“Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears... She pleaded, ‘Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life’ ” (1 Samuel 1:10-11, CSB).
Hannah addressed the “Lord of Armies” (1 Samuel 1:3, 10, CSB). That’s the “Lord of Hosts” (ESV, KJV) or “Lord Almighty” (NIV). In Hebrew, “Yahweh Sabaoth.” This is the first time this title is used in the Bible.
“Yahweh Sabaoth” is the God of victory. When David, the young shepherd-boy fought the Philistine giant, he stopped at the brook in the Valley of Elah to gather “five smooth stones”(I Samuel 17:40). As he approached the menacing warrior, David declared, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lordof Armies ... Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down” (1 Samuel 17:45–46, CSB).
“Yahweh Sabaoth,” the “Lord of Armies,” is the God of revival and restoration! “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! O LORD God of hosts … Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved! … Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see… Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” (Psalm 80:3-19, ESV)
“Yahweh Sabaoth” is the God of Glory. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies” (Isaiah 6:1–5, CSB).
“Yahweh Sabaoth” is the covenant-keeping God, the God of grace. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV).
"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," was written by Martin Luther:
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
Hannah believed that her God was bigger than her troubles. He would conquer! He would bring victory! He was Lord and Master of the hosts, the multitudes of Heaven’s mighty armies. He is Lord Almighty!
