The heavenly host is a group or army with heavenly power to assist God’s people. The main purpose of the heavenly hosts is to strengthen and comfort believers.
“It is mainly the angels who are wanted, but the name carries with it the idea that all divine or celestial power is available to meet the needs of the people of God,” according to Scofield Reference Notes.
1. The heavenly armies are creations of God.
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, with all their host. »(Nehemiah 9:6)
“Thus were completed the heavens and the earth, and all their host. » (Genesis 2:1)
It is generally believed that the heavenly host was created on the first day. However, the Jewish faith states that angels were created on the second or fifth day, as Chabad.org declared.
Much of the confusion arises because celestial stars are sometimes called “heavenly hosts” in Scripture (Deuteronomy 4:19). If angels were not part of the creation mentioned in Genesis 2:1, then they should have been created a little later. But the verse indicates that “the whole host” was created. Therefore, it can reasonably be said that angels were created and included in this group.
2. God is the “Lord of Hosts”.
Hannah was the first person recorded in Scripture to refer to God by this title. In her plaintive prayer to God, “she made a vow and said, ‘Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look upon the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but give your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head’”(1 Samuel 1:11ESV).
God is referred to as “Lord of hosts” in the Scriptures (Haggai 2:4, Psalm 24:10) which translates to “Jehovah-Sabaoth” or “Yahweh-Sabaoth” in Hebrew. “Yahweh Sabaoth”Means “The Lord of Hosts,” who contemplates his righteousness and power over spiritual and physical hosts.
“They will be mine,” declares the LORD of hosts, “in the day that I lay up my precious possessions, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” (Malachi 3:17ESV)
According to MacLaren Exhibition, “In this capacity, “the Lord of hosts”, the prophets and psalmists intended to express the universal reign of God over the whole universe in all its battalions and sections, which they conceived as a classified army, obedient to the voice of the great general and sovereign of all. “
3. The heavenly host has announced great events.
When the birth of Jesus was announced in Luke 2:13-14, we find that “suddenly there were with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace among those with whom he is well pleased!” »»
4. The heavenly host proclaims the protection and presence of God.
In Psalms 46:10-11, we are told to “be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. “
This passage is a great comfort to the Christiansknowing the Lord of hosts “has all creatures which are called the armies of heaven and earth at his command and command…we need not fear,” Matthew Henry said in his comment.
Jacob dreamed of a staircase with the angels of God ascending and descending from heaven and earth. When Jacob escaped from the hands of his father-in-law, he was joined by a host of angels and was informed that his brother Esau was pursuing him NOW. Genesis 32:1-2 tells us that when he met the angels, he called the name of this place, Mahanaim, which represents two armies or armies.
5. God’s heavenly hosts will ultimately be victorious.
“If the LORD of hosts had not left us some survivors, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. » (Isaiah 1:9)
There are three “hosts of the Lord”: the angels, the stars and the church. Heavenly hosts protect a people from ruin and destruction in general and help preserve the seed or the remnant. A “host” envisages a double protection of heaven and earth. Butler, George William, ‘The Lord’s Host’, Edinburgh (1878).
Paul referenced this verse in Romans 9:29as he taught a seed was left behind or a small number of people out of an otherwise degenerate society like Sodom and Gomorrah.
In Revelation 12:7-9the archangel Michael and a multitude of angels will finally defeat Satan.
In Revelation 19:1 “A great multitude in heaven” will cry “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory and power belong to our God” when Babylon falls to our Lord.
Chad Napier is a believer in Christ, lawyer, amateur golfer, runner, dog lover and writer. He enjoys serving his church as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and his dedication to golf by3sixteen.com. He and his wife Brandi reside in Tennessee with their canine son Alistair.
Photo credit: Getty / Zvonimir Atleti
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