Getting to Know God – El Shaddai – God Almighty
Over the last couple of months, we’ve been working our way through the names of God. In the days gone by, a person’s name tells us so much about him or her and God’s names similarly tell us so much about his character. Over past months, we’ve looked at
Elohim – the general name for God. It speaks of his strength and his creative power Elohim spoke and the world came into being. It is a name which is a plural and thus speaks of God being three persons – the holy trinity. It is also a name which begs us to worship him. John writes in Rev 4:11 - "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
We then studied his name of El Elyon – The Most High. This is a name which was revealed to King Nebudchadnezzar to show that no matter how important he thought he was or how much power he believed he possessed, there is one that his higher and mightier. God is the Most High, El Elyon who rules in the kingdoms of men.
The next name we looked at was El Roi – The God who Sees. What a revelation to know that God is one who sees what we are going through. This was a name that was revealed to Hagar, Abram’s maidservant. You might remember that Abram and his wife Sarahi were waiting for God to fulfill a promise to them. You see God had said that Abram when he was 75 years old, that he was going to be the father of many nations. Well they had been patiently waiting for 10 years and no movement at the station. They were getting a bit sick of waiting and so they had a great idea. Why not have a child by Hagar. So that is what happened and Hagar became pregnant. But no sooner than this occurred, than Sarah regretted it and started to make life difficult for everyone. Hagar was ill treated so much that she ran away from her master and God found her beside a spring, on her way back to Egypt where she was born. God met her in a miraculous way and revealed himself as El Roi. The God who sees what we are going through. He is a God who knows and understands – what a comfort that is.
Well tonight I want to look at another of God’s names. It is a name that most of you have heard before – it is the name El Shaddai. It has been popularised in Amy Grant’s song “El Shaddai, El Shaddai, Ekkana Adonai. Age to Age you’re still the same, by the power of your name”. But what does this name mean? Any ideas???? Well hopefully after tonight, you’ll have a few more ideas.
Let’s pray before we go any further – asking that God give us understanding and soft hearts.
Pray.
If you’ve got your bibles there, turn with me to Genesis chapter 17. I want to take you back to the very first time that God revealed himself as El Shaddai. And incredibly, it is recorded immediately after the events of Hagar that we’ve just been speaking about. In Chapter 16, we see God revealing himself to Hagar as El Roi – The God who sees and then in Chapter 17, God appears to Abram. I mean, it would not be fair to leave him out of the party would it.
So in Chapter 17:1 we read
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful;
And God goes on to repeat his covenant to Abraham that he would be the Father of a great nation.
If you were with us last time I preached on God as El Roi, you’d remember me telling you God first made the covenant with Abram when he was 75 years old (12:1-4).
12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran
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Now 75 seems mighty old to us, but in Abram’s day it wasn’t so bad. Abram’s father lived 205 years and Abram lived 175 years, so at 75, he was passing his prime, but not in the grave just yet.
10 years later we get to Chapter 16 and the story of Hagar. Abram and Sarah had been waiting 10 years for a child and had not got anywhere. So they tried to bring about the fulfillment of the promise in their own strength. But it wasn’t God’s timing and it wasn’t his way. Have you ever had to wait 10 years for something? How about for a promise to be fulfilled. How frustrating – how difficult it must have been. Most of us would have given up long before this time. A bit of lost cause really don’t you think. But wait there is more ….
Now in Chapter 17, Abram is 99 years old. A further 14 years had passed with still no action. Have you ever had to wait 24 years for something – longing for it to happen, eagerly looking around every corner for it? Some of you out there aren’t even 24 yet. What would it have been like? Can you imagine it. 24 father’s days passed without any children. No wonder Abram is upheld through Scripture as a man of faith.
At 99, 24 years after the first promise was made, God appeared to Abram. Up until this time, Abram, knew God only as Jehovah (YWHW) and as El Elyon. (Lord most high). But now God reveals another side to his character. He says – “I am El Shaddai”.
This word Shaddai has an interesting background and different scholars have seen 2 different shades of meaning in it.
El Shaddai = “All Sufficient One”
1) The first is that the word comes from the Hebrew root Shad. This is the word for a woman’s breast. In this context, the name of God speaks of his all-sufficiency. A New baby finds a safe and secure place at his mother’s breast. In fact at that breast, the child finds everything it needs to survive – love, warmth, nourishment. As a child, when we were afraid, we could run to our mother and find safety and protection in her arms. Just as this is the case for a new baby, we find that God is all-sufficient for us, in every circumstance that we find ourselves in.
When God appeared to Abram, he said – “I am El Shaddai – your all sufficiency, walk before me and be blameless.” What was the major stumbling block for Abraham walking before God and being blameless? What was the major obstacle to Abram having anything at all to do with God? I think it was the fact that 24 years earlier a promise had been made and it had not been fulfilled. What was going on – was he being taken for a ride here. Could this God YHWH be trusted? I don’t know whether these thoughts were going through Abram’s mind, but I do know that Both Abram and Sarah believed that they had well and truly missed the boat. In verse 17 we see Abram laughing in disbelief that God was still contending that he could bear a child And in 18:12 Sarah also had a bit of a giggle to herself. So it was in this context that God reveals himself as the all sufficient one. He was saying, don’t worry about what you have or haven’t yet received. I am all you need and will supply you with all you need.
Are you doubting that God is able to supply you with all you need? Things look hopeless, impossible and useless. We are old and barren like Abraham and Sarah – maybe not in a child bearing sense, but in a human capability sense. We have exhausted all our resources and we are at our wit’s end – nothing has worked. Have you ever felt like this? Take some time this evening to get to know him as the all-sufficient one.
I know personally that this is a hard thing to do. Deanna and I have been trying for nearly 5 years now to have a baby and nothing has worked. We’ve tried everything from herbs to holidays to happy pills (berocca) – but nothing seems to work. We’ve actually been pregnant twice and each time it has been ectopic which means it has implanted itself in the fallopian tube instead of the womb. Both times, we have had to have the tube removed. You only have 2 tubes and so it is 2 strikes and you are out – We are out. That means that the only course of action is IVF. 20 years ago there would not have been any option, but now it is an option, but not a guaranteed one. We’ve been on the IVF merry-go-round for what seems like an eternity now – all attempts have been failures. Adoption doesn’t really seem to be an option – the waiting lists are like 10 years long!. Overseas adoption waiting lists are shorter – but you should see the price tags. We can relate to Abram – almost all our human resources have been exhausted.
I’m not telling you this to get sympathy, because I firmly believe that each of us has a burden to bear and yours is probably as frustrating and overwhelming as Deanna’s and mine. But I tell you this because I think I can relate to what Abram and Sarah were going through and I am confident that many of you there can relate also because of present or past circumstances in your own life or those close to you.
What do we do in such situations? Where to we turn? I believe that God is giving us the answer here in this passage – he is saying that I am the “Breasted one” – the one who is sufficient to meet all your needs – come and walk before me.
I am not saying it is easy to trust that God can supply all your needs, but I am saying that we have to spend the time to get to know him and trust as El Shaddai. How do we do that? Well a good place to start is by reading some of the stories of How God provided marvellously in the bible for his servants. Read some biographies of some of the saints of old and those who have worked to serve God on the mission fields. See how God is an all-sufficient one who is able to meet our needs daily.
Hear what Ps 34 4-10 says
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Seek him and get to know him as the One who is all sufficient.
El Shaddai = “Almighty”
The second meaning people see in this work is the meaning of God being the Almighty One. People who hold to this view see the word as coming from the Hebrew root Shadad which means to be powerful. In a similar way to the meaning “All-Sufficient” one, the “almighty one” gives confidence to Abram that God is all powerful and is able to bring about even those things which we would see are impossible.
This designation communications to us that God has infinite power. He created this world and everything we see in it. He has power over the wind and the waves. Think about the things he did for Moses – rolling back the Red Sea, providing food and water for a million people in a 40 year desert wandering. There can be little doubt for us that God is all powerful, but for Abraham, who had a limited knowledge of this God, this name must have held such deep significance.
Up until this time, all that Abraham had was a knowledge of God Jehovah (YWHW – one who makes covenants) and as El Elyon. (Lord most high). But these just told him that God loved making promises and that he was a great God worthy of worship, there was little evidence at this point to show that God had the resources at his disposal to bring any of this to fruition.
With this new Revelation, God says, even though the promises seem to be pipe dreams and impossible from a human perspective, I am almighty. Nothing is too difficult for me to accomplish, so have faith and walk before me.
The knowledge that God is almighty or Omnipotent (all powerful) tells us 3 things about God and demands 3 things from us if we are to follow him.
3 things about God.
1) The omnipotence of God implies that he cannot be stopped from doing what he purposes to do. We learnt a couple of weeks ago in Daniel that God is the Most High. Daniel 4:35 says, "The Most High does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand." If El Shaddai decides with all his heart to do a thing it simply cannot be stopped by any power in the universe.
2) The omnipotence of God implies that he does whatever he pleases. Psalm 115:3, says "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." In Isaiah 46:9-10 God says, "I am God and there is none like me … saying ’My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’." GOD ALMIGHTY is not like us. He can do whatever he pleases. Ultimately the only thing that determines what God will accomplish and what he won’t is his own will. This is what it means to be almighty or omnipotent. If it was El Shaddai’s will to give Abram and Sarah a baby – nothing could stop him, not age or disbelief – because he is almighty.
3) The omnipotence of God implies that his power is superior to all other powers. He is high above all others and so why do we put our trust in other gods which fail. For us, we are probably not tempted to go and worship Baal, Budda or one of the million hindu gods. We are more likely to place our trust and hope in our talents, our money, our career or education. Don’t be fooled these can be gods which rule our lives and drive our ambitions. El Shaddai, however, is the Almighty God who is more powerful than any other.
3 things it demands From Us
1) It means reverence. When God revealed himself as El-Shaddai to Abram, his response was to fall before him. The fact that God is almighty means that we may not contend with him. He may confuse us with the way he operates and we may question him to try to understand what he is doing, but we can not accuse him of getting it wrong. He is our Maker and is all wise and all powerful and we need to respect that and have reverence for him.
Paul writes in Romans 9:20-21 “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
To follow God means that we revere him as God and accept what he has in his will for us.
2) The omnipotence of God means recompense -- a recompense of anger and wrath upon those who do not believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. John describes a scene in the book of Revelation of a white horse with a rider who is called Faithful and True. His eyes are like a flame of fire, he is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. The armies of heaven are in his train. "From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the ALMIGHTY" (Rev. 19:15).
If God is almighty one thing is for sure -- no one who resists him can succeed. It is utter foolishness and madness to disobey the Almighty. He cannot be tricked, thwarted or defeated. And he has appointed a day when his Son will reap the harvest in wrath, because he is GOD ALMIGHTY.
3) The omnipotence of God means refuge. The opposite of recompense for those who have refused the terms of God’s covenant is refuge for those who have accepted it. Psalm 91:1-2, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY, will say to the Lord, ’My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust’." And this is where the two meanings – God as the all sufficient one and God as the almighty one start to come together.
God is El Shaddai – the one who is in control of what is happening to us and is both all sufficient to satisfy our needs and all powerful to bring about his promises and his purpose. Just as Abram had faith in the all sufficient one and the almighty one, I pray that we too may come to that place where we can see God as El Shaddai and be able to rest in him with assurance and faith.
