Jesus: The Lord of Sabaoth/Hosts (Part 1)

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver

Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah. (Romans 9:29, NKJV)

Sodom and Gomorrah was a demonstration of the Divine overthrow of a place due to the grievous sins of the inhabitants. There are numerous warnings in the Scripture that reference Sodom and Gomorrah as a potential experience for those living ungodly. The Lord has frequently called people to repentance in essence saying, “If you don’t repent you will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah.” Here are a few examples:

“And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass growth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath” (Deut 29:23).

“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isa 13:19).

“I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah” (Jer 23:14).

“As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it” (Jer 49:18).

“I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord” (Amos 4:11)

“Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them” (Zeph 2:9).

We must be aware of these warnings (and many others) lest we become presumptuous about sin and judgment. Furthermore, we must consider that this was the apostle’s reasoning concerning the nation of Israel. They had strayed so far from the Lord that they would have been overthrown as Sodom and Gomorrah, except the Lord had determined to leave them descendants. Oh, the mercy of the Lord. Truly He abounds in lovingkindness.

Recap of Sodom and Gomorrah. You remember, dear reader, that it was “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,” that the Lord said, “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen 18:20-21). And the Lord saw that the half had not yet been told. The vexation of the soul of righteous Lot was indeed warranted and God planned to act. Their sin, to be named from those days on as sodomy, was both ungodly and unnatural. Like in our day they labored to defend and celebrate their sin while they condemned the one warning them of it’s danger.

God, showing grace to Abraham, told him of His purpose. Abraham, then, in the boldness of faith, stood before the Lord and inquired of the Lord’s work in view of His righteousness: “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?…Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:23,25). The Lord agreed and would go on to show Himself as One who knows how to “save and destroy” (Jas 4:12).

The Lord sent His messengers to the city to warn and deliver. Lot sought to spare the messengers from the evil men of Sodom who determined to “know them carnally” (Gen 19:5). When Lot rebuked the crowds even to the point of offering his two daughters in their stead, the men “both young and old” replied, “Stand back!” and roused the crowd against Lot saying, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them (Gen 19:9). But the two men ended up saving Lot from their hands and warned him, saying,  

“Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-13)

While some of his family complied, others refused, even causing Lot to wait for a more appropriate response. But the angels wouldn’t have him destroyed along with the wicked. For the Lord was being merciful to him: in effect, The Lord of Hosts was leaving a remnant. The account reads on,

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” (Genesis 19:15-16)

Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. (Genesis 19:24-25)

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. (Genesis 19:27-29)

Sodom and Gomorrah will continue to be a point of reference for the people of the world. God’s dealing with them serves to teach men how God feels about sin, particularly sin of this most grievous kind. What we have to see in our Romans 9 text is that the Lord of Sabaoth’s desire and willingness to show mercy and leave Israel “a seed” is the only reason that they did not end of as Sodom and Gomorrah. And to be clear, it is the only reason we all don’t end up as Sodom and Gomorrah, as well. The One with all the power over the heavenly host is able to destroy the wicked and keep for Himself a remnant.