Lord of Hosts
David told the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of the army of Israel, whom you have insulted. -1 Samuel 17:45, Names of God version
Man, I love this passage. Who doesn’t? The Lord of Hosts uses a scrappy shepherd boy to bring down a Philistine giant. Read 1 Samuel 17:38-47 with fresh eyes. Can’t you picture it? There’s a big, ol’ ugly giant stomping around, trash talking David. The Names of God version says this: “When the Philistine got a good look at David, he despised him. After all, David was a young man with a healthy complexion and good looks.”
Physically, David couldn’t overpower Goliath. Saul’s armor was worse than useless to him. It would have been a hindrance. But God used the talent and, more importantly, the willingness of David to bring down the giant.
Look again at David’s confidence. “I come to you in the name of the Yahweh Tsebaoth, (the Lord of Hosts) the Elohim of the army of Israel, whom you have insulted.”
Now I realize that God used David’s unique skill set and Goliath’s overconfidence and physical limitations to bring about the victory. Nevertheless, David came in the name of Yahweh Tsebaoth. That’s the key.
Maybe I’ve gone a little overboard with the AI images, and the one above isn’t my favorite. But it communicates something important about Yahweh Tsebaoth – you don’t want to be on his bad side. The good news is, if you know him, he fights for you.
With this in mind, enjoy this Psalm 46 inspired song from Shane and Shane, Lord of Hosts.
Yahweh Tsebaoth is with us.
The Elohim of Jacob is our stronghold. Psalm 46:7, Names of God version
This study is inspired by Ann Spangler’s Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks
