Title: Adonai
Text: Genesis 15
Proposition: You must serve the Lord
Interrogative: Why? He is Adonai
Open
Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from Pole to Pole, I thank whatever god’s may be for my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced or cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms the horror of the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.
You may have heard these famous lines somewhere along the way. They are the words to the popular poem Invictus, by William Earnest Henley. They have been widely used over the last hundred years as an expression personal independence, a declaration that no matter what happens, the human spirit refuses to bend. This is humanity’s declaration that it will rise above circumstances and take charge of life, not matter what difficulties are encountered. It was quoted most famously by Timothy McVeigh as his last statement before being executed for the Oklahoma City bombing.
It is a promise to stand unafraid, without whimpering, without submitting. It is the announcement to any who will listen that even though a person cannot always control the events that surround him, he alone has control of himself. He is the master of his fate, and the captain of his soul.
It is the proclamation of a godless society, the result of a culture that has done everything it can to erase God from the collective consciousness. But God is not so easily destroyed. He is the rightful ruler of the universe, regardless of whether we acknowledge Him as such. In the end, it becomes a struggle for mastery - primarily a question of who will rule our lives.
Today, we will answer this question as we look at another name God is know by in Scripture. It is the name Adonai - Lord. It describes God as the Divine owner of all that exists, the master of Creation. There is only one master of our fate, He is Adonai Jehovah, the Lord God. He alone is captain of our souls, and we are each His servant.
Pray
Read Text - Genesis 15:1-6
Introduction
As we begin reading this morning, we find ourselves somewhere in the middle of the story. The passage opens, “And after these things.” Abram is not a young man as we find him this morning. He was already an adult when God called him to leave his ancestral home in Ur and travel to a land he knew not of. Over the years, God had revealed Himself in many ways to Abram. Most recently, Abram had just returned from a successful military operation. His nephew Lot had been taken captive in a raid on the city of Sodom. Abram had mustered his servants and gone to rescue Lot. He defeated the combined armies of four city-states and rescued Lot and the other captives of Sodom. Returning, he met the king of Sodom and the Priest/King of Salem, Melchizedek. Now he has returned to the women, and his tents and livestock. After all these things, all that had already happened in Abram’s life, and all the growing his relationship with God had experienced, we arrive on the scene in Genesis chapter 15.
It is here, as God talks with Abram, that we find a new name for God. It is the name Adonai that Abram uses in verse 2. It almost slips in without notice, especially in our English Bibles, but it a significant name if we are going to properly understand our relationship with God.
I. Who is Adonai
A. He is Lord
1. LORD - Yahweh/Jehovah
2. Lord - Adonai
a. Used of men 215 times
(1) little “L”
(2) or more often master
b. Used of God nearly 300 times
(1) speaks of the trinity
(a) singular adon always refers to a man
(b) plural usually used of God
(2) primarily speaks of ownership and mastery
B. Adonai owns all things
1. Lordship indicates possession
a. A concept well understood by Abraham
(1) owner of a vast household
(a) many possessions (livestock, tools, housing, utensils)
(b) many slaves
i) childless
ii) 318 servants to rescue Lot
iii) hirelings not common, too uncertain
iv) treated them like slaves, as we will see later
(2) slavery was common
(a) middle eastern Bible times saw many slaves
(b) a slave was an additional possession of the owner like he owned livestock and tents
i) owner completely controlled the relationship
ii) slave had no say right to a say in the relationship
iii) mastery extended to every area of life
a) where they would live
b) mates
c) even life and death
1) children of slaves could be sold like livestock
2) slaves could be slain without repercussion
b. This was the meaning Abram understood when he called Jehovah Adonai
(1) in the same way Abram possessed his household
(2) he saw himself as possessed by God
2. Concept of slavery is repugnant to modern society
a. No man should own another living being
(1) humans are equals, one cannot be superior in kind to another
(2) rightly so
(a) based on creation in God’s image
(b) possessing innately qualities of human dignity
b. Evolution has extended this concept to animals
(1) sees rights as granted by society, not God
(2) sees men as higher forms of animals
(3) holds animals as equal to men
(4) claims animals must be treated as we treat men
(a) cannot eat - Dahmer
(b) cannot kill
(c) cannot abuse
i) medical research
ii) free range chickens
iii) why we see the outrage in the media
a) dog dragged behind truck - probation and fine
b) dogs poisoned - prison time
iv) some have concluded we cannot own
c. For the Christian, with a biblical world view, our mastery over animals presents a clear picture of lordship
(1) we do own animals, and exercise absolute control
(a) training them to do our bidding
(b) choosing where and how they will live
i) from food
ii) to mate
iii) even controlling life and death
(2) this is a stark picture of God’s lordship over His creation
(a) he made it
(b) he keeps it going
(c) he has absolute right to claim it as His own
i) the right to command as He sees fit
ii) the right to use it in whatever way He sees fit
iii) the right to even initiate and end life as He sees fit
iv) He has perfect right to claim and exercise His ownership over all creation
(3) Christian’s must not buy into humanistic thinking
(a) true, humans should not own one another
(b) humans may own animals
i) a lower species - less than humanity
ii) provided by the creator for our benefit
(c) God may own humanity
i) we are a lower species - less than God
ii) made by the Creator for His own pleasure
C. Adonai claims His right of ownership
1. God claims lordship over all the vastness of the universe
a. By pointing to the stars, God declares His authority over the heavens
(1) man cannot even count the stars
(2) God possesses them completely
(a) spoke them into existence
(b) knows each individually
(c) directs every movement as the travel through space
b. Psalm 8 puts all things under God’s authority
(1) O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
(2) O Jehovah, our adonai
(3) man has control over all the earth
(4) but only at God’s direction
2. God was recognized as Lord of men as well as the rest of creation throughout the OT
a. Abram
b. Moses
(1) at the burning bush
(2) claimed by God who was angry when Moses argued with his master
c. David used the term frequently
d. Isaiah 6:1-8
(1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto 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 moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
(2) commissioned by his master
e. Jeremiah 1:6-7
(1) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
f. Ezekiel
(1) uses the title over 200 times
(2) especially significant because he claims Jehovah’s Lordship over all people
(a) not just Israel
(b) did not matter if the people recognized Him
3. All creation exists to serve the Lord
a. The forces of nature heed His command
(1) winds and seas obey
(2) planets follow their designated courses
b. Mankind was created to fulfill the good pleasure of the Lord
4. That concept extends even to today
a. Some people want to relegate the Old Testament to antiquity
(1) believe its an archaic term for time past
(2) believe today we are children of the age of grace, OT truths are no longer applicable
b. Usage of the title and meaning continue in the NT
(1) used in reference to relationship between masters and servants
(2) used hundreds of times to refer to Jesus
(3) even as Christians in the age of grace, Jesus is still our Lord
(a) 1 Cor 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
i) we are not our own, been purchased by God
a) sold into slavery to Satan
b) redeemed through the cross
ii) bids us glorify God with our bodies and spirits, which belong to God
(b) Romans 12:1 I beseech ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.
i) bodies offered to God as a sacrifice
ii) reasonable expectation for every Christian
(c) Called to know and obey the will of the Lord (desires of Adonai)
(d) Revelation shows that the Lord of lords will return to rule his people for all eternity
(e) does not sound like an abandoned concept from ages past
The Lord of creation is master of all He has made, and He has never relinquished His rightful place of ownership. That picture is absolutely accurate. He owns us. If it was all we knew of Lordship, it would be sufficient to represent this aspect of our relationship with God, bit God has lovingly provided deeper insight into His role as Lord. Adonai indicates God’s possession of creation, but...
D. Lordship is more than ownership
1. Ownership often leads to abuse
a. Absolute control among men can be impulsive, unpredictable
b. Masters were and are often intentionally cruel to their servants
(1) viewed them as toys for amusement
(2) twisted sin nature derived pleasure from abuse of power
(a) think of Saddam Husein and sons Uday and Kusay
(b) inflicting pain just because they can
(c) displaying the power of their position for personal satisfaction
c. Sinful man understands this part of fellow humans and fears absolute control
d. Consequently, this idea of God as Lord is frightening
(1) we struggle to trust ourselves completely in the control of another
(2) we worry that trust will be used against us
2. God shows us that ownership is more than selfish power, it conveys responsibility on the owner
a. To own carries duties - like land owners here must cut weeds before summer
b. Masters who owned servants had duties as well
(1) there was a close relationship between the master and the slave
(a) hirelings could come and go as they pleased
(b) slaves were considered part of the family
i) Abraham circumcised his entire household as part of the covenant with God, they all shared the blessing extended to His family by God
ii) later, the pass over was to be observed by slaves in the home, but not hired servants
(2) the master was responsible to maintain the relationship
(a) servants enjoyed the right of
i) protection
ii) provision
iii) help in time of need
iv) guidance and direction
(b) often, the master would suffer himself in order to meet his obligation to his dependant servant
c. God’s lordship is perfect
(1) he completely fulfills His responsibility toward His servants
(2) see his assumption of responsibility - v1
(a) he was the protection
(b) he was the sustenance
(3) in the covenant, God took all the responsibility on Himself v 7-21
(a) Abram prepared the covenant
(b) but only God “signed” the dotted line
God is truly Adonai in the fullest sense of the term. He has every right to claim possession of all that exists, and He exercises His absolute mastery of His possession. But He promises to be the perfect Lord, providing for the needs of His servants, protecting them from harm, in perfect wisdom doing what He knows is best.
II. What response does Adonai desire
A. Recognize His right of ownership - Job 28:28 And unto man He said, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom
1. This requires our complete submission
a. Submission is an act of th will
(1) it is a conscious decision
(2) it is made individually
b. Submission does not change reality, it only changes our experience of reality
(1) we are not relinquishing our freedom when we submit
(2) we are only accepting things they way they really are
c. Submission is the mental act of placing ourselves at God’s disposal
(1) relinquishing our hold over our lives
(2) accepting His rightful claim on us
(a) to direct everything about our lives
i) where we were born
ii) what we are like (smart, disabled)
iii) what our purpose will be in life - why we live
iv) what our philosophy will be - how we live
v) what our values will be
vi) what our vocation will be
(b) everything given over to Him
2. This requires our unrestricted obedience
a. Many men named God as Lord, then argued with His way of doing things
(1) Abram - Hagar
(2) Moses - burning bush
(3) Gideon - lead an army
b. We must become slaves, not hired hands
(1) hired hands negotiate working conditions
(a) hours
(b) wages
(c) how much has to be done
(d) leave when they are not happy
(e) all along the way, they pursue their own goals
(2) slaves have no say
(a) they seek only to accomplish the Master’s purposes
(b) they fulfill His designated duties
(c) they no longer have a life or agenda of their own
(3) this is a transfer of ownership, not a willing partnership
3. This requires a service mentality
a. Our obedience becomes God-centered
b. We exist to perform His good pleasure
c. We become profitable to the Master
(1) no longer making God a part of our lives
(2) instead becoming a part of His greater existence
d. This is the example of the Lord Jesus
(1) came to serve, not be served
(2) was willing to serve even thought it meant suffering personally
(3) ultimately, everything He did was service to His Father
(a) Psalm 110:1 - The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool
i) Jehovah said to David’s master
ii) Jesus claimed this verse spoke of Him
iii) Served the will of the Father (sit) even as He was served
(b) played out in the garden - not my will
(4) we don’t just serve God, we serve as God served
Part of the response that Adonai desires is for each of us to recognize His ownership in our lives. Lordship means complete possession on the one hand and complete submission on the other. But remember, Lordship os more than ownership, it also means responsibility. As we see God’s perfect fulfillment of His lordship responsibilities, our second response is to lean on Him and...
B. Find joy in your servant hood
1. The servant is insufficient by himself
a. Think of the servant Abram
(1) he was 99
(2) Sarai was 90
(a) she was barren
(b) she was past child bearing
b. There was no possible way to fulfill God’s desires for Abram without God’s intervention - the servant was insufficient by himself
2. We are made to be servants
a. When we try to take Adonai’s place we will only get frustrated
(1) our abilities are limited
(2) further, they are distorted by sin
(3) all we do is make a mess of things (example Abram and Hagar)
b. When we accept our role as servant, we are liberated
(1) we step aside and let Him take responsibility for our lives
(2) we know He will never gives us anything to do that cannot be done
(3) we are confident of His sufficient provision in time of need
(a) bestowing gifts
(b) equipping for service
(c) intervening on our behalf
(d) able to provide all that is necessary
(e) trustworthy to meet every necessity
(f) that’s why David wrote Psalm 68:19Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits.
(4) there is no more frustration, no more anxiety, only peace and joy in a relationship structured as it was intended to be, accepting our privileged status as servants of Adonai
(5) say with Moses (Psalm 90:1) Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Close
So who is lord of your life today. Is it you or God? Is your life filled with frustration and anxiety? That is because you are trying to fill God’s shoes. Just listen to the things you say, and you will begin to see if there is a problem.
When you are asked to serve, do you say I don’t have time? Or I can’t do that?
When you are supposed to be in church, do you say I am not interested? Or I am too busy?
When it comes time to knock on doors or share your testimony at the store do you say I can’t speak well? Or I am too shy?
When it is time to recognize the Master’s blessing in your life by returning the tithe and your offerings, do you manipulate numbers or make excuses rather than give to God from the increase He has given to you?
Who is running your life. Who’s calling the shots and making the decisions? If you are making excuses to neglect the things you know you ought to be doing, you have stolen Adonai’s role in your life. He is the rightful owner, you are His servant. Won’t you get your life in order today.
