The Host’s Invitation

A new friend leaned over and whispered, “I have a word for you.” I told the woman I was going to Israel in a few weeks, and she obviously heard something from above about my trip. But we were listening to a speaker at Bible study, so having a conversation right then was not appropriate.

I waited in anticipation for the message, and could hardly concentrate on the speaker. At the next break she finally shared, “You are supposed to know the Host has invited you to Israel, and he has something for you there.”

THE Host? I knew what she meant. God is oftentimes referred to as the “Lord of Hosts” in the Old Testament. The “Lord of Hosts” is another name for God that refers to his reign as King of all Heaven and Earth.

The prophet Isaiah encountered the Lord of Hosts, and it was almost more than a human could take:

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone!
 Because I am a man of unclean lips,
 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
 For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:1-4 NKJV).

If Isaiah had unclean lips, what are mine? The word that comes to mind is “unworthy.”

So how does one prepare to meet the Host? I believe through much prayer, study, and anticipation of what is to come.

Where will it happen? I looked over my itinerary. Will it be at the Mount of Beatitudes? The Sea of Galilee? The Western Wall?

That’s not for me to know, but I have a feeling it will be in the least likely of places. As you remember, Jesus revealed himself to two men on a dusty road to Emmaus. He reached out to a Samaritan woman at a water well. He called Zacchaeus down from a tree. I want to have my eyes wide open, looking for His glory at every turn.

I’ve been told countless times that I will not be the same after this trip to Israel. Perhaps you’ve already been to the Holy Land, and understand the statement.

How could you be after being entertained by the Lord of Hosts in his House? So with less than three weeks and counting, I am humbly asking God to prepare me to be a grateful houseguest and student. I don’t want to miss anything he has to say to me now, or in the land of his chosen ones.

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah (Isaiah 46: 4-7). (LBW)