Yahweh Sabbaoth – The Weapons of our Warfare
Yahweh Sabbaoth –The Weapons of Our Warfare
God Has many titles. He is called Elohim, “the Might Creator,” El Roi, “The God who sees me,” El Shaddai, “God Almighty,” and many other titles. But there is an attribute of God that has deep meaning for the myriad battles we fight from day to day. He is, Yahweh Sabbaoth, “The Lord of Hosts,” and He provides the Weapons of our Warfare.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, The Lord of Hosts
I recall in college I sang with an awesome little mini choir of great singers. We did “Take 6” and “Glad” style harmonies. It was a sweet experience! One of the songs we sang that I still remember with great fondness was called “Great and Marvelous.” I have searched for the music to that song for a long time, but I have never been able to find it. Some of the lyrics were:
Great and marvelous are Thy works oh Lord God Almighty
Who is like unto Thee oh Thou King of saints
Who shall not fear thee oh God and Glorify Thy name
…For Thou most worthy are most holy oh God of Sabbaoth!
The song was very compelling and we had recently studied the names of God in college, so I knew God of Sabbaoth was Lord of Hosts. He is the one who goes out before us and fights our battles for us. “Path-Light,” defines Sabbaoth as:
“Translated as host(s) saba' means army(ies). … Yahweh of Hosts is a special name for God. Yahweh and 'elohim occur with seba'ot some 285 times. … Yahweh Sabbaoth appears for the first time in 1 Samuel 1:3…. Its origin appears to have been at the close of the period of the judges and in the vicinity of the sanctuary Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was housed. The ark itself symbolized Yahweh's rulership; for he is declared to be enthroned between the cherubim (1Sam 4:4; cf, Psa 99:1). This name certainly contains the affirmation that Yahweh is the true head of Israel's armies” (TWOT). [i]
The idea of a God who fights battles for me, a God of great and might power, the “head of Israel’s armies,” inspired me as a youth because there were things around me that I knew I could never resolve, things that I could never fix. God, on the other hand, threw miracle after miracle my way and paved the path for me.
Growing up believing that the Church would go through the Tribulation, scriptures describing the empowering of God and His work with the saints in the end times inspired me. Thinking that I would be fighting for my life, I used to imagine the impact of scriptures like Psalm 91 where it says that, “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.”[ii] I would daydream about God fighting massive battles for and through me; other Christians and I taking down entire armies through the power of God.
I used to imagine the last days, God giving me and others around me messages and guiding us to where we needed to go, and what we needed to do. Scriptures like, Acts 2:17, where it says (quoting Joel 2:28), “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” would inspire my imagination and my trust in Yahweh Sabbaoth – the God who fights my battles for me.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, The Security Chief
As I got older I learned that God fights our battles, but he also gives us weapons so that we too can participate in battle. For in our battle, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” And to wrestle, He gives us several weapons with which to wage war. In Second Corinthians 10 4-6, the Apostle Paul tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the flesh. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every act of disobedience when your obedience is complete.”
It is awesome to know that we have weapons in this fight. With these weapons, we can do at least four things:
1) Demolish Fortresses
2) Tear down arguments
3) Tear down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God
4) Take Every thought captive
5) Obey Christ
But what are these weapons? Paul does not mention what the weapons that Yahweh Sabbaoth, our Security Chief, has assigned to us from the spiritual weapons locker. It has been said that the job of the military is to, “kill people and break things,”[iii] but in our warfare, our weapons must be able to kill immoral thoughts, and break arguments and proud obstacles raised against the knowledge of God. Referencing other portions of the Word, we can deduce the types of weapons at our disposal.
PRAISE – The first weapon is a natural result of our love for our Creator. But I posit, that the more that you and He do battle together, you want to sing of his marvelous exploits. One of my favorite Psalms, made into a Hymn, is Psalm 148, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the sky! Praise him in the heavens! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! Praise him, O sun and moon! Praise him, all you shiny stars! Praise him, O highest heaven, and you waters above the sky!” The Psalm goes on to urge a great assortment of praise to Him.
Psalm 8:2 indicates that Praise silences the enemy. It is a great weapon when we need to bring thoughts into submission. Controlling our thoughts is the first step in the battle to be who God wants us to be. He’s given us a marvelous weapon.
The WORD – The word of God is more powerful than any nuclear missile or terawatt laser. It is able to take out bunkers miles underground, deep in the heart or the soul. It is able to pierce any armor in a flash of brilliance, vaporizing flesh and bone on contact as it brings into judgment the purposes of the heart.
When written in terms of modern weaponry, Hebrews 4:12 demonstrates the awe inspiring power of the Word of God. We need to know it, own it, and wield it.
Jesus provided the example of the Master swordsman when he used the Word against Satan, saying “It is written,” using the sword of the Word to cut down the enemy.
The Power of Your TESTIMONY – In the book of Revelation the Tribulation Saints overcome Satan by the “word of their testimony.” By their testimony they had the power to endure even in the face of death. Remember the disciples of Christ who all suffered brutal deaths by the hand of a persecuting enemy. Their testimonies were so strong, having spent time with Jesus and seen Him resurrected, that death was a thing they would gladly do for Him. Their testimonies gave them power.
It is by our testimony that many are won to the faith. Our testimony is a powerful weapon, because when we hold in our heart the things we KNOW He has done for us, and they are so precious to us, we naturally will tell others and by that testimony and through blood of the Lamb, others will are saved.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, We Need Him Now
Oh do we need Him, our Lord of Hosts, even now.
It is not only in the day-to-day that we need Yahweh Sabbaoth to fight our battles for us, and that we need the “weapons of our warfare,” but in the future. Right now in the United States, we enjoy great religious freedoms and awesome freedom of expression. This is not so in many countries of the earth, and even the U.S. may join other sinful nations in persecuting Christians.
Even now there is a sea change in the ethos of this once great country and the laws once enacted to make the pursuit of terrorists easier under a Conservative administration, can easily be turned against Christians by a more liberal administration. Recent history has borne this out.[iv]
Borne out in a media spectacle, the inability to bring thoughts into submission had cost all of us greatly as people like former Congressman Mark Foley, and former head of the National Evangelical Association and the New Life Church, Ted Haggard have fallen mightily. They had simmering thoughts and desires that led to evil and sin. It will happen to you and to me too without the weapons that the God of Sabbaoth gives us to fight.
God says that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us. He has sent us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit to both work powerfully and in a “still small voice.”
As Talmudim of Yeshua, we need to be bathed in the Word of God, covered in constant prayer, and steeped in the testimonies of His saints, drawing close to Him through disciplines borne of our Love for Him. This relationship will hone our weapons of warfare as we fight side by side with our God of Sabbaoth.
[i] http://www.path-light.com/IAM10.htm
[ii] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2091&version=49
[iii]http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/eibessential/rush_reports_back_from_afghanistan/general_wardak_and_dan_rather.guest.html
[iv] http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14305
God Has many titles. He is called Elohim, “the Might Creator,” El Roi, “The God who sees me,” El Shaddai, “God Almighty,” and many other titles. But there is an attribute of God that has deep meaning for the myriad battles we fight from day to day. He is, Yahweh Sabbaoth, “The Lord of Hosts,” and He provides the Weapons of our Warfare.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, The Lord of Hosts
I recall in college I sang with an awesome little mini choir of great singers. We did “Take 6” and “Glad” style harmonies. It was a sweet experience! One of the songs we sang that I still remember with great fondness was called “Great and Marvelous.” I have searched for the music to that song for a long time, but I have never been able to find it. Some of the lyrics were:
Great and marvelous are Thy works oh Lord God Almighty
Who is like unto Thee oh Thou King of saints
Who shall not fear thee oh God and Glorify Thy name
…For Thou most worthy are most holy oh God of Sabbaoth!
The song was very compelling and we had recently studied the names of God in college, so I knew God of Sabbaoth was Lord of Hosts. He is the one who goes out before us and fights our battles for us. “Path-Light,” defines Sabbaoth as:
“Translated as host(s) saba' means army(ies). … Yahweh of Hosts is a special name for God. Yahweh and 'elohim occur with seba'ot some 285 times. … Yahweh Sabbaoth appears for the first time in 1 Samuel 1:3…. Its origin appears to have been at the close of the period of the judges and in the vicinity of the sanctuary Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was housed. The ark itself symbolized Yahweh's rulership; for he is declared to be enthroned between the cherubim (1Sam 4:4; cf, Psa 99:1). This name certainly contains the affirmation that Yahweh is the true head of Israel's armies” (TWOT). [i]
The idea of a God who fights battles for me, a God of great and might power, the “head of Israel’s armies,” inspired me as a youth because there were things around me that I knew I could never resolve, things that I could never fix. God, on the other hand, threw miracle after miracle my way and paved the path for me.
Growing up believing that the Church would go through the Tribulation, scriptures describing the empowering of God and His work with the saints in the end times inspired me. Thinking that I would be fighting for my life, I used to imagine the impact of scriptures like Psalm 91 where it says that, “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.”[ii] I would daydream about God fighting massive battles for and through me; other Christians and I taking down entire armies through the power of God.
I used to imagine the last days, God giving me and others around me messages and guiding us to where we needed to go, and what we needed to do. Scriptures like, Acts 2:17, where it says (quoting Joel 2:28), “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” would inspire my imagination and my trust in Yahweh Sabbaoth – the God who fights my battles for me.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, The Security Chief
As I got older I learned that God fights our battles, but he also gives us weapons so that we too can participate in battle. For in our battle, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” And to wrestle, He gives us several weapons with which to wage war. In Second Corinthians 10 4-6, the Apostle Paul tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the flesh. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every act of disobedience when your obedience is complete.”
It is awesome to know that we have weapons in this fight. With these weapons, we can do at least four things:
1) Demolish Fortresses
2) Tear down arguments
3) Tear down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God
4) Take Every thought captive
5) Obey Christ
But what are these weapons? Paul does not mention what the weapons that Yahweh Sabbaoth, our Security Chief, has assigned to us from the spiritual weapons locker. It has been said that the job of the military is to, “kill people and break things,”[iii] but in our warfare, our weapons must be able to kill immoral thoughts, and break arguments and proud obstacles raised against the knowledge of God. Referencing other portions of the Word, we can deduce the types of weapons at our disposal.
PRAISE – The first weapon is a natural result of our love for our Creator. But I posit, that the more that you and He do battle together, you want to sing of his marvelous exploits. One of my favorite Psalms, made into a Hymn, is Psalm 148, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the sky! Praise him in the heavens! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! Praise him, O sun and moon! Praise him, all you shiny stars! Praise him, O highest heaven, and you waters above the sky!” The Psalm goes on to urge a great assortment of praise to Him.
Psalm 8:2 indicates that Praise silences the enemy. It is a great weapon when we need to bring thoughts into submission. Controlling our thoughts is the first step in the battle to be who God wants us to be. He’s given us a marvelous weapon.
The WORD – The word of God is more powerful than any nuclear missile or terawatt laser. It is able to take out bunkers miles underground, deep in the heart or the soul. It is able to pierce any armor in a flash of brilliance, vaporizing flesh and bone on contact as it brings into judgment the purposes of the heart.
When written in terms of modern weaponry, Hebrews 4:12 demonstrates the awe inspiring power of the Word of God. We need to know it, own it, and wield it.
Jesus provided the example of the Master swordsman when he used the Word against Satan, saying “It is written,” using the sword of the Word to cut down the enemy.
The Power of Your TESTIMONY – In the book of Revelation the Tribulation Saints overcome Satan by the “word of their testimony.” By their testimony they had the power to endure even in the face of death. Remember the disciples of Christ who all suffered brutal deaths by the hand of a persecuting enemy. Their testimonies were so strong, having spent time with Jesus and seen Him resurrected, that death was a thing they would gladly do for Him. Their testimonies gave them power.
It is by our testimony that many are won to the faith. Our testimony is a powerful weapon, because when we hold in our heart the things we KNOW He has done for us, and they are so precious to us, we naturally will tell others and by that testimony and through blood of the Lamb, others will are saved.
Yahweh Sabbaoth, We Need Him Now
Oh do we need Him, our Lord of Hosts, even now.
It is not only in the day-to-day that we need Yahweh Sabbaoth to fight our battles for us, and that we need the “weapons of our warfare,” but in the future. Right now in the United States, we enjoy great religious freedoms and awesome freedom of expression. This is not so in many countries of the earth, and even the U.S. may join other sinful nations in persecuting Christians.
Even now there is a sea change in the ethos of this once great country and the laws once enacted to make the pursuit of terrorists easier under a Conservative administration, can easily be turned against Christians by a more liberal administration. Recent history has borne this out.[iv]
Borne out in a media spectacle, the inability to bring thoughts into submission had cost all of us greatly as people like former Congressman Mark Foley, and former head of the National Evangelical Association and the New Life Church, Ted Haggard have fallen mightily. They had simmering thoughts and desires that led to evil and sin. It will happen to you and to me too without the weapons that the God of Sabbaoth gives us to fight.
God says that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us. He has sent us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit to both work powerfully and in a “still small voice.”
As Talmudim of Yeshua, we need to be bathed in the Word of God, covered in constant prayer, and steeped in the testimonies of His saints, drawing close to Him through disciplines borne of our Love for Him. This relationship will hone our weapons of warfare as we fight side by side with our God of Sabbaoth.
[i] http://www.path-light.com/IAM10.htm
[ii] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2091&version=49
[iii]http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/eibessential/rush_reports_back_from_afghanistan/general_wardak_and_dan_rather.guest.html
[iv] http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14305
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