The Book of Joshua, ch. 5 with BAC Commentary: An explanation of the term the LORD of Hosts.
Adonay or Yehovah - To exist, to be, self existent or eternal, master, owner, ruler, sovereign controller, human or divine - (General of the Army) (Strong's Concordance #'s 6635/6633; 4264; 2428) means the following: To mass an army or servants, to assemble, fight, perform, a mass of persons, or things, for war or campaign against, an encampment of troops or travelers, an army of soldiers, a force, army, strength, a band of men (soldiers) ready for battle or protection.
According to the descriptions listed above, there was a LORD (General-God), and there was an Army of people that was in servitude to, or under, the LORD in command.
The Old Testament mentions the "LORD of Hosts" more than 200 times throughout its pages and in every single case it refers to the above definition. The 'Host' of heavens involves an army of people or soldiers that were ready to do battle, ready to defend, the 'LORD/LORDs' of Scripture. The question is - who was the 'Host', and who was the 'LORD' they were willing to do battle for - to defend and die for.
Exodus 12:40-41: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 430 years. And it came to pass at the end of the 430 years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the Hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt."
The above verse is referring to the Israelites as a group of people called the 'Hosts' of the LORD. If these people were an army of the LORD, then they were in pretty poor straights - a defeated army - for they had been held in Egyptian prison camps for 430 years. Why wasn't the General of this Army, if a sovereign power, able to free his army long before Moses came along? Where was the LORD during this period of time - was he even on the planet? Where was he 430 years prior to the Exodus? What took place 430 years prior that would have caused his army to become imprisoned?
Was the army actually natives of Egypt or where did they originate? If the army was descendants of Joseph - was Joseph actually an Egyptian (see Imhotep) himself? Was Moses actually an Egyptian? If Joseph and Moses were actually Egyptian, were they purely human, or sons of the gods that came to this planet in earlier years? Could the Israelites actually have been an army formed under Moses' command to rise up against the Pharaoh at the time, due to differences of opinion? Wasn't Jesus one who had a difference of opinion from the main stream Jews of his time and gathered around him an 'army-host' of followers? Wasn't Jesus referred to as a 'LORD' (Captain)? Moses' followers carry on to this day, as do the followers of Jesus. Did the followers of Joseph/Imhotep follow after him for thousands of years as well?
| Joshua 5: 13 - 14: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the Host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my LORD unto his servant?" |
In the verse above, Joshua identifies the person as a man that was a soldier in an army because of the sword in his hand. The man says he is a Captain in the Army of the LORD (Yehovah). Joshua immediately fell to his knees with his face in the dust as a salute to the Captain. Was Joshua's behavior demonstrating the 'salute' that was practiced to those in higher command than himself? And would Joshua salute the Captain if Joshua himself was not a soldier of the same army? Did civilians salute Captains of Armies then - do they now? If the Captain was identified as a 'man' would the General also be identified as a 'man'?
| Judges 4:1-2: "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them (Israelites) into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose house was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles." Judges 5:20: "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Judges 22:19: "And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left." |
Looks as if the Israelite army was surrendered to the Captain of the Canaanite army by the LORD. The word 'sold' above is 'makar', which means: to sell for a price - such as merchandise or a servant, but it also can mean to 'surrender'. The 'Captain' surrendered his Israelite Army to the Canaanite Army here - not because they were bad little soldiers, but because they were defeated.
They (armies) fought from aloft (the sky); the stars (battling spaceships at night would appear to be stars) fought against Sisera - the Captain of the opposing army. In the 21st verse of Judges 5, Jael (the wife of Heber, the Kenite), drove a nail into the head of (sleeping) opposing Captain Sisera killing him. Now Sisera was dead, so God (the Elohiym - see Elohiym) subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the army of Israel. Then the army of Israel pressed heavier and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
These were wars and battles being carried on all throughout the old testament - taking place on the land and in the skies overhead. The hosts were the armies, the LORDs were the Captains of the Armies - nothing more - nothing less.
The SUPREME SOVEREIGN GOD OF ALL CREATION IS NOT A CAPTAIN OR GENERAL OF AN ARMY - THE GOD IS ULTIMATE IN POWER AND WISDOM AND IS A PART OF THE NATURAL ORDER OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS - HE WOULD NEVER HAVE NEED OF A HUMAN ARMY. Does gravity need our assistance to hold the earth in place? Does the sun require our assistance in keeping the fires burning? Does man need to manufacture a fresh batch of oxygen each day for breathing? You get the point - use your head - use common sense - use reasoning.