Confession

The Lord of Sabaoth…James 5:4

Who is the Lord of Sabaoth? When we look in our reference Bible, we see that Lord of Sabaoth means Lord of hosts. When we check our Bible, we see that the Lord of hosts is the God of the armies of Israel (1 Samuel 15:2) or the God over Israel (2 Samuel 7:8). With just a little bit of checking we answer our own question.

But why would James use that phrase, Lord of Sabaoth? Why didn’t he just say, “God”? Because James is making a larger point: as a community of believers functioning under the banner of Christ, we operate at a higher level than the rest of the world. We resist the temptation of wanting more, verses 1 thru 6. We are to be patient, verses 7and 8 because the coming of the Lord is at hand, verse 8. We don’t grumble against each other, verse 9. We let our ‘yes’ be yes and our ‘no’ be no, verse 13.

We pray for those who are sick, verses 13 thru 15. We confess our sins to one another, verse 16. We pray like Elijah prayed, expecting God to answer, verses 17 and 18. We work to bring back the backslider, verses 19 and 20.

That is the context of confessing our sins to one another. It is not a command to stand in front of the congregation and tell all we have done. It is not a command to confess all our shortcomings in our home group. It is a way to build trust among those we trust. It is a way to encourage our closest friends to pray for us. It is not a tell all. It is one way to establish our hearts for the return of the Lord of Sabaoth, verse 8. Be patient. God will heal us all when Jesus returns.