I was reading the prophet Jeremiah a few weeks ago when I ran across a passage that referred to God as “the Lord Almighty.” To be honest, it didn’t resonate. There’s something too religious about the phrase; it sounds churchy, sanctimonious. The Lawd Almiiiighty. It sounds like something your grandmother would say when you came into her kitchen covered in mud. I found myself curious about what the actual phrase means in Hebrew. Might we have lost something in the translation? So I turned to the front of the version I was using for an explanation. Here is what the editors said:
Because for most readers today the phrases “the Lord of hosts” and “God of hosts” have little meaning, this version renders them “the Lord Almighty” and “God Almighty.” These renderings convey the sense of the Hebrew, namely, “he who is sovereign over all the ‘hosts’ (powers) in heaven and on earth, especially over the ‘hosts’ (armies) of Israel.”
No, they don’t. They don’t even come close. The Hebrew means “the God of angel armies,” “the God of the armies who fight for his people.” The God who is at war. Does “Lord Almighty” convey “the God who is at war”? Not to me, it doesn’t. Not to anyone I’ve asked. It sounds like “the God who is up there but still in charge.” Powerful, in control. The God of angel armies sounds like the one who would roll up his sleeves, take up sword and shield to break down gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron to rescue me.
(John Eldredge, Waking the Dead , 160)
Because for most readers today the phrases “the Lord of hosts” and “God of hosts” have little meaning, this version renders them “the Lord Almighty” and “God Almighty.” These renderings convey the sense of the Hebrew, namely, “he who is sovereign over all the ‘hosts’ (powers) in heaven and on earth, especially over the ‘hosts’ (armies) of Israel.”
No, they don’t. They don’t even come close. The Hebrew means “the God of angel armies,” “the God of the armies who fight for his people.” The God who is at war. Does “Lord Almighty” convey “the God who is at war”? Not to me, it doesn’t. Not to anyone I’ve asked. It sounds like “the God who is up there but still in charge.” Powerful, in control. The God of angel armies sounds like the one who would roll up his sleeves, take up sword and shield to break down gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron to rescue me.
(John Eldredge, Waking the Dead , 160)
I like it!
I mean, HOT DAMN, I LIKE it! I really do struggle with this image of a VERY far away Father and a VERY discreet and secret Holy Spirit, and a VERY occupied Jesus who can't possibly make time for me. But it's just not true. The Father is desperate to be with his children, Jesus is desperate to be known by his bride, and the Holy Spirit is desperate to break through the layers of our sin so that our hearts can be alive in this dark hour.
This isn't a truth I speak out of experience, but rather one I wholeheartedly believe, and one I know the Holy Spirit is working towards and that however shamefully and weakly, I am working towards as well.
And that isn't completely true. God has been faithful to me and has given me nuggets here and there that are leading me to the fullness of this truth, Im just not there yet. And I really really want to be.
He is the God of Hosts! He is coming to break down sin to get to me! His war is on sin and his prize is me! I can't wait for the day when Jesus prevails, and the war is won. The war will be ugly and hard-fought, but he will prevail.
In this struggle, I am so weak, and so prone to caving into my desires, but my eyes on are you, Jesus. I have dove's eyes for you.
I mean, HOT DAMN, I LIKE it! I really do struggle with this image of a VERY far away Father and a VERY discreet and secret Holy Spirit, and a VERY occupied Jesus who can't possibly make time for me. But it's just not true. The Father is desperate to be with his children, Jesus is desperate to be known by his bride, and the Holy Spirit is desperate to break through the layers of our sin so that our hearts can be alive in this dark hour.
This isn't a truth I speak out of experience, but rather one I wholeheartedly believe, and one I know the Holy Spirit is working towards and that however shamefully and weakly, I am working towards as well.
And that isn't completely true. God has been faithful to me and has given me nuggets here and there that are leading me to the fullness of this truth, Im just not there yet. And I really really want to be.
He is the God of Hosts! He is coming to break down sin to get to me! His war is on sin and his prize is me! I can't wait for the day when Jesus prevails, and the war is won. The war will be ugly and hard-fought, but he will prevail.
In this struggle, I am so weak, and so prone to caving into my desires, but my eyes on are you, Jesus. I have dove's eyes for you.
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