Lord of Hosts

 Technically I dont think Jesus is actually called the Lord of Hosts anywhere.  But God is.  So that's good enough for me 😀   I've had angels on my mind over the past few days.  They play such a major part in the Christmas narrative but I fear they have become the victims of Victorian artists relegating them to white robed, blonde haired, wing-bedecked creatures depicted in Nativity scenes on cards and seasonal ephemera across the world.   

The truth is the Bible doesnt give us too much to go on when it comes to what angels look like.   On reading the Old Testament it would appear that they can sometimes look like people and are sent by God to give messages  - usually in times of crisis or transition.   There are different types or ranks of angels.  Michael and Gabriel are named.  There are countless millions of others that aren't named.  Seraphim have six wings and as the name means ' burning' are possibly on fire or look like fire or are burning in some way.  Cherubim would seem to be different again.   Nowhere does the Bible say that angels are white, male, blonde and dressed in white. I suspect that they are as far removed from this image as it is possible to be.

( if you want a really comprehensive look at angels try this.  Its good.  https://connectusfund.org/angels-in-the-bible )

Here's what I think angels might be like.  I think they are probably absolutely enormous.  I think many of them are armed.   Im pretty sure that they are terrifying ( given that their opening statements to most people they encounter are ' don't freak out!' )  But I also get the feeling that they are really very very kind.  And this is one of the things that perplexes me about the Nativity story.......   if a heavenly host appears in the skies above Bethlehem to sing to shepherds about the birth of Jesus it's not going to be a handful of ' people-sized' beings is it?  Its surely got to be a sky-splitting, radiant light display of sonic -boom loud, heavenly music better than the most awesome lightning storm or firework display.   In a pitch black middle eastern sky ( no light pollution whatsoever) this awesome orchestra of massive heavenly beings suddenly breaks through from another world and celebrates the most incredible moment in the history of everything.  That God has come to dwell with man.

What I dont understand is why nobody else saw or heard it.

Think about fireworks and how far away you can see them on a dark night.   Think about lightning which can strike miles away and still light up the skies where you are standing.  Think about how a dog barking in the next street can be heard clearly on a quiet night.   There is no way that the people of Bethlehem and the surrounding areas could not have heard or seen the spectacle of the angel's chorus.   So how come droves of people didn't come running out to the fields to find out what was going on?   How come the Romans weren't out in force trying to discover whether some sort of foreign invasion was happening?  Why was it that the only people who seemed to see and hear the angels were the bunch of shepherds in the fields that night?

Hypothesis -  the people saw and heard but didn't understand what they were seeing and hearing ( John 12;27 - some heard God, some thought it was an angel, some just heard thunder.)  Or perhaps people were so busy preparing for the census and fussing with their everyday lives that they didn't look up and stop to listen for those moments when heaven was breaking into earth.

And here's another question.   Whilst angels only appear sporadically in the OT they are all over the life of Jesus. They were present at the annunciation, His birth, after the temptation in the wilderness , in Gethsemane and were waiting for His command to save Him from the cross at His death.  They were at the tomb on the morning of His resurrection.   They play such a significant part in His life.  And yet, ironically, of all the people who ever existed Jesus was the one who least needed angelic intervention.  He was God.  He had a hotline to His Father.  Surely His appearance in person on earth would negate any need for angels? So why were they so involved with the earthly life of Jesus?

Hmmmm........

Maybe, before the resurrection, the angels were the closest thing that Jesus had to family.  Perhaps the presence of Jesus on the earth made wherever He was such a ' thin place' that the spiritual realm was revealed often.  Maybe God, yearning for love of His precious Son, sent the angels as His only means of physically comforting Jesus in His most stressed and difficult times.  Just guesses.  Perhaps further pondering will bring more clarity.  Or perhaps you have some ideas.

I like angels.  Im looking forward to meeting some.  And we are all going to meet some because when Jesus comes back He is bringing them too.