Last week, we looked into the name "God Almighty," and this week we will look into the name "LORD Almighty." They look like they should mean the same thing, right? I mean, we use Lord and God interchangeably. Logic would say that they should be the same title when you add "Almighty" to the end of them. Yet, they are totally different.
The first time LORD Almighty is used as a name for God is in 1 Samuel 1:3, which simply says:
"Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD." -1 Samuel 1:3, NIV
Other versions, such as the ESV and HCSB (two versions I frequently use) replace "LORD Almighty" with "LORD of Hosts." These two names mean the same thing, and that meaning comes from a combination of two words.
The name "LORD" is different from "Lord." When the Bible puts LORD in all caps, their caps lock was not stuck. Instead, this signals that we are using the English version of the name "Yahweh." Yahweh is the most sacred name in the Hebrew for God, and we will cover it in depth later in this series. However, I had to state its presence here because of its importance to the name "LORD Almighty." Without Yahweh, we don't get the full meaning of this name.
Adding the Hebrew word "sabaoth" to "Yahweh" creates a combination that has a implication of God as the "Sovereign Warrior." The sovereign part implies His rule over the Earth and universe, which I will cover a bit more later in this series (yes, there are a lot of parts in this "Names of God" series...). What I really want to focus on is His title as a warrior.
Our God is a Warrior. He is not all rainbows and butterflies, unicorns and bunnies. There is a very real spiritual war waging all around and inside of us, and He is in the middle of it. This is a nice title to remember when stuff around you isn't so great and you need back-up. Not only is our God unmovable and stable, strong and powerful as we saw last week, but He is an active Warrior, able to challenge anything in our lives. When God battles something, let's just say it doesn't hang around very long.
Do you need the Warrior God to back you up in a battle you are fighting? Call on Him. He's ready to roll for His people at any time.
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