God is my co-pilot.” NO!...
Isaiah 37:16
Lord of Hosts (YHWH SABAOTH), God of Israel, who is
enthroned above the cherubim, You are GOD - You alone - of all
the kingdoms of the earth.
He’s NO-body’s “co-pilot!”
Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the Lord, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of
Hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but Me.”
So, not surprisingly, YHWH SABAOTH (or “the Lord of Hosts”) is a
name of God we often find people in Scripture using when they’ve come
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name of God we often find people in Scripture using when they’ve come
to the end of their rope.
A name people turn to when they are powerless, when their resources
are inadequate, when they face an obstacle they cannot overcome.
The first occurrence of this name in Scripture is in the story of Hannah.
Hannah was a woman who had desired a child for many years, but was
childless.
She faced an obstacle she could not overcome through her own power.
So Hannah sought God by His name YHWH SABAOTH.
And God responded, He gave her a son, who became Samuel, the great
prophet.
1 Samuel 1:11
She pleaded, “O Lord of Hosts, 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…”
This name appears again in the story of David and Goliath.
As you recall, Goliath was a giant Philistine warrior, who challenged
Israel to settle a war among their nations with an individual contest.
(between himself and whomever Israel chose to send against him)
But when the king and the army of Israel heard Goliath’s challenge, the
Bible says that they were “dismayed and greatly afraid.”
1 Samuel 17:11
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they
were dismayed and greatly afraid.
They were paralyzed by fear. We all know that feeling.
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To face something we know we can’t defeat, an obstacle we’re
powerless to overcome – it’s an overwhelming, terrifying, paralyzing
kind of experience.
That’s what these men were feeling. (a normal, human response)
But then David arrives at the battlefield, sent there by his father to check
on his brothers. And when He hears Goliath issue his challenge, he
can’t believe it!
David says:
1 Samuel 17:26
“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the
armies of the living God?”
You see, David was filled with the Spirit of God. And he responded,
not with normal, run-of-the-mill man-centered thinking, but with GODcentered
thinking!
David was NOT overwhelmed by this giant. David was overwhelmed by
His GOD!
So, despite some ridicule from his brothers and some discouragement
from King Saul, David ultimately runs out to meet Goliath in battle.
And David says to him:
1 Samuel 17:45-46
“You come against me with a sword and a spear, but I come
against you in the name of YHWH SABAOTH, the God of the
armies of Israel.
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… that all the
earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And this whole
assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the
Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s.
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YHWH SABAOTH. HE is the One who is able to win the battle.
If you search through Scripture for occurrences of this name,
you’ll find this truth over and over again.
Centuries after David, God called a man named Zerubbabel to lead in
the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. It was discouraging work,
that encountered massive obstacles time after time, year after year.
But the prophet Zechariah brought this word from YHWH to
Zerubbabel:
Zechariah 4:6
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of
Hosts.
(which is a LOT like “not by sword, nor by spear, for the battle is the
LORD’s”)
“What are you, O great mountain? (God says)
Before Zerubbabel you will become a level plain.”
The mountain of obstacles facing Zerubbabel would be leveled, not by
human might, but by the Spirit of YHWH SABAOTH, the Lord of
Hosts!
Psalm 84:11-12
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory…
O YHWH SABAOTH, How blessed is the man who trusts in
You!
Not in HIMSELF, but in YOU!
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Psalm 46:1-2, 10-11
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth trembles and the
mountains fall into the depths of the sea.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
YHWH SABAOTH is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
We’re going to sing a song in just a moment, a song written almost 500
years ago,
by a Catholic monk named Martin Luther.
(If you’re not familiar with Luther’s story, you really should get familiar
with it.
He was a fascinating individual.)
Martin Luther began to speak out against the Roman Catholic church,
which at that time was very corrupt. He took a Biblical stand for
justification by grace through faith. His teachings inspired the Protestant
Reformation.
Of course, all this made Luther extremely unpopular with some very
powerful people.
He was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, declared an
outlaw,
spent years in hiding, and only narrowly escaped martyrdom for his
faith.
So, how did Luther persevere, continuing to write and teach (for years!)
in the face of that kind of opposition?
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I think the answer can be found in a song he wrote in the early 1500’s,
called
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” In one of the verses, Luther writes:
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
(depending on our own strength is a losing proposition)
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing.
(You) ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He!
Lord Sabbaoth, His name,
(If you’ve ever wondered what in the world that verse was talking about,
now you know! The Lord of Hosts, YHWH SABAOTH is His name!)
from age to age the same, and HE must win the battle.
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of
Hosts.
O YHWH SABAOTH, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!
PRAYER:
Father, You are YHWH SABAOTH, You are God alone, over all
the kingdoms of the earth.
You are the King of Glory. You are the One who wins the battle.
You are mighty to save, sufficient to overcome any obstacle!
Your kingdom is forever!
We depend on You. We trust in You. We worship You.
YHWH SABAOTH is with us – by the power of Your Spirit, in the
Person of Jesus Christ.
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The God of Jacob is our fortress.