Yahweh Tsabaoth - God of Heaven's Armies

1 Samuel 17:45 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 (Yahweh Tsabaoth), the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Sending His Angels, Giving His People Victory

This verse comes from one of the most famous stories in the Bible, the story of David and Goliath. This was David’s now-famous battle taunt against the giant. He made it crystal clear that God - the LORD of hosts - would bring him the victory that day. And sure enough, against all natural odds, God gave this military champion into the hand of a teenage shepherd.

It wasn’t the sling or the stone that defeated Goliath. No, David told us in this verse why he won...it was because of the LORD of hosts. This is the name Yahweh Tsabaoth, and it describes the God Who leads and commands the angel armies of Heaven. As a matter of fact, the Message Bible actually translates the LORD of hosts this way - “God-of-the Angel-Armies”. David may have slung the stone, but it was an angelic soldier that guided it into Goliath’s forehead. And then, once the champion was dead, this army of Heaven fought alongside the Israelite soldiers and defeated the rest of the Philistines.

This was only one of many ancient battles that had heavenly soldiers involved.

In Genesis 19, two angels saved Lot from the wicked men of Sodom by blinding them all.

In 2 Kings 6, the army of Heaven surrounded Elisha and his servant and defended them from the attacking Syrian army. These angels worked with the prophet to capture the enemy army and lead them defenseless to the king of Israel.

In Isaiah 37, an angel delivered Jerusalem from Assyria, a world superpower at the time. The massive Assyrian army had no major competitors in the region. As they swept through the Middle East, they conquered nation after nation and no one was able to stand up to them. This is the army that surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege with one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers!

But when Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, prayed to the LORD of hosts, one angel was dispatched to rescue the city. In a single night, this heavenly soldier wiped out the Assyrians outside the city walls...all of them. When the people woke up the next morning - there were one hundred and eighty-five thousand dead Assyrians laying on the ground outside the city. After that, the Assyrian empire never recovered and was ultimately defeated by the Babylonians.

As Joshua was about to begin his conquest of the promised land, he met the Commander of this heavenly army:
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

Clearly, this Commander wasn’t just a high-ranking angel. Joshua’s response shows us that this was Yahweh Tsabaoth Himself!

As Joshua followed God’s directions in battle, the armies of heaven would fight beside the Israelites and help them take their promise!

Ministering Spirits

God still deploys His angelic army to watch over and defend His people today.

Psalm 91:11-12 is a well-known passage that shows us what the angels are assigned to do. 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.

God’s angels are assigned to protect us wherever we go. Why are they watching over you and I? Because their commander has given them charge! Like a soldier, they have been stationed with us; to walk beside us and protect us. Psalm 103:20 tells us that the angels “do His word, heading the voice of His Word.” They’re not here to do their own thing...they are on a clear assignment, to help us!

We see these angels at work all through the book of Acts:
In Acts 5, an angel released the apostles out of prison.
In Acts 8, an angel delivered God’s direction to Philip, and directed him to an Ethiopian official who was ready to hear the Gospel.
In Acts 10, it was an angel that directed Cornelius (the first Gentile Christian) to call Peter and listen to his message.
In Acts 12, Peter found himself in prison again. Yet another angel (or perhaps the same one) released him from his cell.
In Acts 27, we find out that it was an angel on assignment to Paul that delivered him from shipwreck - along with everyone else on board.
Over and over again, God’s heavenly hosts worked together with the church to fulfill God’s plan.

Be sure of this: God’s angels are still on assignment for us! Hebrews 1:14 tells us that they are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation.” They have been dispatched to minister to us - that is, to help us do what we’re called to do!

Like Elisha, we have angels assigned to protect us from our enemy.
Like Peter, we have angels assigned to set us free of any ungodly bondage.
And like Joshua, we have angels assigned to help us take our promise!
They were placed beside us at the command of the LORD of Hosts!

The Gate Of Heaven

Like every army, these angels have outposts - different headquarters where they come to receive orders and go to fulfill them. Were you aware that God’s angels have these outposts? You can see the identity of these places in Genesis 28.

Jacob, on the run from his brother, stopped to rest for the night. While he slept, he had a dream described in verse 12: “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” Jacob was in a place where the angels of heaven were going to Heaven and then coming back down. No doubt, they went up to receive their orders and then came back down to carry them out.

When he woke up, Jacob exclaimed this in verse 17, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Jacob had an encounter with the LORD of Hosts in this place. And that place became known as Bethel from then on - the House of God.

Compare this first mention of the House of God with one from the New Testament...1 Timothy 2:15 “...but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” You see, the church is the House of God! It’s modern-day Bethel...which means it’s the gate of Heaven!

Your angels are dispatched on their assignments through your church! We see evidence of this all throughout scriptures. In fact, the book of Revelation shows us that every church has a specific angel assigned to watch over the messages that Jesus gives to that place. Your local church is the gate to Heaven. It’s where the armies of heaven are coming and going to do what they’re told. It would be good for you to be there when your angel is given his assignment!

Remember this: God is the LORD of Hosts. He has a force of angels at His command and He assigns some of these heavenly soldiers to each of us...to stand with us and bring us into our promised land!