Road Trippin With Rachael

Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying; Glory to god in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! – Luke 2:13-14 (CSB)

In my memory of the last ten years, there has been twice that Kansas City, Missouri was shut down. Once was in 2015 when the of 2020 When the Kansas City Royals won the world series – it had been the first time since 1985. The other time was in 2020, when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. Previously, their last Super Bowl victory had been in 1970. Although I didn’t live in KC for the Super Bowl, I did live there during the World Series. The city was for all intents and purposes was shut down – completely. There was a parade downtown, where people parking along the highways and interstates for MILES outside of the city limits to catch shuttles down to the parade.

As awesome as that sounds, I was at work that day, and didn’t get to see it in person – I got to see it on the news. And I’m not a Royals fan (sorry guys!), so even though I did not really care about them winning, I was still in awe of the celebration that was taking place.

How much more was the awe that the shepherds felt when they saw the angels in the night sky singing and worshipping as they announce the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. In that vein, today on the blog we are going to look at two facets of the night: the scope of the announcement and the praise directed to God.

How Big Is A Multitude and Host?

The easy answer to this is: Big.

As I’ve said in previous posts, and you’ll hear me also say it on my YouTube Channel, Road Trippin with Rachael, words and perception matter. Many times, but not every time, when we are being given a specific number it is that number; if there is a general number given it is an approximation; if there is a statement relating to a number it implies something beyond a physical number. To use the term “multitude” would mean that there are “a lot/beyond counting.” In other words, it means that the sky was covered in angels who were all worshiping and praising God. It makes perfect sense that the shepherds were terrified (Luke 2:9)! If you’ve ever read a description of what an angel looks like, they are terrifying!

If you turn to Ezekiel 10:1-22, here is a description of what angels looked like.

• The sound of their wings could be heard as far as the outer courts of the temple
• They appear to have the form of a man
• They move in whatever direction their head faced
• Their entire bodies (backs, hands, and wings) have eyes on them
• They have four faces
• They have four wings

If these creatures are filling the nigh sky and telling me not to be afraid, I really don’t know if I would be able to do that – not be afraid. The description alone inspires fear, but the angels also tell the shepherds that they are there for a purpose, to praise what God has done – appeared in the likeness of sinful man.

Moving in that same vein, the use of the word “Host” would be a synonym for “Armies.” This was a a normal description that is used regarding God in the Old Testament – LORD of Armies. We see this reference used in II Kings 3:14 by Elisha, and in Isaiah 6:3. Another way that we can state what the shepherds saw would be that they looked up, saw this multitude of terrifying heavenly beings, all warriors, and they were praising God. They weren’t a scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where the men of Rohan show up at Helm’s Gate with Gandalf, ready to go to war. They were praising God!

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven

I wanted to tackle this part of the section of scripture that we are looking at today. I mainly want to tackle it because, the older I become and the more I mature in my faith, the more positive I am that I do not see the magnitude of who God is. Nor do I fully see how all encompassing God is.

When we see the use of the term “Heaven(s)” in scripture, we need to always look at context. Remember that context is always king. In a general sense, “heaven” can be used to express the space between earth and everything else. So what is everything else? Everything else would be:

• The sky – Genesis 1 :14-18, “Then God said, ‘Let thee be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night – as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
• Outer Space – Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.”
• Where God dwells – Hebrews 11:10, “For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

In other words, the Heavenly Hosts are saying that everything that is in creation are singing and praising God for what he has done, for what he is doing, and for what he is going to be doing.

Final Thoughts

God is so much bigger than what I give him credit for. He sends warriors that are like humans but oh, so different to proclaim the good news that has come to earth in the form of an innocent baby. He could have sent these people to anyone – it could have been the religious leaders, or at least in Jerusalem. Instead, he sent these warrior angels that were terrifying to these shepherds, and the whole of the heavens are praising with them. It isn’t just the clouds; its the clouds, the stars, the planets, the galaxies – they are all praising.