One of the theologically rich hymn we sing is "A Mighty Fortress is our God." There is one phrase in this hymn which is often sung but not understood, that is Lord Sabaoth. Here is the second verse of the hymn where it is found:
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.
You 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.
What does Lord Sabaoth mean?
The Hebrew word sabaoth means “of hosts" or "of armies” and when used in conjunction with the personal name of God (Yahweh/LORD) is translated as “Lord of Hosts.” He is Lord of the hosts of the angels, the multitude of the heavenly host, that do His good pleasure, fighting under His direction, and for His purposes. The idea behind Sabaoth describes His sovereignty over all spiritual and physical armies. One commentator described it like this:
“Yahweh of hosts conveys the concept of glorious king. Yahweh is king of the world (Zechariah 14:16) and over all the kingdoms of the earth (Isaiah 37:16) […]. Although the title [Sabaoth] has military overtones, it points directly to Yahweh’s rulership over the entire universe. He continually rules, but at times he directly intervenes to secure his own victory and insure the direction of history for the salvation of his people. In Amos 4:13 [Sabaoth] is associated with his creating the mountains and wind and his ability to control nature. He is master over every force; he alone secures peace.”
– R. Laird Harris, c. 1980
You may remember in 1 Samuel a woman named Hannah greatly desired to have a child but was barren. Her battle was not a physical one, but rather a biological obstacle. Hannah committed her struggles to the Lord of Hosts who answered her with the birth of Samuel, who would later become one of Israel’s greatest prophets.
1 Samuel 1:11 – “She made a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.'”
Isaiah also helps us understand the the LORD of hosts:
Isaiah 6:3 – “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord (Yahweh) of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”
A.W Tozer commenting on this verse said, “A person who has sensed what Isaiah sensed will never be able to joke about ‘the Man upstairs’ or the ‘Someone up there who likes me.’ My brother or sister, there is something about our God that is different, that is beyond us, that is above us—transcendent. We must be humbly willing to throw our hearts open and to plead, ‘God, shine Thyself into my understanding for I will never find Thee otherwise.'” – A.W. Tozer, “Whatever Happened to Worship”
The Lord of Host is our God. He is the one we worship, make our petitions to, adore, and proclaim!