Yeshua is everything to us: our salvation, our hope, our future, to name a few. It is important to get to know Him as well as possible. We can do this by interacting with Him and also by reading the Bible. It is the word of Yehovah and Yeshua is the living Word of Yehovah. This series, entitled “Who Is Yeshua?” will consist of twenty-one articles. Each article will explore a different section of the Bible to discover different titles and roles of Yeshua and our response to each role. In the twelfth article in the series, Yeshua is Yehovah Tz’vaot.
And David saith unto the Philistine, `Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached.” (1 Sam 17:45 YLT).
Yehovah Tz’vaot is translated as “Yehovah of Hosts”, “Yehovah of the Armies”, “LORD of Hosts”, among various other translations. It is a designation for Yehovah indicating that He is Lord or Ruler over the heavenly hosts and also the armies of the earth. The first time this term is used in the Bible is in 1 Sam 1:9, where Hannah, who is barren, is pleading with Yehovah to give her a child. In this case no earthly armies were involved. In Matthew 26:53-54, Yeshua talks about His Father sending legions of angels to Him at His request. Throughout the Old Testament, we see examples of Yehovah intervening on behalf of earthly armies You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chron 20:17). Another example is ‘for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ (Deut 20:4). And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when the people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses – all dead.” (2 Kings 19:35).
Is Yeshua also Yehovah Tz’vaot? Some translations of Isaiah 44:6 seem to indicate that Yeshua also carries this title. “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God” (Is 44:6 NKJV). In Matthew 28:18, Yeshua told His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him.
What does this mean for us? It means that we are never alone in our battles, whether in the physical realm or the spiritual realm. In these troubling times, we can easily feel threatened on many levels, but we are not left on our own to contend with those who threaten us, whether human or demonic. We have very real help. not just from earthly armies, but from heavenly ones as well. And we can rest assured that both Yehovah, and His Son, Yeshua, are in charge of all armies.
I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong protector; He is my shelter. (Ps 62:5-7 GNT)
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