"Our redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is his name, the holy one of Israel." -from the traditional prayer, Tsur Yisrael

Lord of Hosts; master of legions; Adonai Ts'vaot. This is one of the most majestic names by which Scripture seeks to identify the God whom we serve.

When we hear this phrase, or at least when I do, it stirs up an image of the heavenly host, the invisible and all-powerful angelic armies that do the bidding of God of Israel. Thus, when Joshua encounters a "man with his drawn sword in his hand" on the outskirts of Jericho, he asks him, "Are you on our side or on the side of our enemies?" The man says, "No, but I am the commander of the host of the Lord--tsava Adonai" (Joshua 5:13-14). It might seem surprising, then, that one of the first appearances of the word tsava, or ts'vaot in the plural, comes in the early chapters of Exodus where it is applied not to an exalted army with God at the head, but to the groaning mass of slaves who ignored Moses and his promise of redemption "because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery" (Exodus 6:5, 9, 26). Indeed, it is this same crowd--not the angelic armies--that is first termed "the armies of the Lord-ts'vaot Adonai" in Exodus 12:41.

Now the term ts'vaot appears two or three times in Genesis to describe an ordinary Gentile army, but its first appearance is far more definitive, and unlocks the meaning of the word as it applies to Israel. It comes in the great summary of the week of creation, which we recite every week as we welcome Shabbat: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host-kol tsva'am" (Genesis 2:1). Here the word "host" speaks of the glorious order of creation

By applying this word to the children of Israel, Exodus sounds a refrain that is interwoven through its whole story line and through the entire Bible. The Egyptians and any other human observer, indeed, the Israelites themselves, may see a miserable band of whining slaves, but God sees his firstborn, an army ordered by ranks, proud and purposeful, ready for his service. Further, the God who will be identified in the prophetic books, and throughout Israel's history, with the glorious title the Lord of Hosts, is not ashamed to identify himself as the Lord of this host-the motley band of Israelites. Long before the heavenly host announces to a bunch of ordinary shepherds the birth of Messiah in an ordinary barn, Scripture makes it clear that God reveals himself to and among the humble and ordinary.

We cannot help noticing, then, that in this week's parasha, which describes in military terms the parting of the sea and God's final victory over Egypt, tsava and its derivatives do not appear at all. This omission makes sense regarding Israel. In the opening line of our parasha we read, "Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, ‘The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt"" (Ex. 13:17, NJPS). From God's heavenly perspective, the Israelites are the hosts of the Lord, but on the ground they are not so impressive. Not until Israel is preparing for its departure from Sinai in the book of Numbers, after they have received Torah and begun to order themselves accordingly, will the term tsava be applied to them again. For now, they are rescued by God's mighty hand despite their persistent disorder and kvetching.

But what about the Egyptian army? The term tsava describes Gentile armies in Genesis, and later on throughout Scripture, but perhaps here the term is withheld because it has so recently been applied to the Israelites, and because in their case it reflects the order and glory of the hosts of heaven. Perhaps God is saying to Egypt, "Yes, you may be an army, and yes, you may have your encampments, chariots, and horsemen, but a host you are not." Egypt may appear to have the order and glory of a mighty host, but its forces are soon to be broken apart and overwhelmed in the waters of the Sea.

As we stand with our forebears on the farther shore of the Sea and contemplate this scene of rescue and judgment, we may discern some truths about for ourselves as a community of believers.

First, we are a community in process. Like Israel of old, we are a holy community in God's sight, but still in need of work on the ground. As God's army we reflect his glory, order, and blessing. Indeed, Scripture will bring in another metaphor and call us the body of Messiah. But of course, also like Israel in the Exodus account, we have not arrived yet, and so we are told that "we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Messiah (Eph. 4:15, NRSV). This divine "grow up already" frees us from self-absorption and arrogance. We are in process as a community; we still have much to learn, much to be forgiven for, and much to forgive. Let's keep growing.

Second, we are a community in protest. Egypt represents what works in the world. The gods of Egypt are gods of abundance, fertility, success, and power-the same gods being worshiped to this day. As the Lord's community, however, we cannot get ahead by following these means. Indeed, the instruction we receive at the shore of the Sea is, "Stand by, and witness the deliverance which the Lord will work for you today . . . The Lord will battle for you; you hold your peace!" (Ex. 14:13-14, NJPS).

There is, of course, a time to move forward, even boldly, just as the Israelites had to step out onto the dry land between the waters of the Sea that piled up like a wall on their right and on their left. But we find our way forward in response to God and his word, even as we stand still regarding the ways of the surrounding culture. Christian writer Eugene Peterson notes that believers in North America "are conspicuous for going along with whatever the culture decides is charismatic, successful, influential-whatever gets things done, whatever can gather a crowd of followers-hardly noticing that these ways and means are at odds with the clearly marked way that Jesus walked and called us to follow. Doesn't anyone notice that the ways and means taken up, often enthusiastically, are blasphemously at odds with the way Jesus leads his followers? Why doesn't anyone notice?" [i]

My colleague Jonathan Kaplan writes about today's "individualization and commodification of outreach" in words that apply to all aspects of community. "The religious message presented to individual seekers is often presented in Western society as a scarce commodity that can be acquired at religious retail outlets (i.e., the church or the synagogue) during a once a week (or more infrequent) shopping trip (service)."[ii]

Instead of shaping our outreach and our community in line with contemporary values, we are to protest by following God's often inefficient and unpopular methods. We are to create the one place in today's scene where it is not about us, where individualism and consumerism are put down and the values of simplicity and self-sacrifice prevail.

The God of Israel is indeed the Lord of Hosts, Adonai Ts'vaot. The question that arises as we read Israel's story is whether we are acting like the hosts of the Lord.

Rabbi Russ Resnik, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

[i] Eugene H. Peterson. The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), p. 8.

[ii] Jonathan Kaplan. "Say to the Cities of Judah, ‘Behold Your God'-the Hebrew Bible, Outreach and Messianic Judaism," Kesher, Issue 21, Summer/Fall 2006, http://www.kesherjournal.com/content/view/45/9999/.