I. Sabaoth

A. Transliteration of Greek noun of Hebrew origin ṣāḇā’
B. “LORD of hosts” more than 200 times
C. Romans 9:29; James 5:4 – rendered “Sabaoth” [KJV, NKJV, ASV], “hosts” [ESV]; “armies” [CSB, NASB2020]
D. Verb form, “go into battle, fight”

II. The LORD of hosts in the Old Testament

A. Elkanah’s yearly sacrifice; Hannah’s prayer (1 Sam. 1:3,11)
B. Battles with Philistines, Amalek, Goliath (1 Sam. 4:4; 15:2; 17:45)
C. Frequent use in the Psalms and the prophets – especially Isaiah and Jeremiah (more than 120x), Malachi (24x)

III. The LORD of Sabaoth in the New Testament

A. Romans 9:29 (cf. Isaiah 1:9) – the promise of the remnant
B. James 5:1-6 – He hears and will avenge the oppressed

IV. What does this mean for us?

A. Not a fleshly war, but a spiritual war (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Ephesians 6:10-13)
B. Every Christian is a soldier (2 Tim. 2:3; Phil. 2:25; Phm. 2)
C. We must not be distracted (2 Timothy 2:4)
D. Fight the good fight! (1 Tim. 6:12; Titus 2:11-12; 1 Peter 2:9)