Surrounded by Angels

Surrounded by Angels.

Yahweh-sabaoth = LORD of Hosts; LORD of the Angel Armies; Commander of Heaven’s Armies; Leader of Angelic Warriors; a host of angelic forces massing together for battle at the command of the LORD. This name of God is the most frequently used compound name for God in the Hebrew Bible. It is used over 280 times, most of them found in the biblical Prophets, especially Jeremiah, Isaiah, and in many of the Psalms.

“For God will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from stumbling and falling.” (Psalm 91:11-12).

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, this psalm has been understood as God’s protection during spiritual warfare. It is about divine protection of our soul during demonic attack. In verse 13 of this psalm, three of the great symbols of satanic power are mentioned by name: lions, snakes, and dragons. But we needn’t worry about demonic spirits capturing our souls or hurting us in any way spiritually, because, as the Orthodox Christian church has stated, “believers can walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness.” The psalmist’s opening verses in Psalm 91 clearly declare that only those who dwell in God, who abide in faith to the Almighty God as refuge and fortress, will remain safe and protected from the demonic realm. Our soul is fiercely defended, and the victory is sure. Much of that spiritual protection comes from God’s angelic hosts. God has assigned His warriors to watch over us, to surround us with protection. As the Message puts it, “God ordered His angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.” Rabbinic teaching has maintained that guardian angels protect God’s people, even from demonic forces (David Stern). As David wrote in Psalm 103:20-21, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.”

So the foreign king sent horses and chariots, and a large force; and these, arriving during the night, surrounded the town.  Next day, Elisha got up early and went out, and there surrounding the town was an armed force with horses and chariots. ‘Oh my lord,’ his servant said, ‘what are we to do?” ‘Do not be afraid,’ Elisha replied, ‘for there are more on our side than on theirs.’ And Elisha prayed, “Yahweh,’ he said, ‘open his eyes and make him see.’ Yahweh opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw the mountain covered in fiery horses and chariots surrounding Elisha… So at dusk they set out and made for the Aramaean camp, but when they reached the confines of the camp there was not a soul there. For Yahweh had caused the Aramaeans in their camp to hear a noise of chariots and horses, the noise of a great army.” (2 Kings 6:15-17 and 7:5-6, NJB).

Elisha the prophet was chased into a hopeless corner by the king of Syria and the king’s huge army. The king wanted to punish Elisha for being a roadblock to the king’s military success. Every time the king put his battle plans together to attack Israel, Elisha would somehow discover those plans and alert the king of Israel to the impending attack. The frustrated king’s plans were thwarted time and again by this troublesome prophet Elisha. The king finally had enough of this, and he sent his huge army to surround the town where Elisha and his servant were staying. It was two against an army that had horses and chariots. It was hopeless. Elisha’s servant panicked and asked Elisha what they could possibly do to avoid catastrophe. Elisha reassured the servant, told him not to fear, and asked God to open his servant’s eyes to the spiritual world. Elisha told his dumfounded servant that, despite appearances, there were more on Elisha’s side than on the enemy’s side. And sure enough, that turned out to be true. In the spiritual world, the servant saw that the hills surrounding the town were completely covered by angelic troops and their fiery chariots and horses. Yahweh had indeed mustered His troops, the heavenly forces of the unseen world. A little later, Yahweh opened up the ears of the Syrian troops to actually hear what this enormous angelic army sounded like. And the enemy all ran away.

“Now the prophet Micaiah told them, ‘Now listen to the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh seated on his throne with the whole array of heaven standing on his right and on his left… And the prophet Jahaziel said, ‘Listen, all Judah and you citizens of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat! Yahweh says this to you, ‘Do not be afraid, do not be daunted by this vast horde, for the war is not your affair but God’s. Go down against them tomorrow. You will not need to fight in this battle. Take up your position, stand firm, and see what salvation Yahweh has in store for you. Judah and Jerusalem! Be fearless, be dauntless; march out against them tomorrow and Yahweh will be with you.’ Then, having conferred with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed singers who were to praise Yahweh and go out ahead of the army in sacred vestments, singing, ‘Praise Yahweh, for his faithful love endures for ever!’ The moment they began their shouts of praise, Yahweh sprang ambushes on all who were invading Judah, and that was the end of them.”  (2 Chronicles 18:18 and 20:15-17, 22, NJB).

Jehoshaphat, the righteous ruler of Judah and Jerusalem found himself in a desperate situation. His nation was about to be attacked by an enormously powerful alliance of foreign armies. He didn’t know what to do but ask God for divine intervention. They were helpless against “this vast horde.” The noble and faithful Jehoshaphat said, “Because we do not know what to do, we look to you, Yahweh.” A prophet of God then tells them that this battle is the LORD’s. So the king and all his people bowed down, worshiped Yahweh, and praised Him “at the top of their voices.” The wise king then appointed a huge company of singers to go ahead of his troops, singing about God’s eternal mercy. Yahweh then gathered his angelic troops and set up ambushes against the armies, and the rout was on. In this case, God’s people didn’t need to fight this battle. They simply praised God and watched Him work.

“On a bare hill hoist a signal, shout for them, beckon them to come to the Nobles’ Gate. I have issued orders to my sacred warriors. I have summoned my heroes to serve my anger, my proud champions. The noise of a great crowd in the mountains, like an immense people, the tumultuous sound of kingdoms, of nations mustering. It is Yahweh-sabaoth marshaling the troops for battle. They come from the far horizons. Yahweh and the instruments of his fury, to lay the whole country to waste. Howl! For the Day of Yahweh is near!” (Isaiah 13:1-5, NJB).

This is a message from Yahweh concerning Babylon. Judgment Day is a-coming, says Yahweh-sabaoth. The verses provide a sneak peek at the Commander of the Angel Armies and how He gathers His heavenly troops. In this message, Yahweh parts the veil a little bit and reveals how He goes about judging a wicked nation like Babylon. He calls His sacred warriors from the vast spaces in heaven. And the enemies of God don’t stand a chance when Yahweh orders His warriors into action. This is a spiritual look at the Day of the Lord so often shouted by His prophets.

“Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. Put on the full armor of God so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. That is why you must take up all God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full.” (Ephesians 6:10-13, NJB).

Believers in Christ are asked to join an army as well. We are called to put on God’s armor, the spiritual armor of Yahweh, to engage in battle with the spiritual forces of wickedness. In the Hebrew Bible, we often see Yahweh gather His angelic warriors to serve Him in warfare against the enemies. It seems that sometimes the warfare was more spiritual, and other times the battles were with physical enemies. Sometimes there is a mysterious interplay between the unseen and seen worlds. Oftentimes Yahweh fought along with the believers in the battle, like with David and Goliath. Other times Yahweh and His army fought instead of the believers, asking the believers to simply watch the battle as Yahweh and his warriors do all the fighting. Who knows what spiritual warfare looks like now. Who knows what role the LORD’s host plays in everyday life. I have a feeling we have no idea the battles that are waged that we know nothing about. The fact is we can’t be aware of what is happening in the unseen world. What would we see if Yahweh opened our eyes to see like Elisha’s servant? We can certainly thank Yahweh-sabaoth that He fights our battles for us when we are blissfully unaware. One thing we do know… When we put on God’s armor, we are joining the angel army in some meaningful way, to an extent that we can’t be sure of.  Thank you, Yahweh-sabaoth, that you remain the valiant Commander of the Angel Armies. Thank you that you still are the victorious King of the heavenly troops that continue to defend us in the unseen battles that occur around us.