“Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.’
“Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
“‘No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.’” (Gen 17:1-6)
Journal,
Every letter in the Hebrew language is full of meaning. Hebrew is a language of pictures and symbols. This especially carries over into names. For the Hebrew people a name was meant to convey the nature, essence, history, and reputation of the one named.
Consider the name Jesus. When the angel Gabriel appear to Joseph, he said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus [Yešhûa, or, Y’Shua], for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mat 1:20-21)
Jesus is Yeshua in Hebrew. The name Yeshua means Savior, or by extension, ‘Yahweh saves,’ or, ‘Yahweh is salvation.’ The Lord’s name is derived from the verb which means, ‘to save.’ Gabriel gives the meaning of the name Yeshua, by saying, “He will save His people from their sins.”
What makes it even more interesting is that when you see the word ‘salvation’ as an impersonal word in the Old Testament, it is the very name of Jesus, or, ‘Yeshua’. So, depending on its usage the Hebrew for salvation and the Hebrew for Jesus is the same.
If you mentally transpose where you see the term ‘salvation’ in the former testament to ‘Jesus’, you will see prophetic pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let’s talk about one of God’s revelation names in the Old Testament and see how it unfolds in Jesus. We’ll talk about God’s Name – El Shaddai.
But before we do that please take time to listen to Amy Grant as she sings El Shaddai:
The God of Abraham
God’s names are revelations of His person. The first time that God reveals Himself by name to Abraham, the Lord says,
“I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless [made full or complete].” (Gen17:1)
The term ‘God Almighty’ is El Shaddai. It is easy to miss what this name means because English does not convey the expressions of Hebrew. The word El is masculine and speaks of might, power, or strength. The term Shaddai is also masculine. It speaks of fullness, or, ‘more than enough.’
Shaddai is said to relate to the Hebrew ‘shadaim’ which speaks of ‘breasts.’ To cut it further, ‘sha’ means who, and ‘dai’ means enough. The imagery is of a mother and her infant where her full breasts are more than enough for her baby. It is in this sense that Shaddai relates to fullness.
We see an echo of shaddai (Almighty) and shadaim (breasts) when Jacob prophesies over his sons.
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), from the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty [Shaddai} who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts [shadaim] and of the womb.” (Gen 49:22-25)
Everything that Jacob speaks over this son has to do with fullness, with blessings, with protection and with an overflow of life. This is what Jesus came to give us. Amy Grant singing ‘El Shaddai’ relates to this very well.
Jesus came to give us fullness of God’s life
Listen with your heart to the following Scriptures. They all carry the idea of El Shaddai:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11)
“For of His fullness (or, ‘out of His fullness) we have all received, and grace upon grace.” [Grace upon grace speaks of an overflow of ‘all that you need.’] (John 1:16)
“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Php 4:12-13)
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Mat 23:37)
There is so much more to be said. This will give an idea of just our rich and wonderful our salvation is through the Lord Jesus. We are the children of God’s presence. He is with us in every circumstance and situation. Even in our sufferings, God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness.”
Just some things to think about.
In Christ always,
Buddy
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