Wording of this Handout:
The Lord my Commander
The sixth name appears in the first book of Samuel, where the story of Samuel is found.Samuel's father and mother made made a regular visit every year to a place called Shiloh, and there Samuel's father offered up a sacrifice and worship to Jehovah Zebaoth.
It may be that Samuel's father (Elkanah) was connected in some way with the military. Perhaps he longed for God to defend Israel from the many warlike nations along the borders? I cannot say. But the Bible does say that offered sacrifices to the God of Armies- or the the God of hosts. this meant not just the angelic hosts, but all the hosts of heaven and earth under God's control.
All this aside, one thing remains true regardless of our theories, God is commander of all armies. He gives strength to those who fight for Him, and He controls what His opponents do. He is like a Powerful man with a snarling, snapping dog on a steel chain. The dog can only go as far as God allows - and no further.
No soldier marches without God's full knowledge. No bullet flies without God seeing where it goes. we may find war a brutal mystery, but God is always in control.
The Bible says: "This man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts (Jehovah Zebaoth) in Shiloh 1 Samuel l:3