This is the first of what will (Lord willing) be an ongoing feature of TheCobbSix.com. We plan on posting a new Bible Q&A each Friday. Now, on to the question!
Why is God called âThe Lord of Sabaothâ (James 5:4, Romans 9:29)? Iâm sure it means something, but Iâm not sure what.âAnonymous
Thatâs a great question, and the answer may not be what you expect. The word Sabaoth only appears twice in the Bible, James 5:4 and Romans 9:29. Many people look at the word Sabaoth, and assume it is another spelling of the word Sabbath. And so, most people just think that this is another way of saying âLord of the Sabbath,â like in Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, and Luke 6:5. But just because the words look similar doesnât mean theyâre the same thing.
The word Sabaoth means armies. The best way to show this is to look at one of the places where it is used. Romans 9:29 says, âAnd as Isaiah said before, âExcept the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, weâd been like Sodom and made like Gomorrahâ.â Here, the apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 1:9. Except that, in Isaiah 1:9, it says âthe LORD of hosts.â
âThe Lord of Sabaothâ in the New Testament is the same as âthe LORD of hostsâ in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, the phrase âthe LORD of hostsâ appears 245 times. This phrase describes God as the one who has the power to destroy anyone who gets in His way. It means Heâs the military God who can control the armies of heaven and earth. When you understand this, and understand what was meant when God is called âthe LORD of hosts,â it helps you get a better picture of whatâs going on in the Bible.
âFor thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: âAs My anger and My fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.ââ (Jeremiah 42:18).
Do you see there how God identifies Himself as âthe LORD of hostsâ right before He promises to bring destruction? Now, letâs go back to the New Testament and look at the other place where âthe Lord of Sabaothâ is mentioned: James 5:4.
âBehold, the wages of the laborer who have reaped down your fields (which you have kept back by fraud) cries, and the cries of the reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.â
Here, God is telling the ones who were oppressive to the poor that the God of destruction is coming. Heâs heard the cries of the poor. And if you read the whole chapter, youâll see that it was going to be bad. Just a few years after this was written, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the people who had been oppressing the poor Christians were killed or made into slaves by the Roman armies, led by God.
âBradley Cobb