Treasures New and Old

Calling on the Name of the Lord: El Shaddia

God’s name is very important. His name is holy, pure, and represents His character and love towards us. Yet I often hear prayers end in “amen” without mentioning even the phrase “in His name I pray,” or “in name of Jesus I pray”, or something similar. The Scripture is full of examples of men calling on the name of God in their prayers. Here are a few examples:

• Abraham called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8; 13:4).
• The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses (Exodus 33:19; 34:5).
• Israel was warned against profaning the name of the Lord (Leviticus 18:21; 22:2, 32).
• The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11).
• The priests of Israel were to minister in the name of the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:5; 21:5).
• The name of God is called “wonderful” in Isaiah 9:6.
• To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God (Genesis 21:33; 26:25).

So – what is His Name?

In this series of articles, I want to explore the various names of the Lord. When we pray and call upon His name, it is good to know on whom we are calling. Does that mean that there are many gods? NO! It does mean that He has many names, and that each has been given to us so that we can pray more specifically and use one of the many characteristics that is embodied in our God. Let’s examine our fifth name this month:

EL SHADDIA – The Almighty God

El Shaddia is a compound name comprised with two very familiar words (at least in English!). EL is part of God’s name and is often in names used by parents to name their children. Dani-el for example (Daniel), Ab-el (Abel), El-iezer (Eliezer), and so many others. The El can appear either at the front or the back of a name. When you combine it with Shaddia, which is the Hebrew word for Almighty; you are literally saying, “God Almighty.” Many have associated this name with mountains which are mighty in size and difficult to scale or tame. Therefore, El Shaddia can also mean “God of the Mountains.” Mountains often refer to nations in the Bible – which are difficult to scale or tame! Look at some of the prophecies that include mountains and are interpreted as nations or kingdoms.

• Daniel 2:35: “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

• Micah 4:1: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow into it.”

• Matthew 17:20: “And Jesus said into them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Therefore, God is not only the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob but of the nations of this world. As in Micah 4:1, we see that all nations/kingdoms will be covered (read that controlled by the Kingdom of Heaven – or Christ’s Kingdom: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain [kingdom] of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains [nations/kingdoms], and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow into it.” So you can see that God Almighty (or Almighty God) El Shaddia rules over the entire world – over all the nations.

When God introduced Himself to Abraham, He did so as El Shaddia – God Almighty. This expressed to Abraham the omnipotence of God who really needed it, because he was being asked to believe that at his age he would have a son by Sarah. When Abraham and Sarah were past natural child-bearing age, God told Him that, “I AM Almighty God (El Shaddia)”, and in Psalm 91:1, God tells us that “[h]e that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty [EL SHADDIA].”

Can you see yourself in total safety? Can you see God Almighty taking up your case before the world – protecting, providing, sheltering? This is why El Shaddia was used. Why Abraham and many others needed to hear this wonderful name of God, any why the translators of the Hebrew used the word Almighty. El Shaddia is sovereign over all the earth, over all the nations, over all things.

His name, God Almighty, is also found in the New Testament in the Greek. Of course, in Greek it reads differently, but means the same thing. In Greek, God is Theos (Strong’s G2316) and Almighty is Pantokrator (Strong’s G3841). Most of us are familiar with Theos – a divine being. But Pantokrator may be new to us. It is also a compound word: Panto (the root is Pas) means all, every, whole (Strong’s G3956). Kratos means powerful, mighty, strength, dominion (Strong’s G2904). When these two Greek words are combined, it literally means “All Powerful” or “All Mighty.”

Our Lord is the God Almighty!

In Revelation, we see the name God Almighty or Almighty God associated with the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Almighty God.

• Revelation 11:17: “Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.”

• Revelation 15:3: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

• Revelation 19:15: “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Our Lord Jesus, our God Almighty, is mighty over all there is in the universe and in heaven which includes the angels, including Satan and the fallen angels (demons).

As we all learn to “Call on the name of the Lord”, let us remember that we serve a Mighty God – El Shaddia, He is all powerful, in total control, and our protector!

Until He returns:

May God bless you all!

Bro. Joe

References

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

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