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The Story of Lord of Hosts

 

Lord of Hosts was first conceived in my spirit while I was reading the book “Worship Warrior” by Chuck Pierce. The book is about the church rising up in its call to warfare through worship. The Lord of Hosts is the commander of the armies of heaven and those on earth who serve him. The name is used when the Lord declares he will work on behalf of those who serve him or judge those who don’t.

As I meditated on the name and began searching Scripture for where Lord of Hosts is mentioned I began to realize it is the Lord of Hosts who promises the windows of heaven will open if the tithe is brought to the storehouse (Malachi 3:10).  This is significant to Lakemount as we are under the open heaven here.

The shape of the banner is very heraldic in nature being the shape of a shield with a helmet/crown at the top of it.  It is divided in half by colour; black for man or earth’s side and gold representing God or heaven.  The gold fabric is textured as though it were hammered metal.  The black is also textured but the design is very chaotic and not easily seen.

Prominent across the front of the banner is a hand holding an upraised sword.  The fact the sword is pointing up indicates readiness for battle.  The hilt of the sword has two scripture references on it, Hebrews 4:12 (For the word of God is living and active… it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart) and Revelation 1:16 (… out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword).  As the style of the banner is very medieval a design was created for the hilt that is Celtic in style yet not Celtic, as it is a braided design with only one cord (Celtic designs use 4 cords representing the 4 elements).  The single cord braided into 3 represents the one God in 3 parts and the Alpha and Omega because there is a beginning and end to the design.

The sword blade itself is constructed out of a holographic silver fabric (silver represents the word of God).  On the blade are two features: the inscription “The Word of the Lord” and the reference Ephesians 6:17 (the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God) and also 2 flames in gold representing the flaming sword used as judgment.

The hand is made of very shiny fabric indicating it is not a human hand holding this sword.

The helmet/crown is a warrior’s crown representing he is ready for battle therefore not is wearing his regal crown.  The red brings in the concept of the helmet of salvation (Eph 6:17)

Lord of Hosts lettering is very bold and utilitarian, done in red to indicate warfare yet shadowed in purple to represent the majesty and authority behind the name.

The sequin design on the background of the banner is also significant.  On the gold side the sequins are pointing towards the black as in an offensive posture.  On the black side the sequins were in vertical bars yet where the sword has crossed them the bars have been cut and they hang limply.  This is what the truth of the Word of God does to the prisons of lies we live in.

Around the edge of the front of this banner are the words “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory” (Is 6:3).  This verse declares the victory of the Lord of Hosts.

On the back of the banner, the helmet is still at the top but the black side is on the left and the gold is on the right  (because we read left to right).

There are two Scriptures: on the black the question from us “What has my Lord to say to his servant? Joshua 5:14 and then on the gold side His answer to us “Not by might, not by power but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts” Zechariah 4:6.  The Joshua verse is from when Joshua is confronted by the commander of the Lord’s army holding an upraised sword and when he realized who he was, Joshua asked Him for instruction for battle.  Zechariah received instructions from the Lord of Hosts.

In the Zechariah passage there is also a reference to seven lamps (Zech 4:2, 10) and in Revelation it refers to the seven lamps before the throne of God which are the seven spirits (Rev 4:5).  The seven lamps are portrayed by the seven gems spaced down the side of the banner reminding us of the glory and majesty the Lord of Hosts dwells in.  The sequins and beads form a trio on either side; the black (body soul and spirit) not completely to the top while on the gold all three (Father Son and Holy Spirit) go completely to the top and then they are joined by a red strand part way down.  The sequins from the two sides then mix together with the red completely on the seam between the black and gold fabric.  This design is totally symbolic of how God works with our incompleteness to accomplish what He wants us to do because of the blood of Jesus covering the separation between us.