ALMIGHTY AND ALL
SUFFICIENCY
In the Bible, El Shaddai is one of the Hebrew names
used for God. It’s mostly translated, “Almighty,” but that doesn’t give the
full picture. Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies tells us that many Hebrew
scholars say El Shaddai is derived from two words, “sufficiency” and the
prefix, “who is,” showing God’s infinite sufficiency for all beings. Other
scholars say El Shaddai is derived from a word meaning “breast,” indicating
that God is All Bountiful. Think about it. When a baby breast feeds, what does
the little one get? Plenty of good nourishment, for one thing, until he or she
is satisfied. The baby also gets antibodies that both protect the baby from
getting diseases and fights the disease if it attacks. The breast of the mother
also gives great comfort to the little one and a connection with one who deeply
loves them.
Whenever we are studying a
word or phrase in the Bible, God set it up so that we learn a great deal about
the meaning in the first place it’s used. The first usage of the Hebrew El
Shaddai is found in Genesis 17:1:
“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, ‘I
am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity.’”
The word “Almighty”
here is El Shaddai. The Almighty God told Abram to live in God’s presence with
integrity. Like the phrase my grandparents often used, “Honest to God.” Other
translations read: “always do what’s right,” “be blameless.”
God was telling
Abram to be honest and do what’s right because He, El Shaddai, was going to
take care of all the things Abram needed. It wasn’t worthwhile for Abram to
have to live any other way. Nothing he could get by fraud, stealing, or lack of
honesty was going to be better than what El Shaddai was going to give him.
El Shaddai was going
to be his sufficiency in all things. El Shaddai was going to be more than
bountiful to him; He was going to supply endless nourishment; He was going to
give Abram every weapon he would need to triumph over any enemy. And El Shaddai
was going to be Abram’s intimate companion forever. What in the world could be
better than that?!
Let’s be like
Abram and get to know El Shaddai close up.
Love, Carolyn
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