YHWH Sabaoth

“Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?” (Psalm 89:5–8, ESV)

The Lord of Hosts

Martin Luther wrote a famous hymn that has been passed down over the past five centuries. The hymn is entitled, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” In verse two he wrote, “Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He—Lord Sabaoth His Name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.”

I remember singing this song as a child and wondering what the “sabbath” had to do with God winning a battle. I misunderstood the difference between Lord Sabaoth and the Lord of the Sabbath. Sabaoth is the Hebrew word for “hosts”. So, when Luther is writing about Lord Sabaoth, he is using another name for God: The Lord of Hosts. 

Who Are the Hosts?

There has been some speculation over the years as to what is being referred to as “hosts.” Some have said this refers to the army is Israel. If this were the case, The Lord of Hosts would refer to the God of Israel’s armies—or the God of war. However, whenever the bible references Israel’s army, it always refers to them in the singular—“host”—rather than the plural—“hosts.” 

Others have noticed how scripture uses the term “host” to refer to the stars. They reference passages like Psalm 33:6: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” If this were the case, The Lord of Hosts would refer to the God of creation—the God who created the vast heavens. However, like the previous suggestion, the stars are never referred to in the plural, only the singular—the host of heaven. 

That leaves the last option—which seems most compelling. Scripture also refers to “a host” or “hosts of angels.” One example comes in Psalm 148 where it says, “Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!” (Psalm 148:2, ESV). Also, scripture repeatedly speaks of angels surrounding the throne of God. In the passage at the beginning of this post, it pictures God surrounded by a council of angels—a host of angels. This means the name, The Lord of Hosts, is referring to the God who is surrounded by angels. 

Comfort and Glory

On the one hand, this comforts us. As the contemporary Chris Tomlin song states, “I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side…Whom shall I fear?” (lyrics from Whom Shall I Fear). 

This always reminds me of a story from 2 Kings. The prophet Elisha angered the king. So the king sent his army to capture Elisha. Elisha’s servant was very fearful as he saw the city surrounded by horses and chariots. Yet Elisha was unafraid. Then passage says, “Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17, ESV). The Lord of Hosts is the Lord of the angel armies. He is on our side and is watching over us to protect us. Whom shall we fear?

However, this isn’t the primary meaning behind the name. Herman Bavinck writes that The Lord of Hosts “everywhere expressed the glory of God as king (Deut 33:2; 1 Kings 22:19; Ps 24:10; Isa 6:2; 24:23; Zech 1:14; 14:16). The angels belong to the glory of God or of Christ: they heighten and expand it…Throughout the Scriptures “YHWH Sabaoth” is the solemn royal name of God, full of majesty and glory” (Reformed Dogmatics, p. 146).

When we read—or use—the name The Lord of Hosts, we need to keep in mind the imagery of God surrounded by glorious and powerful angels. Angels who are crying out, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Angels who are bringing glory to God for all eternity and worshiping his majesty. This should stir our hearts to worship our glorious God and King.