Adonai--Lord of All.  Means Lord or Master, occurs 449 times in the O.T. Emphasizes the servant/master relationship, and suggests God’s authority as Master; one who possesses absolute authority. What can we learn from this name of God?

 

Gen 15:1-12, “And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless,.…” This word frequently appears in Psalms (Ps. 68:17; 86:3) and Isaiah (Isa. 29:13; 40:10)

 

1. The Master/Lord has the right to expect obedience

          Slavery:

                   Had little to do with race in the G-R world

                   Was not permanent

                    War

                    64 BCE, Pompey defeats Israel

                    A way foreigners became citizens

                    Debt slavery

                    People sold themselves into slavery

 

          Slaves:

                   Were not on the bottom of the social ladder (day workers were)

                   Were teachers, writers, sea captains, etc.

                   Were essential to the economic success of the nation

                   Paul is a slave (Rom 1:1, 2 Cor 4:5)

                   Christ was a slave (Phil 2:7)

 

          Adhonay, as a name of Deity

                   emphasizes His sovereignty (Ps 2:4; Is 7:7)

                   corresponds closely to Kurios of the New Testament (Lk 6:46); LXX Kurios is Jehovah

                   frequently combined with Yahweh (Gen 15:8, and with 'Elohim (Ps 86:12)

                   Basically, adon means “lord” or “master.” It is distinguished from the Hebrew word baal, which signifies “possessor” or “owner.”

 

          Illustr 123

 

          We sit in judgment of Scripture and God.  The Jesus seminar:  only spoke 20% of NT; Our father…

 

          You are either serving God or Satan.

 

          Adonai signifies ownership or mastership and indicates the truth that God is the owner of each member of the human family, and that He consequently claims the unrestricted obedience of all.

 

          Lordship meant complete possession on the one hand and complete submission on the other (1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23, we are bought with a price)

         

2. The slave may expect provision

          God is never a capricious or unjust Master

                   does not ask what cannot be performed

                   never requires a task for which He does not equip His servants. (Ph'p 4:19; Eph 4:11-13; Ph'p 1:6)

 

          Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:

                   Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very                     well that His children wake up with a good appetite every                         morning… He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness                             for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million                                       missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample                             means to sustain them all… Depend on it, God’s work done in                      God’s way will never lack God’s supply.

 

Conclusion:

This name refers to the true ownership God alone has of man. We are not our own. God alone has the right to tell us what to do. At the same time He provides us with the ability to accomplish that task. We have a choice:  to obey in life or wish we had after our death.