Day 1 Christmas Countdown Devotional: when the Lord of heaven’s armies came

When we see the apparent helplessness of the baby in the manger, it’s hard to imagine what he left behind to make his journey to his Bethlehem birthplace. There is a hint, however, in the titles with which the angels introduce him. The angels said,

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

While this is the first time in theChristmas scene that the word “Lord” has been applied to the Christ child, it is not its first use in the Bible. The word “Lord” occurs nearly 8,000 times in the Bible. It is a word with a rich heritage.  In our contemporary, free-market society, it’s hard for us to understand the master-servant relationship. At times, the word “Lord” can even sound archaic. Herbert Lockyer describes the word as “a master who commands willing service.” When applied to Jesus, reflect on the fact that prior to taking on humanity he was: the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8), Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15), Lord of all (Rom. 10:12), and Lord of heaven’s armies (Jer. 33:11; Rev. 5:11).

Its that last title that has most captured my imagination this Christmas season. The title is used over 260 times in the Old Testament–often in the context of judgment. While we do not know the scope or size of “heaven’s armies,” there are a few hints in the Scripture.

When the Syrian army surrounded the city of Elisha the prophet, he said to his fearful servant,

“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:16-17).

In Revelation we read,

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:11-12, NIV).

Ten thousand times ten thousand totals 100 million. While I wouldn’t infer this to be a definitive number, it’s clear that the Lord of heaven’s armies had unlimited resources at his disposal. To put that number in perspective, the largest armies the earth has ever assembled are:

• 3 million (USA in 1970)
• 4.4 million (USSR in 1970)
• 4.8 million (China in 1980)

Add all of them together and you only come up with 12.2 million; that’s a small army compared to the 100 million that potentially make up heaven’s hosts.

It’s hard to imagine that when the world needed a Savior the Lord of heaven’s armies was the one who volunteered. He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself and took on the form of a servant. It’s a thought that gives new meaning to “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

PHIL MOSER is the author of the Biblical Strategies series and the developer of 4M Training: a 13-week small group study for men. All of his resources can be found on amazon or at biblicalstrategies.com.

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