Jehovah Sabaoth

Jehovah Sabaoth

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” – Isaiah 43:2

One of the great Hebrew names of God is Jehovah Sabaoth.  It means ‘The Lord of Hosts’ or ‘The Lord of Powers’.  It refers to His protection over His people.  Sabaoth means armies or hosts, which can be translated as ‘The Lord of Armies’.  He is sovereign over all evil, both spiritual and earthly.

The apostle Peter got to see the power of Jehovah Sabaoth as he was in jail in Judea.   King Herod had gained the political favor of the Jews after he killed James, so he thought he’d have a second run at pleasing the people.  It was during the Passover, so he e had four squads of soldiers go after Peter, bind him in chains, and put him in prison.  His plans, no doubt, were to kill Peter the same way he had James.  And on the night that it happened, Peter was well guarded.  He was bound with chains between two soldiers, sleeping.  There were two posts of guards at the door of the prison.

Peter awoke to find an angel in front of him, shining, covered in light.  “Arise quickly! Gird yourself and tie on your sandals! Put on your garment and follow me!” the angel said.  Peter’s chains fell off!  He followed the angel past the first guard post.  He followed the angel past the second guard post.  When they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, it opened to them of it’s own accord.  They went down one street and Peter looked and the angel was gone (Acts 12:5-19).  Verse 11 says Peter came to himself, realizing this was not a dream, and said “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

God provided Peter’s release from prison because He is Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts.  But today He still delivers His people.  We don’t often hear about the rescues, and angels may not be seen when it occurs, but God is still present.

Take the Gulfport Church of God in Long Beach, Mississippi for example.  During Hurricane Katrina, the church was in the middle of a horrific storm.  Several church members huddled inside, and watched as signs were torn apart, the nearby parsonage ripped open, and as water started coming into the church, they prayed, and they mopped.  Once the hurricane had passed, they went outside to find destruction all around them, but their church was without a scratch.  In the days that followed, their church partnered with relief efforts and in one day fed over 6,000 hungry souls.  (http://bit.ly/X61rNd) Did they see the power of Jehovah Sabaoth?  No one else has power over the winds and the waves.  They most definitely saw His deliverance.

Grace Rajan also saw the deliverance of God.  She was teaching Civil Engineering at a university in India, and on that day she had boarded a bus to travel home.  Her bus left the road, crashed into a ditch and caught fire.  Because of the small windows and no emergency exits, she and the other 51 passengers, were trapped and sure to burn to death.  But Grace remembered Psalms 91:11 which says, “For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.”  She began to pray these words, and as she opened her eyes she found herself on the roadside, outside the bus.  The other 51 passengers burned to death, but Grace was spared. (http://bit.ly/15e6iOd)

God’s deliverance is all around us today.  It happens without notice. 

You run late in the morning to work, and in your hurry you see the accident on the side of the road, but never think that you could have been in it if you had been on time. 

You walk to the kitchen stove to see the skillet burning red hot, and turn off the stove just before it blazes fire through the house.

You get out of your car in a parking lot, just as others are walking into the store.  Being surrounded by others, total strangers, you’re not a target for the evil one lurking to steal a purse or worse.

Isaiah 43:2 says “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” He has promised that he will be with you through all danger, and He will guard you.  This is the love of our Father, protecting His beloved children.

Psalms 91 reads beautifully of the safety that can be found in His protection.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

His angels have charge over you.  Peter found God’s protection, and saw His angel lead him from eminent death to freedom.  But He has most likely spared us all at one time or another.  He said He has given “His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways”. Surely there is nothing to fear when God is your protector.