Section Four
Supremacy of Yahweh
Chapter Eleven
God of Armies
Psalms 84: 8a. “O Lord God of hosts…”
Moses writes in Deuteronomy 6: 4, “(Shema) Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”. As Moses said to Israel, I say “Shema”, pay attention, my friends. The supremacy of our God is assured. There is none before Him. There will be none after Him. He is the “Aleph and Tov”—“the Beginning and the End”. He commands the true depth of the meaning of "Shema", "hear and obey".
The commandment due our attention is to “love the Lord (our) God with all (our) heart, with all (our) soul, and with all (our) strength”. It is not for us to render allegiance once in a while or when it suits us. It is for us to surrender our “ALL” to Him—“in everything”, as Paul said to the wives in Ephesians. As the bride of Yahweh our Messiah, it is not a surrender that is half-hearted. It is a subordination of self that is “with all (our) soul, and with all (our) strength”.
Sadly, only a small remnant will faithfully surrender their all. Others will mire themselves in varying levels of the cares of the world. They choose the easy route, mix the purity of God with the impurity of the world, and become tainted of spirit and soul. For these and the faithful, it will be as Paul wrote to the Galatians in 6: 7-8. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows that will he also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
Sooner or later, “self” pride will give occasion for our great God to demonstrate His supremacy. Such was the case for Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. His prideful boast in Daniel 4: 30 set the stage for a demonstration of humbling proportions. Relegated to his living “dream world”, he crawled on hand and knee in the field and ate grass as the cattle.
When he literally crawled out of his “dream world”, he said, in v. 34, “I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who live forever”. He acknowledges YAH’s “dominion is an everlasting dominion” and that His “kingdom is from generation to generation”. It’s rather apparent this man learned his lesson well, for, he begins v. 35 with “all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing”.
In diametric irony to the ideals of men, he acknowledges YAH’s unquestioned status as “Commander-in-Chief” of the armies of heaven. He positively declares YAH “does according to His will” and that “no one can restrain His hand”. He even says we have no place to question His decisions. As the Psalmists say with the phrase, “O Lord God of hosts”, YAH truly and literally is our “God of armies”, a premise Paul so eloquently articulates to the Romans in 9: 20.
The question of consideration is not necessarily one of right or wrong choices, but, rather, a matter of the heart. Is the basis of choice founded in God and His supreme directive, or of “self”? For Nebuchadnezzar, life in the palace and personal pride in his achievements weren’t the problem. It was his improper focus. He needed an “attitude adjustment”. When the lesson was learned, blessed forgiveness and restoration were extended, as is seen in v. 36.
As it was with Nebuchadnezzar, so it may be for us today. It may not be the choice, but the reason or basis for the choice. Is it God’s; or, is it our choice? The wrong foundation makes the choice wrong, even if it’s right. The king concludes in v. 37 with, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those that walk in pride He is able to put down”.
I encourage all to yield to the supreme direction of our benevolent Messiah and confess with our heart, as Nebuchadnezzar, concerning every facet of our lives. It is a heart-felt confession that leads us to answered prayers. And, our faithful standing at His side leads to the sweetness of His encouraging providence.
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