Study Number 7 Adonai – Lord

 We have looked at ELOHIM, JEHOVAH, and EL SHADDAI. They all show us more of the person of God. ELOHIM spoke of His might and power; JEHOVAH – the ever present one who is holy and righteous, and EL SHADDAI as the Almighty God of Covenant blessings, the God who is more than enough for every situation we face.

Adonai – Lord expresses our responsibility to Him as His servants.

It is used over 300 times in the OT and expresses literally, “Master, Owner, or Lord.” This is the name that signifies ownership and our own responsibilities that come from being owned by God. M.H.

Our English versions distinguish the 3 main uses of the term thus: (1) “LORD” represents the Hebrew Yahweh, Septuagint Kurios, except where 'Ădhōnāy or 'Ādhon is combined with Yahweh (= “Lord God”); the American Standard Revised Version has in these examples employed the name as it is found in the Hebrew, simply transliterated. (2) “Lord” corresponds to 'Ădhōnāy, 'Ādhon, Mārē', also Greek Kurios and Despotēs, corresponds to all three forms of writing the English term. ISBE.

ADONAI – can be translated as being both plural and possessive. So it confirms the fact of the Triune nature of the Godhead. When used to describe men, the singular adon is used. Compare Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD[1] said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.  See also Acts 2:36

God as our ADONAI, is in the position of being the Master, and we are His purchased position. See Exodus 21 :1-6. If a man was so poor that he could not support his family and was in danger of starvation – he could become another man’s slave for six years in exchange for food, lodging and protection. Slaves were subject to all the Master’s desires. On the seventh year he was allowed to go free or he could remain with his Master as a bond-slave; a slave by choice.

Applications

1.      Is God really your Master and Lord? Have you willing surrendered to His Will in your life?

2.      I remember a man who vehemently refused saying, “I will never allow anyone else to tell me what to do!” He would not have the Lord to rule over him. His life descended into chaos.

3.      Being a bond slave is a free choice. It is not imposed but has all the Blessings and Benefits of a Loving Master. Self-centred determination will just bring you undone and end your life in wickedness and corruption. This is what happened to Adam when he was expelled from the Garden.

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[1] Barnes Notes on the OT:The Lord said unto my Lord - In the Hebrew, “Spake Jehovah to my Lord.” The word יהוה  Yahweh is the incommunicable name of God. It is never given to a created being. The other word translated “Lord - אדני  'Adonāy - means one who has rule or authority; one of high rank; one who has dominion; one who is the owner or possessor, etc. This word is applied frequently to a creature. It is applied to kings, princes, rulers, masters. The phrase “my Lord” refers to someone who was superior in rank to the author of the psalm; one whom he could address as his superior. The psalm, therefore, cannot refer to David himself, as if Yahweh had said to him, “Sit thou at my right hand.” Nor was there anyone on earth in the time of David to whom it could be applicable; anyone whom he would call his “Lord” or superior. If, therefore, the psalm was written by David, it must have reference to the Messiah - to one whom he owned as his superior - his Lord - his Sovereign. 

Study Number 5 El Shaddai – The GOD Who is More than Enough.

“El, (a word signifying strength, as in El-Shaddai, God Almighty, the name by which God was specially known to the patriarchs. Gen_17:1; Gen_28:3; Exo_6:3.

The etymology is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that the primary idea is that of strength, power of effect, and that it properly describes God in that character in which He is exhibited to all men in His works, as the creator, sustainer and supreme governor of the world”. Smith’s Bible dictionary.

 שׁדי  shaday, Shaddai, “Irresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to make, Almighty.” שׁדד  shādad “be strong, destroy.” This name is found six times in Genesis, and thirty-one times in Job. Barnes.

El Shaddai first appears in Gen 17:1-2

Gen 17:1  And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him, I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect.

Gen 17:2  And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.

From A.C. Commentary on Gen 17:1 I am the Almighty God - אני אל שדי  ani El shaddai, I am God all-sufficient; from שדה  shadah, to shed, to pour out. I am that God who pours out blessings, who gives them richly, abundantly, continually.

Walk before me - התהלך לפני  hithhallech lephanai, set thyself to walk - be firmly purposed, thoroughly determined to obey, before me; for my eye is ever on thee, therefore ever consider that God seeth thee. Who can imagine a stronger incitement to conscientious, persevering obedience?

Be thou perfect - והיה תמים  vehyeh thamim, and thou shalt be perfections, i.e., a together perfect. Be just such as the holy God would have thee to be, as the almighty God can make thee and live as the all-sufficient God shall support thee; for he alone who makes the soul holy can preserve it in holiness. Our blessed Lord appears to have had these words pointedly in view, Mat_5:48 : Εσεσθε ὑμεις τελειοι, ὡσπερ ὁ Πατηρ ὑμων ὁ εν τοις ουρανοις τελειος εστι· Ye Shall Be perfect.

M. Hickey says it comes from the word meaning “field” as the fields produce in abundance. It is also translated “breast” or ‘many breasted One’ which signifies nourishment or productiveness. He is the One who is more than enough, the All Sufficient One. The names of God. P.48

Wikipedia says” El Shaddai (Hebrew: אל שדי, el ʃadːaj) is one of the Judaic names of God, with its etymology coming from the influence of the Ugaritic religion on modern Judaism. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as God Almighty. While the translation of El as "god" in Ugarit/Canaanite language is straightforward, the literal meaning of Shaddai is the subject of debate.”

Applications

1.      God said to Abraham the promise, “ I’ll give you seed as the dust of the earth,” when he was 99 years old. His wife Sarah was 89 years old. God showed that he was more than Enough, the All Sufficient One, when He overcame nature. That is what Happened when Isaac was born.

2.      God is Enough to meet your need whatever it is. He is not bound to natural laws and He can do the Impossible. Trust Him today.

Study Number 6 El Shaddai – The God who is More than Enough

When God revealed Himself to Abraham as El Shaddai it was associated with God making a Covenant with him and a Promise of Blessing. What God promised to these old Patriarchs was exactly what happened. El Shaddai is the Miracle working God who is enough for every situation in our lives.

We have the Blessing of El Shaddai coming upon Jacob.

Read Gen 28 especially 1-5

Gen 28:1  And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and commanded him. And he said to him, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Gen 28:2  Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father. And take a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

Gen 28:3  And may God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you may be a multitude of peoples.

Gen 28:4  And may He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, so that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.

Gen 28:5  And Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Padan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Jacob Receiving the Blessing of EL SHADDAI

Matthew Henry’s Notes: “Jacob had no sooner obtained the blessing than immediately he was forced to flee from his country; and, as it if were not enough that he was a stranger and sojourner there, he must go to be more so, and no better than an exile, in another country. Now Jacob fled into Syria, Hos_12:12. He was blessed with plenty of corn and wine, and yet he went away poor, was blessed with government, and yet went out to service, a hard service. This was, 1. Perhaps to correct him for his dealing fraudulently with his father. The blessing shall be confirmed to him, and yet he shall smart for the indirect course he took to obtain it. While there is such an alloy as there is of sin in our duties, we must expect an alloy of trouble in our comforts. However, 2. It was to teach us that those who inherit the blessing must expect persecution; those who have peace in Christ shall have tribulation in the world, Joh_16:33. Being told of this before, we must not think it strange, and, being assured of a reward in the hereafter, we must not think it hard. We may observe, likewise, that God's providences often seem to contradict His promises, and to go cross to them; and yet, when the mystery of God shall be finished, we shall see that all was for the best, and that cross providences did but render the promises and the accomplishment of them the more illustrious. Now Jacob is here dismissed by his father,

I. With a solemn charge: He blessed him, and charged him, Gen_28:1, Gen_28:2. Note, Those that have the blessing must keep the charge annexed to it, and not think to separate what God has joined. The charge is like that in 2Co_6:14, Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; and all that inherit the promises of the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, must keep this charge, which follows those promises, Save yourselves from this untoward generation, Act_2:38-40. Those that are entitled to peculiar favours must be a peculiar people. If Jacob be an heir of promise, he must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; those that profess religion should not marry those that are irreligious.

II. With a solemn blessing, Gen_28:3, Gen_28:4. He had before blessed him unwittingly; now he does it designedly, for the greater encouragement of Jacob in that melancholy condition to which he was now removing. This blessing is more express and full than the former; it is an entail of the blessing of Abraham, that blessing which was poured on the head of Abraham like the anointing oil, thence to run down to his chosen seed, as the skirts of his garments. It is a gospel blessing, the blessing of church-privileges, that is the blessing of Abraham, which upon the Gentiles through faith, Gal_3:14. It is a blessing from God Almighty, by which name God appeared to the patriarchs, Exo_6:3. Those are blessed indeed whom God Almighty blesses; for he commands and effects the blessing. Two great promises Abraham was blessed with, and Isaac here entails them both upon Jacob.

1. The promise of heirs: God make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, Gen_28:3. (1.) Through his loins should descend from Abraham that people who should be numerous as the stars of heaven, and the sand of the sea, and who should increase more than the rest of the nations, so as to be an assembly of people, as the margin reads it. And never was such a multitude of people so often gathered into one assembly as the tribes of Israel were in the wilderness, and afterwards. (2.) Through his loins should descend from Abraham that person in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, and to whom the gathering of the people should be. Jacob had in him a multitude of people indeed, for all things in heaven and earth are united in Christ (Eph_1:10), all centre in him, that corn of wheat, which falling to the ground, produced much fruit, Joh_12:24.

2. The promise of an inheritance for those heirs: That thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, Gen_28:4. Canaan was hereby entailed upon the seed of Jacob, exclusive of the seed of Esau. Isaac was now sending Jacob away into a distant country, to settle there for some time; and, lest this should look like disinheriting him, he here confirms the settlement of it upon him, that he might be assured that the discontinuance of his possession should be no defiance of his right. Observe, He is here told that he should inherit the land wherein he sojourned. Those that are sojourners now shall be heirs for ever: and, even now, those do most inherit the earth (though they do not inherit most of it) that are most like strangers in it. Those have the best enjoyment of present things that hold them loosely This promise looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan was a type. This was the better country, which Jacob, with the other patriarchs, had in his eye, when he confessed himself a stranger and pilgrim upon the earth, Heb_11:13.

Jacob, having taken leave of his father, was hastened away with all speed, lest his brother should find an opportunity to do him a mischief, and away he went to Padan-aram, Gen_28:5.

Applications

1.      Despite his difficulties and trials the blessing of El Shaddai came upon Jacob.

2.      This Blessing  included Heirs and the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan.

3.      El Shaddai is the One who gives the Blessing of Abraham. This Blessing is for the Gentiles too. 

Gal 3:14  Our freedom has been thus purchased in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing belonging to Abraham may come upon the nations, so that through faith we may receive the promised Spirit. 

Study Number 4 JEHOVAH – LORD – The Holy God.

When Moses arrived in Egypt after the Burning Bush, God gave great Demonstrations of His Mighty Power and Authority over all the ‘gods’ of the Egyptians. Every one of the plagues upon the Egyptians was a judgment on the gods of Egypt. They worshipped the Nile river. It turned into blood. They worshipped the frog god called “Heki” and mummified frogs; so God said, “You like frogs? I’ll give you lots of them!” Every plague showed them that the Jehovah God was the true and Living God and that the gods were idols. Then there was the Death of all the ‘first born’ males of man and beast. Eventually Pharaoh let the people of Israel go. Jehovah is awesome in His power and holiness. He is a jealous God and will not countenance any other god beside Him.

JEHOVAH IS A HOLY GOD.

In Exodus 31 the Word of God describes the Israelites experiences in the wilderness when they arrived at Horeb, the Mountain of God. Here God gave Moses the Ten Commandments but He stayed 40 days up on the Mountain. The people rebelled when they saw Moses delayed coming back down from the Mountain. They said to Aaron, “ Up make us gods, which shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the Land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”Ex 32:1

God was very angry and told Moses, “Get down there! I am disgusted with this people.”  In His righteous indignation, God was revealing Himself as JEHOVAH. He is absolutely pure, righteous and Holy.

Lev. 19 :2 “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am Holy.” This means 'I, JEHOVAH your ELOHIM am holy'.  It is Jehovah Who must pronounce judgment that condemns sin. Here He pronounces judgment against the Israelites for worshipping the ‘gods’ of Egypt.

Exo 32:10  And now leave Me alone, so that My wrath may become hot against them and so that I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.

Exo 32:11  And Moses prayed to Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, why does Your wrath become hot against Your people whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

Moses said, ‘these are not My people but Yours oh LORD.’ He was actually arguing with the LORD over the actions of the Children of Israel. Then Moses says in Exodus:

Moses on the Mountain with God

Exo 32:12  Why should the Egyptians speak and say, He brought them out for harm, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and be moved to pity as to this evil against Your people.

Exo 32:13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.

Exo 32:14  And Jehovah repented (changed His Mind) as to the evil which He spoke of doing to His people.

Moses had interceded for the Israelites and they were spared.

God loves sinners but hates their sin. He must pronounce judgment on sin for He is the Holy One of Israel. What a slaughter too place at the end of this chapter of disasters. See Exodus 32:27-28

Moses and the Idolatrous Israelites

 Applications.

1.      Jehovah is awesome in His power and holiness. He is a jealous God and will not countenance any other god beside Him. There must not be any other god in our lives beside the True and Living God or disaster will strike us.

2.      “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am Holy.”The Holiness of God separates Him from every sin and defilement. This is how Jehovah wants us to live. i.e. separated lives unto Him.

3.      God will change His mind when Christians intercede with Him on the basis of His Word and promise.

Study Number 3 JEHOVAH

This Divine Name is derived from chavah, which means ” to live”. The name JEHOVAH is literally full of life. In the KJV it is written LORD and it means “ to be” or “being”. This name reveals Him in a very personal way and it is the very essence of the present tense. M.H.  He is the ever present Eternally Existing One.

Has God ever Spoken to you? He often speaks to you through a divine impression in your spirit. JEHOVAH is the revealing God as He longs to be with us as our personal God. He walks with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. The more you grow in this relationship the more of Himself will He reveal to you.

Jehovah also denotes the Unchangeableness or Immutability of God.

James 1:17 “... with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” And Psalm 102:27 SAYS “ But You are the same, and your years shall have no end.” Jehovah is the One Who is now and always has been. 

Moses and the Burning Bush

As Moses spent  forty Years in the backside of the desert learning how to survive, God revealed Himself to him. Exodus chapter 3 tells us the story of the Burning Bush. Moses said to God who was sending him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, “ The Children of Israel will ask me Your Name – and I don’t even know it.”

God replied,  “You tell them the I AM sent you”. Who is “I AM”? He is JEHOVAH, the One who revealed Himself to the Children of Israel and who revealed His plan to them to deliver them from Egypt. He is the One who would bring them to the Promised Land. Ex 3:14

God revealed Himself as JEHOVAH – the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He was saying I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, and I am Your God too! I never change.

Moses and the Burning Bush

JEHOVAH answered all of Moses excuses. God told him to throw down the rod that was in his hand. When he did the rod became a snake. Moses tried to run away; but God said, “Pick it up again, Moses.” It then became a rod again.

Although God had told Moses, “I will give you a sign to the elders and to Pharoah,” Moses still did not believe. He just could accept that God would use him as a deliver after he had botched it the first attempt.

Then God gave him another sign.  Exo 4:6  And Jehovah said to him again, Now put your hand in your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom. And when he took it out, behold, his hand was as leprous as snow. Exo 4:7  And He said, Put your hand into your bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again. And he brought it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again like his other flesh. Exo 4:8  And it will be, if they will not believe you, neither listen to the voice of the first sign, then they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

This time when Moses would go forth to deliver Israel then signs would follow Him as the Deliver of Israel.

Applications.

1.      Jehovah is the personal God and He seeks to reveal Himself to us. He will never leave us nor forsake us in all our life.

2.      Jehovah is the God who never changes. He is the same yesterday today and for ever. What He was he will be for ever.

3.      He is the One who brings the signs that show who He is. He is the Amazing Jehovah God.

Study Number 2 ELOHIM (cont)

In our first study of the NAMES of GOD in His Word, we saw that “El is the Root word of Elohim and it describes His Greatness and Glory; it displays God’s Power and Sovereignty”. 

Then we looked at Elohim as the Creator God. What force and Creative Power is manifested because God created this vast Universe out of nothing. Gen 1:1

Then we saw that the name ELOHIM is Plural suggesting the Trinity was there in Creation. This is confirmed by many other Scriptures such as Genesis 1:2b where  “The Spirit of god was hovering over the waters”. And John  1: 1:3 In the Beginning was the Word....through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. So when in Genesis 1 it says, ‘and God said, “Let there be light and there was light.”’ It was Jesus who was there the Word or Expression of God bringing creation into being.

Thus ELOHIM is the Creator God. He created with the active energy and agency of the Living Word and the hovering Holy Spirit.

ELOHIM longs for Fellowship with us.

Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not because God took him.

ENOCH being Translated

When things on earth were getting worse and worse after the rebellion of Adam, God began to notice a man named Enoch. His life was fairly uneventful until he was sixty- five years of age. Then Enoch’s wife bore him a son and God told Enoch, “Name the baby Methuselah,” which means, “I’ve had enough of this sinfulness, so when the Child dies, the flood will come upon the earth.” During the next 300 years Enoch fellowshipped with God. He so developed his relationship with Elohim that one day something amazing happened. God reached down from heaven and took Enoch into heaven into eternal life. In Hebrews 11:3 it says Enoch was translated by faith. To translate means “to carry across”. He was carried across into heaven to be with God and he did not die. Methuselah continued to live upon the earth. The people knew that the day was coming when the Flood would arrive.

Enoch had walked closely with Elohim but all the others were living in violence and rebellion. But Methuselah lived longer than any person recorded in the Bible – 969 years. Why was this? God kept extending His mercy and His Grace because he hoped to preserve man who He had placed upon the earth.

Methuselah has a son name Lamech and one of his sons was Noah. Notice the importance of the family line when you come into a covenant relationship with God by faith. The promises are always made to your children too.  God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”Gen 6:13 Despite this violence and wickedness the Bible says, “Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.” Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and HE WALKED WITH GOD. An Noah had three sons.

Applications

1.      Amazing things happen to those who like Enoch and Noah walk with God. The secrets of the LORD are for them who fear Him and fellowship with Him. He longs for our company and close relationship.

2.      Elohim’s promise is to our families if they will walk with God. He will pour out His anointing and blessing upon our descendants in answer to prayer. Will you walk with Elohim the Mighty Creator today?

The Names of God. ELOHIM

Introduction: “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” said the Writer of the Proverbs.

Pro 2:3  yea, if you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding;

Pro 2:4  if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures,

Pro_2:5  then you shall understand the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God.

How does God reveal Himself and give us this knowledge and Understanding of Himself?

It is through His Word. One of the most meaningful ways he reveals Himself to us is through His Names. Each Divine Name shows us an aspect of His Divine nature and His great Love for us.

Name Number One  - ELOHIM

Elohim is the very first Name of God that we meet in the Bible.

“ In the beginning God ( Heb. El or Elohim) created the heaven and the earth”. Genesis 1:1 Over 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible we meet this Name for God. One of the oldest and most widely distributed terms for Deity known to the human race is 'Ēl, with its derivations 'Ēlı̄m, 'Ĕlōhı̄m, and 'Ĕlō^aȟ. ISBE.[1]

El is the Root word of Elohim and it describes His Greatness and Glory; it displays God’s Power and Sovereignty. This two letter Name El show the depth of the Hebrew language – which is a language of pictures

Consider the ELOHIM which extends the scope of the Hebrew Root  EL.  In Genesis 1:1 Elohim is the God who CREATES. So we now see that ELOHIM shows us God’s Total Power, Might and Sovereignty, and reveals Him as the God of Creation. What force and Creative Power is manifested because God created this vast Universe out of nothing. Hebrews 11:3 It was not with the so called ‘Big Bang’ either. Elohim spoke and it appeared. M.H.

ELOHIM is Plural.

The original word אלהים  Elohim, God, is certainly the plural form of אל  El, or אלה  Eloah, and has long been supposed, by the most eminently learned and pious men, to imply a plurality of Persons in the Divine nature. As this plurality appears in so many parts of the sacred writings to be confined to three Persons, hence the doctrine of the Trinity, which has formed a part of the creed of all those who have been deemed sound in the faith, from the earliest ages of Christianity. A.C. No singular word could describe this plural element in God’s Nature.

Many places in the Bible confirm this plurality. Genesis 1:26-27

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.

Gen 1:27  And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. [2] See Barnes Notes below.

Applications

1.      God is revealing His Divine Greatness and Power through His Names. We are amazed that He is the CREATOR of everything from nothing. What a Mighty God we serve.

2.      This Divine name reveals the Plurality of his nature right there in Genesis chapter One.

3.      Ask God, “ LORD, show me Who you are. I want to know you more.

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[1] ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia in Esword

[2] The plural form of the sentence raises the question, With whom took he counsel on this occasion? Was it with himself, and does he here simply use the plural of majesty? Such was not the usual style of monarchs in the ancient East. Pharaoh says, “I have dreamed a dream” Gen_41:15. Nebuchadnezzar, “I have dreamed” Dan_2:3. Darius the Mede, “I make a decree” Dan_6:26. Cyrus, “The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth” Ezr_1:2. Darius, “I make a decree” Ezr_5:8. We have no ground, therefore, for transferring it to the style of the heavenly King. Was it with certain other intelligent beings in existence before man that he took counsel? This supposition cannot be admitted; because the expression “let us make” is an invitation to create, which is an incommunicable attribute of the Eternal One, and because the phrases, “our image, our likeness,” when transferred into the third person of narrative, become “his image, the image of God,” and thus limit the pronouns to God himself. Does the plurality, then, point to a plurality of attributes in the divine nature? This cannot be, because a plurality of qualities exists in everything, without at all leading to the application of the plural number to the individual, and because such a plurality does not warrant the expression, “let us make.” Only a plurality of persons can justify the phrase. Hence, we are forced to conclude that the plural pronoun indicates a plurality of persons or hypostases in the Divine Being.