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Volume. XXXVI, No. 30 El Shaddai – God Almighty Another beautiful and yet powerful name of God is El Shaddai. El, which means God, is the root word for Elohim. El is also at times used in Hebrew poetry in conjunction with other adjectives about God. One such compound word that came from El is El Shaddai. El Shaddai means “God Almighty”. El Shaddai means “The powerful, strong God” or “The God who satisfies.” Every time we hear the word El Shaddai, we must remember God is all-powerful, all-sufficient, the Almighty One. El Shaddai appears six times in the book of Genesis, and all are linked with God's promises. The list is as follows a. God and Abram (Genesis 17:1-8, 15- 22; 18:1-14) b. Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 28:1-4) c. God and Jacob (Genesis 35:1-15) d. Jacob and his sons (Genesis 43:14) e. Jacob and Joseph (Genesis 48:1-6, 21-22) f. God and Moses (Exodus 6:1-8). Shaddai appears 41 times in the Old Testament, 31 of which are in the book of Job. So, we will consider the example of El Shaddai from Genesis and the book of Job to better understand the name of God.
El Shaddai reveals God's ability to keep His promises to His people. El Shaddai is first used when God promises to give Abraham a son at the age of ninety-nine. This name of God, El Shaddai, was first revealed to Abram – “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai]; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” (Gen 17:1-2). God, through his name, declared to Abraham that He was about to do something impossible. Not through Abraham but only by the enabling of the Almighty God, he and his wife, Sarah, would have a child. The aging Abram had believed God's promise before in Genesis 12:2-3– “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
This was a promise made to Abram over twenty years ago when he was 75 years old. El Shaddai is the Almighty God. It took almost 25 years before God fulfilled His promise to Abram, but he took matters into his own hands and had Ishmael. But Ishmael was not the seed that God promised Abram (see Gen 17:20-21). In spite of some failures over the years, Abram “believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born (Gen 16:16). It would be another thirteen years before God came to Abram. On this occasion, God revealed Himself to Abraham (Abram) as El Shaddai, the God who is omnipotent. Abraham and Sarah must first realize their impotence before the Almighty God could demonstrate His power and sufficiency to them.
Connected with the might of El Shaddai is His demand for wholehearted obedience. God, who introduced Himself as the Almighty God (El Shaddai), also commanded Abraham to “walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Gen 17:1). Yes, Abraham has to be obedient and wholehearted in his devotion to God. El Shaddai also reveals to us what God desires from us — our wholehearted devotion and obedience.
The weakness or frailty of men is compared with the power of God in the name of God El Shaddai. God the omnipotent made the impotent Abraham and Sarah have a promised child Isaac. The designation “El Shaddai,” occurs forty-eight times, thirty-one of which are in Job. God uses times of crisis to give us hopeful revelations of who He is. At the lowest moments of Job's life, God reveals He is El Shaddai, the Almighty God. Job was blameless and rich, and overnight he lost it all. When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough. This was the test by God and the story of Job. Yes, he was broken completely, but God was His strength, help, and refuge. Job in his suffering can respond in Job 5:17, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty” [El Shaddai]. Job's friend tried to comfort him and enquired about the reason for suffering. Job's answer is one of prayer to El Shaddai in Job 13:3 “Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.” Throughout Job's life, in his intense pain and suffering, he was taught to trust God alone and not to debate with God. For El Shaddai, the Almighty One, knows and will act on His timing. He is God, and we are not. The question is not, “Why did this happen to me?” The deeper question is, “Will I remain loyal to El Shaddai?”
The book of Job teaches us that, at times, life is unfair and bad things happen to godly people. But the Almighty One is in control, and we can trust Him. Brethren, today we too can't change our circumstances, but we can change how we respond to them like Job. Let us trust in El Shaddai and be loyal to Him till the end. El Shaddai is the Almighty God of judgment. El Shaddai teaches us we cannot stop God from accomplishing His purposes. In His time, God will act mightily. Psalm 115:3, says “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” Let us have reverence for such a great and Almighty God.
He is God Almighty. Abraham and Job remind us that our doubts or our failures do not hinder God's plan. We will never come to know God as El Shaddai until we admit our weaknesses and inabilities. Also, only El Shaddai can empower us to walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called, and God Almighty will accomplish things that are impossible in His time. Are you finding contentment in God as your El Shaddai? By our strength and plans, all things will fail.
He is El Shaddai, the God who is sufficient to meet all of our needs so that we might be pleasing and perfect. God's hand is not shortened. Since God is Almighty, one thing is for sure—no one who resists Him can succeed. So let us obey Him and submit to His holy will. And, like Job and Abraham, let us also take refuge in God and trust His promises. Psalm 91:1–2, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” Trust Him, for God will keep His promises. Trust the El Shaddai even when doubts and failures dot our life. Let me end with a quote from A.W. Tozer who once wrote "Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone; He can do for you."
Rev Mathews Abraham |
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