Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 17:1-6

EL SHADDAI: THE NAME OF HIS MIGHT

Intro: The life of Abraham is a study in faithfulness.

From the time God called Abraham to follow him from Ur of the Chaldees until Abraham died over 100 years later, Abraham was faithful.

Abraham wasn’t perfect, but he was faithful.

When he failed, Abraham got back up and continued to walk with God.

Abraham trusted in the promises of God to take care of him and his people.

Abraham trusted God to give him a son when there was no physical way he and Sarah could have a child.

Abraham trusted God to save his soul.

Abraham trusted God for every piece of money he possessed, every morsel of bread he ate, every scrap of land he owned, every step he took, and for every other part of his life.

Abraham’s life was a life of faith from beginning to end.

But, even the faithful have times when they falter, times when they entertain doubts.

This was Abraham’s experience.

Back in Genesis 12:2, when God first called Abraham to leave his homeland to go to Canaan, God made Abraham a wonderful promise.

God said, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”.

This was God’s promise to Abraham he would be the father of a great nation.

Keep in mind, Abraham is around 75 years old when this promise is made.

God would reaffirm this promise more than once as the years passed, Genesis 13:16; 15:4-6, but after years had passed, there were still no children.

In an effort to help God out a little, Sarah suggested Abraham take an Egyptian slave girl by the name of Hagar to be his concubine.

He could have children with Hagar and Sarah would claim the child as hers.

This is what they did and a son named Ishmael was born, Genesis 16.

Abraham, a man whom Paul said, “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief” (Romans 4:20), in response to God’s promises in Genesis 15:1-5, now stops listening for the voice of God and as Genesis 16:2 says, “hearkened to the voice of Sarai”.

As we all know, this complex relationship did nothing but bring trouble into Abraham’s home.

Their lack of faith is still haunting the world today.

It’s been nearly 25 years since God promised Abraham he would have a son.

But, here has been no son.

Abraham is a man in limbo.

He is waiting for God to fulfill a promise God made to him a quarter of a century earlier.

I would image Abraham is a bit discouraged and disillusioned by God’s delay in fulfilling his promises.

God knows Abraham’s heart.

He knows what his man needs, and God steps in to meet the need.

In this passage, God meets Abraham’s need for reassurance by revealing a new name for himself to Abraham.

In verse 1, God says “I am the Almighty God”.

The name “Almighty God” translates the Hebrews words “El Shaddai”.

This is the name I want to explore today.

This name for God appears 48 times in the Old Testament.

31 of those times, “El Shaddai” is used in the book of Job.

“El Shaddai” is most often found during the time of the Patriarchs, before the Law was given.

One way for us to understand better who God is is by learning his names.

Each name for God given to us in the Bible is a new window into the nature of God.

Each name for God in the Bible reveals another aspect of his glorious character.

Each name revealed for God in the Bible teaches more about who he is, what he is like, and what he is able to do.

This is why we are learning about the names of God in the Old Testament.

Let’s explore the name “El Shaddai” today.

This is The Name Of His Might.

I want you to see our God, our “El Shaddai” is self-sufficient and all-sufficient.

I want you to see He is all you need.

Our understanding of God as “El Shaddai” will help us trust in him and rest in him more completely.

So, let’s take some time to talk about “El Shaddai: The Name Of His Might”.

Notice a couple of thoughts from this text which will help us learn a little more about who our God is.

I. THE REVELATION OF THIS NAME

Notice the last verse of Genesis 16.

This verse says, “And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram,” Genesis 16:16.

Abraham was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

The first verse of Genesis 17 says, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram,” Genesis 17:1.

In this passage Abraham is ninety-nine years old.

Thirteen years have passed since Abraham last heard from the Lord.

Thirteen years!

Imagine how the long years of silence stretched one into another.

One can understand the sense of desperation Abraham and Sarah must have felt as they waited for God to fulfill his promises to them.

One can almost understand the desperation which caused them to take matters into their own hands to make a child happen.

Almost!

God didn’t need their help.

God was operating one a different time table.

God fully intended to keep His promise the Abraham, but God was waiting to do it when all hope of human involvement was gone.

God was waiting until the birth of Isaac would be a complete miracle.

God knew what he was doing, and Abraham and Sarah did nothing but cause trouble when they got involved.

The same is true when we try to rush God too.

When we try to force events to happen when we want them to, we aren’t helping God, we are getting in his way.

God doesn’t need our help.

When the time is right, God will do what he has promised.

He will do it in his time.

He will do it right on time, and he will never be early or late.

When God does it, it will be right.

When we take charge, it will be wrong every time.

Think of it.

Thirteen years had passed since Abraham had heard from God.

His faith was just like our, and it wavered some.

Can you imagine thirteen years passing with never a word from God? Think about it.

Abraham did not have a Bible to read.

He was not indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

He didn’t have a church to attend.

He didn’t have many believers around him with which to fellowship.

He didn’t have a pastor.

He didn’t have the Internet, Christian radio, or good books to read.

All he had was a promise which was twenty-five years old, and nothing else.

Plus, it had been thirteen years since he had heard from God.

If we go a couple of days and don’t hear from God we wonder what is wrong.

We have a few weeks of dead church services, of dull devotions, and we are ready to quit.

Abraham spent thirteen years waiting on the Lord to speak to him.

Abraham’s faith in God is amazing.

After thirteen years of silence, the old Patriarch is still walking with God and he is still looking for God to fulfill his promises.

After thirteen years of heavenly silence, Abraham still believed God.

Eventually, in God’s time, God did speak.

This passage records what God said when he finally showed up.

God comes to Abraham and he says, “I am the Almighty God”.

God calls himself by the name “El Shaddai”.

We have already talked about the word “El”.

“El” means “first or supreme, or God” and it was a common name for deity in ancient times.

Both pagans and true believers used this name to refer to the God they worshipped.