Isaiah 1:9 “Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
This passage is a startling practical prophecy that would occur in the days of Old Testament Israel and in the New Testament times and it is a prophetic warning even in our present day. The “LORD of hosts” employs an analogy we can understand; it refers to one who is The Commander of a very large army that is well trained and equipped; such a Commander has exceedingly great power. This motif is given to show that “the LORD” is Sovereignly Omnipotent; thus, He has the power to both lift up with blessings and the power to put down with utter destruction. As “the LORD of hosts”, He sent warning after warning to Judah, but they stubbornly persisted in rebellion against Him; finally, He Commanded the Chaldean army to destroy Judah and Jerusalem and it obeyed (II Kings 25; II Chronicles 36). Again, the Lord told Israel in the New Testament, “Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2), and it occurred just like the Lord prophesied when the Roman army destroyed the city in AD-70. Paul referred to this passage, using the phrase “the Lord of Sabaoth” (Romans 9:29). The word “Sabaoth” is a direct translation of the Greek word “Sabaoth” which means the same thing as “the LORD of hosts”. Paul used it to warn both Israel in his day and us! May the Lord bless us to humbly take heed to the warning!