God has command over all things. His creation is under His authority. He is Lord of Tzva’ot, or Lord of Hosts. This Hebrew word can refer to any great multitude but is often associated with an army.
David calls on the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of the armies of Israel, when he takes on Goliath. Luke mentions the heavenly hosts, the angels that declared God’s glory when Jesus was born. What is being communicated with this title is His absolute authority and control. Everything is at His disposal.
Tzva’ot does not appear in the first five books of Torah, but makes its first use in a very personal plea from a woman in pain. Hannah longed for child and was “troubled in spirit.” But this godly woman knew where to direct her appeal. Upon arriving at the temple she wept bitterly and poured out her heart in prayer. And she called on the Lord of Hosts to remember her and to give her a son. This Ruler over all things, the Commander of the armies of heaven and earth, responded - not to an epic battle or worldwide crisis - but astonishingly to an ordinary woman’s request.
It is comforting to know that when my soul is distressed that I, too, can call on the Lord of Hosts. Every resource on earth and army in heaven is at His disposal and yet He hears the voice of His children.
For behold, He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is His thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth—the Lord, the God of hosts, is His name! Amos 4:13
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