El Shaddai--The God That Is More Than
Enough
Illustr. 108. We need God.
This name is first used in
connection with Abram (Gen 17:1-2):
1 And when Abram was ninety
years old and nine, the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I
am the Almighty God (El-Shaddai); walk before me, and
be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my
covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
What's in a name? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel,Joseph.
In the year 250 B.C., a
group of Jewish scholars translated the Scriptures into Greek. This version of
the Bible is called the Septuagint. These scholars translated the Hebrew Shaddai into the Greek word ikanos
which means "all-sufficient" (much, many, sufficient, enough).
The word Shaddai
occurs some 48 times in the Old Testament and is always translated
"almighty" in the King James Version. Now consider that fact that the
Hebrew word shad is used 24 times and is always translated as
"breast". In the same way that a mother’s breast is
"all-sufficient" for her newborn’s nourishment, God is
"all-sufficient" for His people. Hence, when we combine El (Almighty
God) with Shaddai (All-sufficiency) we have "
The Almighty God who pours out sustenance and blessing."
1. God demands the consecrated the life. God says
to Abraham, and to you, and to me: "walk before me and be blameless."
Now, I want you to notice the words of the Lord to Abraham that come
immediately before this demand for consecration. God says, "I am God
Almighty." We are being reminded that the starting point of the
consecrated life is God Himself.
"I am God Almighty." In the Hebrew, "I am El-Shaddai."
We looked at these words the last time we looked at Genesis 17. This is a name
that tells us how great and mighty our God is. This is a name that reminds us
nothing is too hard for the Lord (Gen
2. The God Whom we serve fills all
things and has all power and all glory and all might. We can never forget this
because if we think little of Him we will have little trust and faith in Him
and will give Him little obedience. But if we allow ourselves to dwell on the
grandeur and splendor and glory and might and power of God, of El-Shaddai, then we will be inclined to have much trust and
faith in Him and give Him much obedience.
We see this illustrated in the life of Abraham. Covenant-keeping ability. No "if-then." For a while Abraham had a small God. He did
not think God could make him the father of many nations when Sarah was old and
barren. Therefore he tried to make his servant Eliezer
a surrogate son and heir (Gen 15). Then he fell into the error of having a
child with Hagar (Gen 16). He did not think God could keep him safe from those
who wanted to kill him so they could get at his beautiful wife. Therefore two
times he lied about Sarah being his sister rather than his wife (Gen 12; Gen
20). So much pain and suffering because his God was small rather than big. If
Abraham had only remembered that God is El-Shaddai –
the All-sufficient One, the All-powerful, the Almighty, the God Who can do
anything He wants to do – if he had only remembered this he wouldn't have
fallen into sin and disgrace. See what happens? Abraham's consecration slackens
off because his God is too small.
3. Too many times I have seen the same
thing today. Someone has financial difficulties. He forgets that God is
all-sufficient and more than able to carry him through. So he resorts to shifty
methods and tricks of the trade. Or, a man is poor. He forgets that God
Almighty is His portion. So he envies the rich and becomes discontented with
his condition. Or someone becomes bored, forgetting that God is his all-in-all.
So he pursues the pleasures and vanities of the world. Or someone forgets that
El-Shaddai sees all things and knows all things. So
he pursues sex outside of the marriage relationship. Or someone forgets that
God is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless. So she
becomes desperate, depressed, lonely, bitter, and suicidal. Someone becomes
sick. Loved ones forget that God gives food to the hungry and sight to the
blind. So they resort to desperate measures with quack doctors and pretend
treatments.
Your
Family; Trust Him, and He Will Provide the Need: He will provide for your
family:
A. When You’re In Poverty: II Kings 4 (pot of oil)
B. When You’re Pleading: II Sam 21 (sons of Rizpah), pleading for her children
C. When You’re Pressured: Gen 22 (Abraham and Isaac),
children don’t always understand, but God will provide a way to demonstrate to
them his provisions!
Your
Heartbreak; Tell Him, and He Will Hear Your Prayers: When you can’t fix things
yourself, when it’s out of your hands, when like Hagar in Genesis 21, you have
put things our of your hand and all you can do is weep and call out to God, he
will hear your cry. When you’re going down in the pit, he will incline unto you
(Psalms 40). Yes, “I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh
upon me,” Ps 40:17. Is 59:1.
Problems and sin are always the result when our God is too small.
But our God is El-Shaddai: the Infinite, the
Almighty, the Powerful, the Unchangeable, the Invincible. How can we wander
from such a God?
Great holiness springs from a great, big, mighty God! So come to God. Ask to
know Him. Meet Him in all His majesty, splendor, power, and might. For then and
only then can you begin to lead the kind of consecrated life that God demands.