God has many titles/names. One of those is Yahweh Tzavot, which occurs 240 times in the Hebrew Bible along with other variations. What does this title mean? You and What Army? The word tzavot is the plural of tzava (צָבָא), which means an army or a large host/horde. While it often is attached to God, it also commonly describes earthly armies. For example, Abner was the commander of Saul’s army/tzava (1 Samuel 14:50, 26:5), and Joab was over David’s army (2 Samuel 8:16). Those serving at the tabernacle were considered to be in a tzava (Numbers 4:3), i.e. in God’s […]
Tag Archives: Advent
Do Not Fear: God Is With Us
Most are familiar with the popular Christmas carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” but do you know the backstory to this title? It is most familiar in Jesus’ birth narrative, a message to Joseph from an angel: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:21-23 Immanuel 700 years before Jesus […]
The “Fourteenth” of Christmas
This traditional place for Jesus’ birth is marked with a silver fourteen-pointed star. Why fourteen? It is for the three lists of fourteen ancestors in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1. The birth stories of Jesus are favorites, especially with the magi, the shepherds, and the baby in the manger, but few of us would say we enjoy this long list of names. However, to much of the Eastern part of our world, what to us is a boring list of names is actually extremely important and interesting. An organization that distributes audio Bibles reports that one out of three people […]
Advent – A Season of Anticipation
Some Christian traditions celebrate Advent in the weeks before Christmas. The word comes from Latin (adventus) and means “coming” or “arrival” (parousia in our New Testament’s Greek). While most people focus on Advent’s preparation for Christmas, the Bible’s use of the term is usually about Jesus’ Second Coming. While it is wonderful to remember the time of Jesus’ incarnation and birth, we must never forget he has a second advent that we must all be prepared for. The main thing Jesus and the apostles taught about his return was to be ready. A little baby in a manger makes us […]
Advent of the Suffering Son of Joseph
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”“Joy to the world!”“‘Tis the season to be jolly!” In our culture, Christmas has become synonymous with a time of merry celebration. But, there are hurting people all over our broken world today that holiday clichés of cheer fail to help. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one this year, and this is your first Christmas with an empty chair. Maybe this is the 20th year in a row of being isolated from family or friends. I write this for you: understanding the meaning of Christmas won’t immediately take away your grief or loneliness. […]
Light
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7 As we lit the Advent candles at church this morning, I thought of the lighting of the Hanukkah candles now, […]