El Shaddai—God Almighty

My dear friends in Christ,

     Someone asked this week, “Pastor, why are we looking at so many names for God? Isn’t God just God? What’s the purpose?” That is a good question. Why bother spending all summer looking at different names of God? Ladies, many of you wear diamond rings or diamond jewelry. Why do you like your diamonds? They sparkle. Do you know what makes diamonds so beautiful? It’s the way the many facets of the cut diamond catches the light. Every facet contributes to the beauty of the diamond.

     When we look at the different names of God, we are seeing different facets of the beautiful gem who is our “God.” We look at him and see that he is: 1) Trinity—Father, Son, Holy Spirit; 2) Jehovah-Shammah—The LORD Is There; 3) Adonai—Lord; 4) El—The Mighty God; 5) El-Roi—The Mighty God Sees; 6) Jehovah-Tsidkenu—The LORD Our Righteousness; 7) Jehovah-Sebaoth—The LORD of Hosts; 8) Elohim—God; and 9) Jehovah / Yahweh—the LORD, the great I AM.

     Today we turn this beautiful gem and catch the sparkle in the facet El Shaddai. Here’s what it looks like in Hebrew. It means “God Almighty.” This name is used 7 times in the Old Testament—once when God introduced himself to Abraham, Isaac called him El Shaddai, God introduced himself to Jacob with this name, and he also told Moses about this special name. The name Shaddai, “the Almighty,” is used 49 times in the Old Testament. It occurs most often in the book of Job, then a few times in the Psalms, and a few of the prophetical books. When it is used alone, the context refers to a powerful God who will carry out his judgment against those who disobey him. Let’s take a closer look at the name El Shaddai. We’re going to learn that when God uses this name, nothing is impossible!

     The first verse of our text says, "After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him" (Genesis 35:9). There’s a little word that doesn’t appear to be very important. It’s the word “again.” This wasn’t the first time that God had appeared to Jacob.

     The first time God appeared to Jacob, Jacob was all alone. He had tricked his father Isaac into giving him the birthright which belonged to his twin brother, Esau. Esau was angry enough to kill him. His mother, Rebekah, realized Esau was plotting Jacob’s murder, so she asked her husband to make sure that Jacob found a God-fearing wife among his relatives in Paddan Aram.

     Jacob set out with nothing except the staff in his hand, the clothes on his back, and the sandals on his feet. After a few days of travelling he stopped for the night. He found a rock to serve as a pillow and fell asleep. He had a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven, and the LORD spoke to him from the top of the ladder. He promised to do the impossible. He guaranteed that the land of Canaan would belong to him and his descendants. He promised Jacob’s descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. He promised to bless every nation on earth through him—the promise of the Messiah. He also said, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15). All of that must have sounded impossible, especially since Jacob had nothing and didn’t know what he would find in Paddan Aram! When he woke up, he took the stone he had used as a pillow, set it up like a pillar, and called the place Bethel—the house of God. He trusted God’s promise.

     20 years later, Jacob had arrived home from Paddan Aram. He had carts loaded with possessions and supplies. His servants tended droves of goats, sheep, camels, cows, and donkeys. He had 11 sons, one daughter, and another son on the way. Jacob had returned to his homeland a wealthy man. Impossible? Not with God! His brother Esau was happy to see him. Family problems reconciled. Impossible? Not with God!

     Jacob needed a reminder that God had kept his promises and had done the impossible. When he appeared to Jacob, "God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So he named him Israel" (Genesis 35:10).

     God was telling Jacob, “Don’t forget, I always keep my promises! Remember when I changed your name?” The night before Jacob saw Esau, he had been afraid. He knew Esau had planned to kill him. He spent all night wrestling with a man. At daybreak, the man told Jacob to let him go, but Jacob refused. Jacob knew he was wrestling with the LORD and asked for a blessing. The LORD answered Jacob’s prayer and gave him a new name. Jacob’s new name was two words in Hebrew: Yisra—he wrestles, he contends; and El—mighty God. He wrestles with God. Whenever he heard someone call him “Israel,” he would remember.

     Now God shared his name to assure Jacob that he would keep his promises. "And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you’" (Genesis 35:11-12). How did God introduce himself? God Almighty—El Shaddai. He is the creator of heaven and earth. He is the life-giver. He owns and controls everything on this planet, in this solar system, in this galaxy, in this immeasurable universe. He is big! What promises did he make to Jacob? He would give him descendants who would become nations on earth. Kings would come from his line—men like David and Solomon would rule over the people of Israel. The land would belong to his descendants—it’s still called by his name today, “Israel.”

     Look what El Shaddai can do! He did all that for Jacob, despite all of his sins. Jacob was a deceiver. He tricked Esau into selling his birthright for a bowl of stew. He lied to his blind father to receive the blessing. He wasn’t satisfied with one wife when his uncle tricked him, and had to have a second wife. He played favorites among his own children.

     How could El Shaddai put up with him? There’s only one word that could explain it—love. Great big El Shaddai loved tiny, insignificant, sinful Jacob. He loves you and me the same way. He sent the promised Messiah, his own Son. El Shaddai did the impossible. Through the angel Gabriel he announced that Mary would have a son, even though she was a virgin. Gabriel told her, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

     It happened just as the angel said. El Shaddai—the Almighty God became one of us. He joined us as a tiny speck on a little blue dot in the expanse of God’s universe. He joined us so we can see the impossible take place and the promise to Jacob fulfilled. The King from Jacob’s line finally came. When Pontius Pilate asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say” (Matthew 27:11). The King of Israel loved us enough to provide what we need—mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation between God and us. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the most powerful reminder that El Shaddai—God Almighty can do the impossible, and he is willing to do it for us!

     That really hit home on Thursday evening. I spent an hour doing Bible study at the minimum security facility here in Stillwater. 6 men came and we watched a video called “Indescribable.” In the video, we travelled millions of light years away from our tiny planet. This is the Whirlpool Galaxy, 31 million light years away. Just so you understand the distance involved, our galaxy, the Milky Way, is 100,000 light years across, so at the speed of light it would take us 100,000 years to cross it. The universe is that big, and God measures it with the span of his hand. The entire video showed how big God is, how small we are, and how much he loves us. We discussed the video for about 15 or 20 minutes, and then it was time to leave. James stopped after the others had left. He said, “Pastor, I don’t like to talk in the group, I just have a hard time doing that. The study tonight really made me think about God. Three years ago I was a meth addict. I’ve been clean for three years now. I used to pray to the devil, and he answered me. He gave me drugs, alcohol, women, whatever I wanted. I used to say to God, ‘Who are you? How big are you? You aren’t so great!’ Tonight I heard how God calls all the stars by name. Pastor, now I understand that the devil and all the angels are just little specks on God’s fingernail, just like me. He’s done the impossible for me. He loved me and forgave me! Now when I am tempted to ask him why he isn’t strong enough to help me, I’ll remember that he is big and strong enough, and he does help me.”

     What are you wrestling with that makes you wonder if God is big and strong enough? Is it your sinful nature, your pet sins, the things you really struggle with? Is it a long standing argument in your family that’s been going on for 20 years? Is it a relationship with a spouse and you don’t know where to turn for help? Maybe your job situation is still tenuous, and you’ve been wondering and waiting when the next one will come along. Are you tempted to try and solve all your problems all by yourself? Where do we turn?

     It’s at these times in our lives that God introduces himself with this special name: “I am El Shaddai—God Almighty.” He was big enough to fix all of Jacob’s troubles. He is big enough to fix our troubles. He has already dealt with our biggest trouble—our sins. He took them all away by dying on the cross. He will help us. Call on him. Wrestle with him, just like Jacob did, and don’t let go until he blesses you. He is your El Shaddai. For him, nothing is impossible! "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

 

To God alone the glory!                Pastor Jon Brohn