REVIEW
 
So we have been studying the Names of God for a couple of months now, which all has been aimed at helping us know Him better and, therefore, it helps us to approach God better. So no, we are not studying this just simply to accrue more knowledge in our heads but to grow in a more personal & intimate knowledge of Him. 
 
The title we gave this series is “Hallowed Be Your Name” because this is how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray – by first recognizing His Name. I made the point that this evidently is a big part of our prayer life because if one does not truly know the One they are praying to, it can hurt their faith and level of confidence when presenting their requests to Him. However, as Daniel 11:32 says, the people who know their God will be strong and do great exploits. And that certainly applies to prayer. Amen?
 
Now you might question how knowing God’s Names can affect us so much, but in Bible times, the names of people, places, and things taught you a lot about the one you were referring to. Likewise, with God, His Names reveal to us who He was, who He is, and who He forevermore shall be. In other words, His Names reveal to us His nature, who He is at His core, and what we can count on Him always being.
 
So we’ve looked at several Names of God so far, beginning with the first name we see Him called – Elohim, which describes Him as the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all!
 
We then learned that Elohim needed a little more specific description, so there were several names given to it like El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi.
 
We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles) He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So we then learned about Jehovah Shammah –The LORD is there. From this, we learned how God’s nature is to be faithfully present with His people.
 
Then we looked at Jehovah Rapha – the LORD is our Healer. So we learned that this describes the LORD as the One who heals and wants His people healthy.
 
We then looked at the Name of God, Jehovah M’Kaddesh, which means “The LORD is our Sanctifier.” In its simplest terms, this means that the LORD is the One who separates or sets apart something to make it different and special.
 
And then last week, we looked at what is the most often used Name of Yahweh in the Scriptures, the Name Jehovah Sabaoth. We saw that is where we get that familiar phrase “The LORD of hosts” from in the Scriptures and then we looked at what these hosts are that He is LORD over. The Scriptures describe all of His creation as part of His hosts like the stars in the heavens, the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, etc. His heavenly hosts are also included such as His army of angels, but His hosts also refer to man and the people He has put on this planet to execute His will. So we learned from this that the LORD certainly likes to use others to accomplish His purposes, and those “hosts” that He uses are to operate in rank & file, in unity and as one.
 
JEHOVAH ROHI
 
Now the next Name of God that I feel led to share on is one that is certainly appropriate for what we are doing here at HPC today. I want us to look at the Name, Jehovah Rohi, the LORD our Shepherd.
 
Now Jehovah Rohi is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible like some of His other Names, but it’s derived from a combination of two biblical words used in the 23rd Psalm, one of the most famous and beloved passages in the Old Testament.
 
King David begins this Psalm with, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (See Psalm 23:1).  
 
So the first three words we see here are “The LORD is …”, and this is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Like we’ve learned, Jehovah is a variant of this divine name Yahweh, which is often translated as “LORD.” And as we’ve also seen, Yahweh/Jehovah literally can be translated as “The LORD is” and describes the Great I Am, the Self-Existing One.
 
But the next two words – “… my Shepherd” – come from the Hebrew word rohi (derived from the Hebrew root ra’ah). This verb encompasses the actions and responsibilities of a shepherd, such as guiding, caring for, feeding, and protecting his sheep.
 
Therefore, when the Psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” it conveys the idea that God fulfills the role of a loving, caring, and protective Shepherd in the lives of His people. And since this is a Name of God, it indicates that God’s core nature is that of a Shepherd.
 
Now it is easy to understand where this Psalm’s author got his inspiration from: King David of Israel had himself been a shepherd as a young man, caring for his father’s flocks. So he knew from personal experience how vitally important it is to the safety and well-being of the sheep to have a good shepherd who would care for them even if it meant putting himself at risk or hardship. As we learn in First Samuel 17:34-36, David killed both a lion and a bear that were attacking his flock.
 
Now we will get back to the 23rd Psalm, but I did want you to know that it is by no means the only picture in the Bible of the LORD as being our Shepherd. Yes, references to Jehovah Rohi are sprinkled throughout the Scriptures and this idea of God himself being the Shepherd of Israel and his people comes from deep within the Old Testament, from the first family to the latter prophets. Here are a few examples:
 
Isaiah 40:11 says, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”
 
Jeremiah 31:10 says, “…‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’”
 
Ezekiel 34:11-12 says, “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.”
 
Psalm 100:3 says, “… We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
 
Now unfortunately, just as sheep do not always follow their shepherd and wander off, we, too—God’s sheep—have failed to follow Him. We often wander away. Therefore, the Bible says in Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
 
So from just this handful of Scriptures, we can clearly see what David said in Psalm 23:1 – that the LORD is indeed our Shepherd, our “Rohi.”
 
WHAT A SHEPHERD DOES
 
Now a lot of times what I like to do when discovering the meaning of certain Hebrew or Greek words is I like to look at how these words are translated the most. And I believe that would be a good practice here with rohi …
 
Did you know that even more than “Shepherd,” the original King James Version translates the word rohi as “feed”? So this shows me that one of the most important responsibilities of a shepherd is to feed his or her sheep.
 
Isn’t this some of the first things we see David describing that the Lord our Shepherd does for His sheep in the 23rd Psalm? He begins with saying, “… I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1).
 
This reminds me of what David said in Psalm 34:9-10 – “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”
 
Notice the comparison between “no want” and to a young lion lacking and suffering hunger. So to me, not “wanting” would definitely include being fed and not lacking the nourishment needed.
 
Psalm 23:2 goes on to describe how our Good Shepherd “makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters.” Now this wasn’t just for peace & rest. How many of you know that those green pastures were to feed on and not just sleep on? Also, those sheep weren’t being led by the still waters to go sightseeing but to drink from.
 
So in the 23rd Psalm, we are seeing that the first things that the LORD our Shepherd does for us is make sure we are fed.
 
Now when it comes to us, His sheep, we are not just referring to physical food. We are also talking about spiritual food. And we know Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
 
So God’s Words are our manna! Yes, His Words – both the logos and the rhema – are our spiritual nourishment and what feeds our souls. Therefore, the LORD our Shepherd desires to feed us His spiritual food, being our teacher & preacher.
 
Now the first time we see this Hebrew word rohi used is in the story of Cain & Abel when in Genesis 4:2 we have described to us what these two brothers did. It says, “Then she (Eve) bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
 
It’s interesting that the word “keeper” is used here instead of shepherd because it reveals to us one of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd – to “keep” them (i.e. to protect them).
 
Isn’t the LORD described this way? As a keeper and protector? Oh yeah, He is certainly described over and over again as our shield, refuge, fortress, and strong tower. Time and time again the LORD is said to be the keeper of His sheep.
 
THE LORD IS MY PASTOR
 
Guess how else this Hebrew word rohi is translated? It’s also translated as “pastor.”
 
Now I’m sure some of you know this already, but this New Testament office that Jesus has gifted to His church of pastor literally describes a Shepherd. In fact, that’s the primary way that pastor is defined in our New Testament.
 
Now what is a pastor supposed to do? We are there to tend to God’s flock. We are there to feed His lambs and tend His sheep. This is what the Lord told Peter in John 21 when He asked him those three times if Peter loved Him. Jesus told Peter to “feed My lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep.” So while this is not everything a true pastor does, it certainly is the primary thing.
 
Well, the Lord is the ultimate pastor! When our pastors drop the ball, mess things up, aren’t led & inspired by the Holy Spirit in what they say / teach, etc., God doesn’t. He is the perfect pastor and the One we should ultimately look to when it comes to our spiritual lives.
 
I say this because there are a lot of Christians out there who look to man for all their spiritual needs. Yes, they depend on their pastor to be their source of revelation. They look to the evangelist to bring people into the kingdom. They rely on the prophets to hear from God for them. But the fact is – David said that the LORD is my shepherd.
 
So you could translate this as David saying, “The LORD is my pastor.”
 
Now of course this does not mean that the LORD doesn’t give us pastors after the flesh and that He doesn’t use people to feed, keep, and tend to our needs. But my point is that you never put your faith and hope in flesh. We are all fallible and capable of missing it. We can let you down. But God is incapable of missing it and letting us down. He is faithful! Remember that!
 
You see, there are many Christians that like to put their “pastor” (or as some say, their “preacher”) up on a pedestal and either view them as a hireling who is there to do their bidding and come running every time they snap their fingers, or as the one that they hear from God through and the one that does their praying for them. Both of these mentalities are wrong.
 
A pastor is not there to hear God for you, to be the one who is always praying for you. I spent my first (close to) 4 years here developing a culture that we are not a one man show. You can believe God yourself. You can pray for others. You don’t need someone to hear from God for you. You are blessed. You are called. You are also in the ministry. My job is to simply equip and encourage you to go do the work of the ministry. Amen?  
 
Now don’t hear what I am not saying here. Robert and I are here to help, counsel and pray for you guys. We all at different times in our life need someone to hold our arms up when we are weak and weary, like Moses in the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:11-12). My point is simply this: we do not want to live year after year, decade after decade, running to the pastor or even someone else every time we have a spiritual or natural need. As we learned last week, God has said that we all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. We all have a direct line with God and can pray and believe Him for ourselves. So, next time you have a need, don’t be so quick to run to the phone; first run to the throne – the throne of grace, that is. Amen!   
 
You see, if the Lord is my pastor, then that means I am to be taught of Him and He is my counselor and my comforter. Amen.
 
Again, this does not mean that you don’t need teaching from a man or woman, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t ever need counsel from someone other than God. Don’t get into either of these ditches. It just simply means that we need to go to God first – knowing that He is our Chief Shepherd. Amen?
 
First Peter 5:4 calls Jesus this when it says, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
 
Now I’d like to tie this up today by looking at how Jesus specifically described Himself as this Jehovah Rohi and what our Chief Shepherd does for His sheep – John chapter 10.
 
But before we focus in on those verses, I did want to make sure we understand that John chapter 10 is certainly not the only passage that reveals to us that Jesus is our Shepherd.
 
In Matthew 18:12-13 Jesus said, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.” Luke 19:10 specifically tells us that He seeks and saves the lost like this.
 
So there is obviously a lot that points to Jesus having a shepherd’s tendencies, but it is important that we go over to John chapter 10 and look at the section of Scriptures where our Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself as our good shepherd …
 
As we read this parable in John chapter 10, it becomes clear that Jesus is revealing Himself as not only our shepherd, but also as the door that the sheep enter in and out by. The premise of this parable is to show how our Lord is the shepherd as opposed to the hirelings – the thieves and robbers – that have come before Him.
 
The context of this parable is not my point as much as the characteristics that our shepherd possesses, because He reveals in this parable some wonderful attributes that we should take heed to. 
 
In verse 11, when Jesus reveals Himself as the Shepherd He described in this parable, He doesn’t just say He is any old shepherd – rather He says, “I am the good shepherd!” and goes on to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
 
Now there are a lot of things that make the Lord a “Good” Shepherd, but nothing trumps this one point – that He died for us that we might live! In other words, He gave His life for His sheep. Amen!
 
Now we acknowledge the fact that Jesus died for us and that the Father did not spare Him so that we might live. However, I think what Christians have failed to reconcile is that if the Father gave up His only begotten Son for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? (See Romans 8:32) Amen?
 
In other words, if He was willing to give us His very best – the Only Begotten of the Father – then why would we doubt that He would give us anything else we needed? That would be like me sacrificing Levi for you and then you doubting that I would help you pay your power bill. No, if I would give up my son for you, then I would most certainly be willing to give you things of much less value. Amen? He wants to take care of every area of our lives, and He has made the provision for this.
 
Jesus said in Luke 12:32, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
 
Here, Jesus was establishing our hearts in a very important truth – that the reason we do not need to fear or worry about our needs being met is because it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom!
 
Now a very important point here is how He referred to us as His “little flock.” Little flock of what? Of His sheep, of course! Now a flock of sheep was not a band of pets. You realize that, right? Back then a flock was a business! So God sees you as His business, and He is not about to let His business fail.
 
All this rests on the fact that we must trust God - to hear Him, to know Him, to receive from Him.
 
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. THEREFORE…
 
But I want you to notice that in John chapter 10, there are some specific promises given to the Good Shepherd’s sheep and these are, therefore, things we can count on the Lord our Shepherd doing for us … 
 
Notice in verse 3 that Jesus says that His sheep:

1. Hear His voice.
2. Are called by name.
3. Are led by Him.

 
So, here we have three awesome promises of the Lord being our Shepherd:
 
HE KNOWS MY NAME
 
Let’s start with the fact that His sheep are called by name …
 
In verse 14, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” So again, we see the importance of knowing the Lord like we discussed last week. But I want you to notice that here we see the flipside of this: While it is certainly important to know that the Lord is not just our Shepherd, but that He is my own personal Shepherd, it is also important to know that our Shepherd knows us individually and specifically. So not only can we know His name; He knows our names too!
 
Isn’t that just awesome that our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, knows His own sheep and calls them by name. Friends, that is a personal relationship. He knows who I am individually and who you are personally. He knows our names – which is not just knowing that we are Joe, Mary, etc.; it is knowing our personality, character, etc. He knows everything there is to know about us! Hallelujah!
 
This is so super important to understand because it creates confidence in God – that He knows who I am, what I need, what I like, etc., etc., etc. He knows me and, therefore, will not leave me hanging! Amen!
 
So we can see that the LORD wants us to know His Name, yes. But He knew our name first. Glory!
 
HEARING AND KNOWING HIS VOICE
 
In this passage, we also see that Jesus said that His sheep hear. In verse 4, He goes as far as saying that they know His voice. Therefore, if the Lord is our Shepherd we can rest in the fact that we hear and know His voice.
 
Now I understand that many Christians struggle with this, saying things like – “I just don’t feel like I hear from God.” Well, I believe a big reason for this is because many born again, Spirit-filled Christians have a serious misconception as to how God speaks to us.
 
When I hear this doubt in Christians that they can hear God, what I want to tell them is – If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you do indeed hear from God! Yes, you already do hear from God! How do I know this, you ask? I base that on these very Scriptures in John chapter 10. So, if Jesus – the Lord, our God – says that we hear His voice, shouldn’t we come into agreement with Him and start believing that we hear His voice? Of course, we should!
 
But you will hear believers cite their own experiences saying, “But I don’t hear His voice! I have asked and sought to hear from God, but I just don’t hear anything.” This is when we must base our belief system upon the foundation of His Word. As the apostle Paul said in Romans 3:4 – “Indeed, let God be true and every man a liar.” In other words, if our experiences and testimonies conflict with what God said in His Word, then those things are a lie in comparison. Saints, God’s Word is absolute truth. So, if He says here that we hear His voice, then we hear His voice, whether we feel like we do or not. This is one of the cornerstones of hearing from God – faith that we hear Him!
 
You see, we get what we expect from God (based on what He has spoken and promised to us). Things that God has provided are only going to be fully manifested in our lives as we actively put our hope in those promises and mix our faith with them. Everything from our initial salvation to hearing His voice is fully realized through our faith and hope – our confidence and expectation of them. So, we need to start believing and confessing that we do hear from God for He has said that His sheep hear and know His voice!
 
But someone will say, “Well, maybe I do hear something, but my big problem is that I do not know when what I am hearing is God or the devil, the Lord or myself.” I am glad you made that point because notice again what our Lord said… He said in verse 3 that His sheep hear His voice, but at the end of verse 4 He said that we know His voice! That means that not only do we hear from God, but we know when what we are hearing is God.
 
But in my experience, the general problem here is us: It is not that God is not speaking; it is us who are not hearing correctly.
 
A good example of all of this is that just as there are signals being transmitted in the air all around us right now – radio frequencies and television signals – there are also spiritual messages being transmitted in the atmosphere around us right now. But how many of you know that it would be ridiculous for one to say that they don’t believe that there are these signals and frequencies in the room with us right now just because they don’t see or hear them?
 
So, regarding this example, you can tell some people this and they might counter by saying – “I don’t hear spiritual frequencies and I don’t see these spiritual signals.” Well, it might not be that it is the transmitter that is broken; it might be that the problem is with their receiver!
 
You see, all of these unseen programs are being constantly broadcast, but if you do not have a receiver of some sort, you will be oblivious to them and won’t see or hear anything. And it is like that with all of those spiritual realities that we are promised exist. Friends, there is a spiritual world around us right now that actually is more real than this natural world we live in. Why? Because the spiritual world parented this natural world. All things were made by the things unseen (Hebrews 11:3).
 
That’s what faith does – It believes that the things that are made were created by unseen things. This verse teaches us an incredible lesson – that the Word of God was the parenting force that created all the things which are seen. And, bless God, you can bet the bank that it still works this way today! God’s Word can bring to reality in the natural realm things that are already a reality in the spiritual realm. The mirror of God’s Word reflects what is seen in God’s world. (Example of Elisha and his Servant, 2 Kings 6:17)
 
So, you see, it’s already there and we are not trying to get God to do something that He has not already done. No, we are simply positioning our receiver to hear and see what He has already done. Amen! And this certainly pertains to this promise of hearing God’s voice …
 
But I personally believe that the reason that many people’s hearing of God’s voice is so fuzzy is because they simply have not learned how He is communicating to us.
 
That is where this third and final benefit of our Good Shepherd comes in – He leads us …
 
Let’s look at a couple of passages that clearly indicate that we do hear from God and know His voice … 
 
AS MANY AS ARE SHEEP = AS MANY AS ARE LED
 
Let’s now look over at Romans 8:14 at another passage of Scripture that verifies my point that God’s children do hear His voice. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
 
Many will read this and say something like – “Oh, well, I better start being led by the Spirit of God so that I can become a child of God.” No, it is actually saying the opposite - It is saying that the by-product of being a child of God is that you are led by the Spirit of God.
 
Now I have heard some try to make a distinction here saying that being led by the Spirit requires great maturity - thus the reason Paul refers to the phrase “sons of God” like these believers are the grown-up ones, but I disagree with this mainly because Paul uses the terminology “children of God” and “sons of God” interchangeably. You can look down at verse 16 and see where he uses the term “children” and in Galatians 3:26 says, “For we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
 
No, I see all of this as an excuse of why more people are not led by the Spirit. And whether you were just saved yesterday or 50 years ago, you can be led by the Spirit of God just the same. In fact, I believe many baby Christians are able to be led better than Christians who have been saved for a long time because their hearts are more soft, pliable and sensitive to His direction – not being hardened by the constant friction of not walking in the light that they have. 
 
But notice again that the Bible tells us that the sons (or daughters) of God are led by the Spirit of God … Not can be led, not should be led, but are led! This verse is basically equating “as many” who are led by the Spirit to “as many” are the sons and daughters of God. Therefore, if we are God’s children we are led just as if we are God’s sheep and we do hear His voice. So, again, we need to get into agreement with God and start believing and expecting to be led by the Spirit of God.
 
So the LORD indeed is our Shepherd. He tends, keeps and feeds us like a good shepherd cares for his sheep. He knows each of us by name, we hear and know His voice, and we are led by Him. We can count on Him to take care of us, church.

REVIEW
 
So we have been studying the Names of God for a couple of months now, and we are approaching this study with how knowing & understanding His Names has so much to do with how His people approach Him.
 
We have entitled this series “Hallowed Be Your Name” because this is how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to approach their Heavenly Father in prayer. So we learned that this is evidently one of the most important ways to come to know Him, through His Names.
 
And the reason for this is because, in Bible times, the names of people, places, and things taught you a lot about the one you were referring to. Likewise, with God, His Names reveal to us who He was, who He is, and who He forever more shall be. In other words, His Names reveal to us who He is at His core, what His nature is, and what we can count on Him always being.
 
So while we began with the more general term for “God” (the Hebrew word Elohim), we saw that it’s important that we allow the Lord to take us beyond just simply knowing Him as the Creator, the All-Powerful, Sovereign One that the general population knows Him as. So, we moved on to seeing His primary Name – Yahweh – and how this Name reveals Him as the Existing One and as more relational than most see Him. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly transliterated Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles)  He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So the first “Jehovah” Name of God that we looked at was Jehovah Shammah, which means “The LORD is there” and thus denotes – Yahweh is present. So we saw that this Name of Yahweh reveals God’s nature to always be there and present with His people. We then looked at a lot of Scriptures that echo this part of His Person where we learned that God is our ever-present help in a time of need and that He has promised to never leave or forsake us. Yes, God is faithful – God the Father always being the same, Jesus always being true, and the Holy Spirit always being there.
Then we looked at another Name of Jehovah – the Name Jehovah Rapha – and we learned that this describes the LORD as the One who heals and wants His people healthy. We looked at a ton of Scriptures that reveal God’s heart to heal His people and be our Great Physician. So as I said, God’s in the healing business and He’s not planning on going out of business anytime soon! He was the children of Israel’s healer yesterday, He is the church’s healer today, and He will always be the One who heals His people tomorrow. 
 
Then last week, we looked at the Name of God – Jehovah M’Kaddesh – and we learned how this describes the LORD who sanctifies. This means that the LORD is the One who consecrates, dedicates, hallows (sound familiar?) or makes holy. In the simplest terms, it means to separate or set apart something to make it different and special.  
 
We looked at how God has “set apart” certain things like this such as

1. The Bible, calling it the Holy Bible in that it is a special Book that is unlike any other book.
2. The Sabbath, making it holy in that it is a special day set apart to God and unlike any other day of week.
3. The tithe, saying it is a special form of giving to the Lord because He said it is His.

 
I could go on and on with these examples, but the fact is, when God sets something apart, that makes it holy to Him and it is indeed special in His eyes. And we saw how that includes us because of the myriad of Scriptures in the New Testament that calls the church, a body of “saints.” So we looked at several verses that shows us how in Christ, we have been sanctified through the Holy Spirit, revealing to us that Jehovah M’Kaddesh is still all about making things holy.
 
JEHOVAH SABAOTH
 
Now the next “Jehovah” name of God that I want us to look at is probably one of the most often used ones – Jehovah Sabaoth (Saab-A-Oth)
 
This Name occurs more than 270 times in the Old Testament! Wow, that’s a lot of times for God to be called this, isn’t it? And you might be wondering – If this Name of His is used this many times in the Bible, how have I missed it? Well, that’s probably because what you’ve been seeing is the translation of it – Lord of hosts. Yes, when you see God referred to as the Lord of hosts, that is almost always a translation “Jehovah Sabaoth.”  
 
You see, the Hebrew word, sabaoth, literally describes a “host” or “multitude.” So when we put Yahweh together with Sabaoth, we get “The LORD is (In this case, the Lord of) hosts or a multitude.”
 
Various translations handle Jehovah Saboath in different ways: The NIV translates the name as “Lord Almighty.” The NLT has “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” The NASB has the broader translation of the “Lord of armies.” And the NET has the even broader “Lord who rules over all.” All of these translations reflect the truth that the host or multitudes that He is over is a part of His might, His army, and what He rules through.
 
So let’s get a little more specific with this word “sabaoth” and answer the question – Who is this “host” that He is Lord of?
 
Well, the first thing that’s important to understand about the word “sabaoth” is that it’s most often used as a military term. Now it is by far translated “hosts” the most in the original King James Version, but it is also translated as “war” (41x), army (29x), battle (5x), and also as warfare, soldiers, etc. So we can clearly see that the majority of the times it is used, it is describing an army of some kind.
 
Now sometimes it is used to refer to an army of men (See First Samuel 17:45; Isaiah 13:4) and other times it is used to describe an army of angels or other heavenly hosts (See Psalm 148:2; First Kings 22:19). But sometimes it is just used to refer to the innumerable stars in the night sky (See Psalm 33:6; 103:20, 21).
 
But the important thing to understand about this Name for God is that whether it is referring to armies of men, multitudes of angels, or a host of stars, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, is the One who creates, calls, and commissions these people and things both on earth and in heaven. Yes, He is the Lord over these multitudes, both organizing and leading them.
 
Now the first time Jehovah Sabaoth appears in the Bible is in First Samuel 1:3 when we are told that Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, went up from his city annually to worship and sacrifice to the “Lord of hosts” in Shiloh. And then, verse 11 goes on to describe how childless Hannah, who wanted a son so badly and earnestly prayed that the Lord would grant her the desire of her heart. This verse says, “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 male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life’.”
 
Now it is of great interest to me as to why these verses are the first time we see the phrase “the Lord of hosts” used: Perhaps its because this is how Samuel, the likely author of this Book of the Bible, saw the LORD. Maybe it’s because the Holy Spirit who inspired the author to call the LORD this was wanting us to see how the Lord’s kingdom operates.
 
I believe the latter is most likely: You see, the Books of First and Second Samuel are what chronicle a different season for Israel – the time where God began bringing more structure to His chosen people by giving them their heart’s desire for a king and establishing His kingdom, first through Saul, but mainly through David and his sons.
 
So the “Sabaoth,” the hosts or multitudes, that the LORD is Lord of could be a reference to His kingdom that He is establishing through his first couple of kings. Which teaches us something important …
 
Just as Samuel was given to the Lord by His mother, Hannah, in exchange for the blessing of giving her a son, the Lord of hosts looks for a people, whether that be a king or a priest, a prophet or just a regular man or woman, to be Lord over and who will do His will. We will get into this more momentarily.
 
Let’s now look at some of these other instances of “Lord of hosts” in the Scriptures to gain a clearer picture of those God is organizing or sending to fight for Him.
 
The first time we see the word sabaoth used by itself is in in the account of creation in Genesis 2:1. This verse says, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.”
 
So “host” here is not used to describe any particular people, but of all of the “things” God created. So we can see that host is not always referring to entities, but sometimes to other created things like stars, trees, animals, etc. 
 
In First Samuel 17:45, it is in this Name that the young David took up Goliath’s arrogant challenge: This verse says, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”
 
Notice in this verse that David said he was coming at the giant in this specific name, Jehovah Sabaoth. And then he goes on to specifically describe who the Lord of hosts is – the God of the armies of Israel. So again we see the tie in of the word Sabaoth and armies, and we see that the army of Israel is the specific host David was referring to.   
 
Later on in David’s life, we see how Jehovah Sabaoth blessed Him and was backing him: “So David went on and became great, and the Lord of hosts was with him.” (First Chronicles 11:9). So because the LORD of hosts was backing Him, it increased David’s influence and the ground he was taking through God’s anointing.
 
Psalm 46:7 says something similar: It says, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah” So because the Lord of hosts is with us, we don’t have to fear. We know we will be protected.
 
Psalm 103:20-21 shows us who these hosts are that are fighting for us: These verses say, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.” So in these verses, we certainly see the LORD of hosts as the Lord over the heavenly hosts who excel in strength, do His word, and minister on His behalf, doing His pleasure. Hebrews 1:14 describes this host of angels as “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.”
 
So the host of angels, His ministers who do His pleasure, are sent forth to minister for us who have inherited salvation! Yes, they are watching over us to fight for and defend the children of God. Amen!
 
Now this name of God, the LORD of hosts, occurs mostly in the Prophets, especially in those speaking about the failure of Israel. It appears nearly 80 times in Jeremiah, 14 times in the 2 short chapters of Haggai, nearly 50 times in Zechariah, and 25 times in Malachi.
 
One of my favorites is found in Zechariah 4:6 where the LORD told Zerubbabel – “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
 
What the Lord was telling this man who had a tall task ahead of him to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple was that it wasn’t going to be by his “might” (that is, his collective strength of man-power, etc.) or by his “power” (that is, his own individual strength of his intellect and personal abilities), but it was going to be by the Spirit of God. And then by adding, “says the Lord of hosts,” I hear the LORD telling Zerubbabel – “But by My might and by My power because I AM the LORD of hosts!”
 
Finally, Malachi 3:17 (a verse I quoted last week) says, “ ‘They shall be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘On the day that I make them My jewels.’ ”
 
This verse is obviously prophesying our Day when Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection will make us children of God, His pearls of great price and hidden treasures. And I also believe that we today are part of the “hosts” that He is Lord of.
 
SEEING THE LORD OF HOSTS
 
So who are the hosts over whom the Lord has authority? We’ve seen that His hosts involve all of His creation like the multitudes of stars in the heavens, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, etc. Yes, all of God’s creation is a part of His hosts and He will use them as necessary to see His kingdom come and will be done.
 
But it doesn’t stop there: We’ve seen that His hosts also include those in heaven like His angels and other spiritual beings surrounding His throne and inhabiting heaven. Therefore, Jehovah Sabaoth uses all of His spiritual hosts to accomplish His purposes as well. This is threaded throughout the Scriptures.    
 
But His hosts are not just spiritual entities. We’ve seen how His hosts are also described as His physical hosts such as the armies of Israel that He leads into battle and other armies of the nations He musters against His enemies.
 
I wonder how much our perspective would change if we saw this Name of God the way it is in truth. It would probably be like going from being Elijah’s servant in Second Kings chapter 6 who only saw the king’s horses and chariots surrounding the city to being Elijah who saw the horses and chariots of fire that the LORD of hosts had surrounding the mountain. His servant was freaking out because he could only see the “hosts” that were against them while Elijah was at peace because he saw the “hosts” who were more in numbers and strength and were there to protect them.
 
Yes, church, God’s people are always transformed when we recognize Jehovah-Sabaoth. It’s all a matter of perspective. It is a simple saying, yet there is a great deal of truth to it – small God, big problems: big God, small problems.
 
THE HOST ABOVE ALL HOSTS
 
Now I believe that there is some light we can gain about this Name of God by looking at how we primarily use the word “host” today.
 
So in our modern-day society, how do we primarily use the word “host”? It is used to describe “a person who receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially” (Webster’s Dictionary). In layman’s terms, a host is someone who invites a person or people to maybe a party at their home, a meeting at their place of business, etc.
 
So the Lord is the Lord of Hosts – meaning, the Lord is all about Hosting. We see this throughout the Lord’s parables as He is described as a Man who threw a great dinner and invited many (See Luke 14:15-24), as the Father throwing a party in his house for His servants & sons (See Luke 15:22-27), etc. The LORD is the best host, and He sure knows how to throw a party!
 
But my point from these examples is that the LORD is obviously all about inviting others to be a part of what He is doing. Yes, He loves congregations! He delights in assemblies! He rejoices in family! Why? Because Love doesn’t like doing things alone. It loves to involve others – to bless them and let them be a part of something special.
 
Well, God, who is Love, is no different. The Lord of hosts obviously doesn’t just work alone. I think I’ve had this incorrect imagery of God – that since He doesn’t need anyone else to get things done, being the Almighty, All-Powerful Being that He is, that He doesn’t use anyone else. But how many of you know that’s not how the Lord of hosts operates? No, He uses others for His kingdom’s purposes.
 
For example, there are multiple verses that show us that when the Lord had enemies to defeat, that He would send angels to do His bidding. Oftentimes, He even used angels to deliver His Word to people. Did He have to do things this way? Couldn’t He simply move His pinky finger and defeat His enemies here on the earth? Couldn’t He just speak audibly to those He had a message for? Why use angels for these things? Well, I don’t believe it’s because He has to use angels. Rather, I believe it’s because He chooses to do things this way.
 
You see, there is a great misconception out there as to how the Lord operates: Consider the example of us as His creation and how He uses human beings. There is a very popular theology out there called the Sovereignty of God, and a big part of this doctrine teaches that God is in control and does whatever He wants to do. So if something happens to us, it was because God permitted it to happen for His purposes. This belief system goes as far as saying that everything – good or bad – that comes into our lives is a part of God’s sovereign plan.
 
Church, these things are simply not so. No, some things happen because the Lord has given man authority to do something about it and we didn’t. Yes, even evil is accomplished on this planet, not because God is allowing it, but because we yield ourselves to the flesh, sin, and satan. This is all part of God’s design when He created the heavens & the earth. He gave us dominion over His creation and told man to rule over this world that the Lord had given Him.
 
Psalm 115:16 says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.”
 
So the earth is ours, not His – all because He chose to give it to us. Yes, ultimately, He is the owner of His creation, but He has essentially leased out this planet to mankind. Therefore, it is our responsibility to guard our garden, taking care of it both naturally and spiritually.
 
So I say all of this to say that God has chosen to not do it Himself, but to delegate His authority to us to handle. And this couldn’t be more true for the host that the Lord has redeemed, saved, and sanctified – the church of the Lord Jesus, the body of Christ. Yes, we are Christ’s representatives here on the earth, His delegated ambassadors called to occupy till He comes.
 
That certainly does not mean that He doesn’t use the hosts of heaven like angels to do things, but if you study the New Testament, you’ll find how the church is meant to work together with the armies of angels that God gives us to guard and protect us.
 
But one of the primary ways that God uses His “hosts” to get the job done is through unity. Yes, it’s through the body of Christ working together. Yes, it’s through His church being fitly joined together. This is what releases the power of heaven’s hosts to do the most damage to the kingdom of darkness.
 
Let me give you some examples from both the Old and New Testament to show how this works …
 
THE POWER OF UNITY
 
Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.”
 
Friends, this psalm is prophetically declaring that there is a corporate anointing for the body of Christ, and when we dwell together in unity – forgetting our cultural differences, putting aside our doctrinal differences, and laying down our pride and insecurities – for one common purpose and one common goal, that it is a good and pleasant thing! When we join together as the body of Christ, that oil of the Holy Spirit can then flow from one part to the next, from the top of the head down the edge of the garments. This is what happens when our Host has an assembling of His hosts!
 
So it is no wonder why Satan fights unity so much, right? It is because He fears the corporate anointing and he is afraid of a body of believers who might join together with one common goal. This is why you see church splits. This is why you see division in the community. And this is why you see such an escalation of divorce. It is because his number one goal is to divide! For a house divided against itself cannot stand.
 
Do you remember when Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub? What was His response? He said that Satan cannot cast out Satan, for a house divided against itself cannot stand. In other words, you even see order in Satan’s camp. It is not perfect chaos. He has systematic order in his kingdom because he knows the power of operating in this way. Ephesians 6:12 shows us how, in his kingdom, he has ranks of demons: First, there are the principalities. Under them, there are the powers (or, authorities). Then comes the rulers of the darkness of this age and then the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Friends, he has order and each demon in his kingdom works according to their assignment and their position. 
 
Let’s turn over to Genesis chapter 11 and see an example of how Satan inspired an event called the Tower of Babel…
 
In Genesis chapter 11, we see the story of man called Nimrod and this man had a plan. He and his people decided they wanted to make a name for themselves. So they planned to build a tower that would reach to the heavens lest they be scattered across the earth. Well, God saw what they purposed in their heart to do and came down and divided their language because He said in verse 6, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” That is a powerful statement! God basically said something similar that came out of the mouth of Jesus when He said that nothing shall be impossible for us. And why was there the prospect of this people accomplishing anything and nothing being impossible for them to do? It was because they were one! It was because all had one language! It was because they had tapped into a spiritual law that when a people become one and they pursue a common goal - with one mind, one mouth, and in one accord - nothing shall be impossible for them.
 
So if this is a true principle for Satan and the ungodly, how much more do you reckon this will work for the body of Christ!?! I guarantee you that if it works for them tenfold; it will work for us a hundredfold!
 
And, as a matter of fact, we’ve already seen it work in the Book of Acts! Turn over to chapter two…
 
Acts 2:1-3 says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues (that’s the only thing you will ever find divided in God’s kingdom), and one sat upon each of them. And then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
 
Friends, this is Psalm 133 fulfilled! When they gathered together in that upper room in one accord, the Holy Spirit – the Anointing Himself – came upon each one of this royal priesthood and took ordinary men and women and made them extraordinary! That oil was poured out on them and was mixed with those tongues of fire, and they became the light of the world. Hallelujah! They became that golden lampstand filled with oil and with fire at the wick to burn bright in this dark and perverse generation. But how did it all start? As they were in one place and in one accord!
 
Yes, saints, this is when the church was truly empowered and commissioned. It’s when it became the Lord’s army, His hosts that were capable of turning the world right-side up! It was, is, and evermore shall be the heart of Jehovah Sabaoth, our Lord Jesus Christ – to have a unified body that is one even as He and the Father are One. 
 
Lord, may these lamps burn bright for your glory! May these churches be golden lampstands in this community! May we be the lights of Middle Georgia!