Names of God--Adonai

NAMES OF GOD-ADONAI (Lord) Spring Valley Mennonite; October 17, 2021; "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name is all the earth..." So begins Psalm 8, and that thought is appropriate as we continue our study of the names by which God has revealed Himself in His written Word. We remember that "name" in reference to God includes all that He is, His character and attributes. There are three main Hebrew names by which the One True God has made Himself known, two of which we have covered: Elohim is more of a general name, Yahweh or Jehovah is God's personal name. The third main name is Adonai, and that is our subject this morning. In reading your Bible, each of these names are distinguished by the word used by the translators: Elohim is represented by the word "God", capital "G" small "o" and "d." Yahweh or Jehovah is "LORD", all capital letters. The third name is "Adonai" which is represented by the word "Lord" with a capital "L" and small "o, r, and d." It is important when reading scripture to see which name occurs, for each name has a different range of meanings. For example, chapter one of Genesis finds God's name Elohim exclusively. But chapter two, when God creates mankind, Yahweh is used, for God relates more intimately with man than with everything else in His creation. Both Elohim and Yahweh speak of God's relation to us, Elohim in more of a general way through His attributes such as being Eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and His presence everywhere-- God's power and glory; Yahweh speaks of His holiness, love, righteousness, and as the bestower of blessing as a personal God. But in the third name, Adonai speaks volumes about our response to God. The name "Adonai" makes a claim upon our obedience and service. He is our Lord. I. THE MEANING OF ADONAI OR "Lord" The root of the word is "adon." It is a common word which is used over 500 times in the Old Testament, around 300 times in referring to God and a bit over 200 times referring to man. It's meaning is "master or owner." It is very instructive that when used of man being lord or master, usually in a master/servant relationship, "adon" appears in the singular. In Genesis 24, which records Abraham's servant Eliezer making the journey to find a wife for Isaac, verse 12 records the servant's prayer when arriving at the well of Abraham's brother Nahor's descendants, "O Yahweh, the Elohim of my adon Abraham, please grand me success today, and show lovingkindness to my adon (master) Abraham." When referring to God, the word appears in a plural form, Adonai. This, like the plural Elohim, suggests the truth of the Trinity. This name, when referring to God, signifies ownership and that God is the Master of every member of the human race. And while sin has blinded so many people to this fact, there will come a time when "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is"-what?-that He is "Lord"-Master, Owner-"to the glory of God the Father." God as Adonai, Lord, claims unrestricted obedience of each person. This claim stems from the fact that God is our Creator. He is the Master. II. THE USE OF THE WORD "ADONAI" IN THE OLD TESTAMENT The use of the word in reference to God first appears Genesis 15 and plainly reveals the relationship to man and what He expects of them. In Genesis 15:1, Yahweh came to Abram in a vision saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great." And Abram replied,. "O Adonai Yahweh" He acknowledged Jehovah was his master. It was easier perhaps for Abram (his old name before God changed his name to Abraham) to understand this relationship, for he lived in a culture where slavery was commonly practiced. Nathan Stone remarks in the book Names of God, "Lordship meant complete possession on the one hand, and complete submission on the other. ...Abraham himself sustained the relationship of master and lord over a very considerable number of souls; therefore, in addressing Jehovah as Adonai he acknowledged God's complete possession of and perfect right to all that he was and had." We consider slavery with a negative sense, but in those days, it was not entirely evil. The purchased slave had a much nearer relationship to his master than a hired servant. The slave had the right to his owner's protection and provision, his help and direction. Often there was genuine affection, as seen between Abram and his servant Eliezer. In the absence of a son, Abram intended to make Eliezer his heir of his entire wealth. Abram expressed that to God, but was assured that he and Sarah would have a son, a promise fulfilled by the miraculous birth of Isaac in their old age. Psalm 123:2: "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God..." Psalm 145:15: The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season." God is the perfect Adonai to His children; He always has our best interests in mind, and we can rest in the benevolent, kind, gracious character of our Adonai. Our Lord will often assign us to a difficult task, one for which we know we are inadequate. So it was with Moses when God told him he was to deliver Israel from Egypt. Moses addresses God as Adonai, acknowledging God's right to command, but then he tried to escape the assignment by pointing out his inadequacy in speaking-"I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech."( Exodus 4:10) God answered him, "Who made man's mouth?" Even after that, Moses said, "Please Lord (Adonai, Master) send someone else." Then God's anger rose against His servant seeking to avoid the task. Our Lord does not give us a task that is impossible without giving us the resources to accomplish it. He will equip us, even though often at the beginning we cannot see how. For Moses it was the resource of his brother Aaron. We seen Adonai in combination with Jehovah (or Yahweh) in 2 Samuel 7:18-20: "Then King David went in and sat before the LORD (Yahweh); and he said: 'Who am I, O Lord GOD? (Adonai Yahweh) And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was as a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and you have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant." When Adonai is combined with Yahweh, is appears as Lord GOD, capital L small o-r-d and with GOD in all capitals. This is to avoid the unwieldy Lord LORD. In Isaiah 6, we find a very significant use of Adonai. The account is of a vision Isaiah had when he saw Adonai, "high and lifted up." The vision occurred the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah had reigned in Judea for 52 years; he was the only King Isaiah knew. Uzziah was therefore his earthly lord and master. His earthly lord and master had died, but that tragedy was swept aside by a vision of Adonai, the LORD of Lords was in view. The Lord was seated on a throne high above any earthly throne, above all earthly lords and kings. This Adonai is surrounded by the fiery seraphim; He is the Lord of the hosts of heaven. In the presence of ultimate holiness, Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone (destroyed, cut off!) for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips..." If his lips were unclean, so was his heart. In the presence of absolute holiness-no other attribute of God is described as holiness: Holy, Holy, Holy. Isaiah recognized his sinful condition, but God graciously cleansed his lips and heart with a live coal from the heavenly altar. Then Isaiah's Adonai issued a call: "Whom shall I send and who will go for Me?" Isaiah answered, "Here I am, send me." Isaiah responded to the call from his Adonai, His Master. He was to go to Israel and proclaim judgement, but to realize they would ignore the warning. Our Master, our Lord often calls to difficult roles, but He promises His strength and presence. One last example of how Adonai, Lord is used in the Old Testament is found in the Book of Ezekiel. The term "Lord GOD", Adonai Yahweh, occurs over 200 times. The term is used, not only in applying prophesy to Israel, but to all other nations. Thus, God is revealed as the Lord over all the nations of the earth. Jehovah is God over all the earth, and submission and obedience is the expectation from every person. III. ADONAI IN THE NEW TESTAMENT In the New Testament, we find "lord" used of men in the relationship of lord and master over their servants. More significantly, it is used hundreds of times to refer to the Lord Jesus. I Corinthians 6:19-20, in the context of avoiding immorality, records Paul's words, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body." Clearly, we are servants of the Lord Jesus, and absolute submission to His Lordship is the expectation. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, a reasonable act of service to our Master and Lord. We are called to obedience to the One who has called us into the family of God. When Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, struck down by the glory of the Lord, his first words were, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" As he followed His Lord through the following years, enduring persecution and opposition and amazing success in planting churches and being mightily used of the Lord Jesus, he pointed out in Galatians 6:17 that he bore on his body the brand-marks of Jesus. His scars suffered in the service of Jesus were like a brand identifying him as belonging to Jesus. In the New Testament, as in the Old, Adonai is recognized as the Master who gives His servants gifts and provisions to accomplish His will. He gives to the church Pastors, teachers, evangelists, teachers-for the preparation of His followers for the work of service to our Lord, our Master and Owner. IV. MAN'S UNIVERSAL REBELLION TO GOD'S LORDSHIP When I speak of God's right as our Master and Owner, something within each one of us responds with a bit of hostility or opposition. Somehow that idea challenges our idea of personal freedom, that I am in control and " nobody owns me!" Basic to our human nature is rebellion to the idea that someone else controls me, the belief that I am the master of my own life, and I don't answer to anyone other than myself. This rebellion is the essence of sin, disobedience to the revealed moral guidelines God has established. Adam and Eve had only one restriction, one "law" to obey, but Satan created doubt of God's goodness and motives, "Has God really said?" "If you eat, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil." Eve yielded to the temptation and that act of disobedience and rebellion ruined the perfect connection of man to God. That seed of rebellion and disobedience has been passed down to each person. We are each one a rebel at heart, and even we Christians squirm under the idea that God has the right to tell me what to do and to control my life. Right now, when I say "the Lord Jesus-Master/Owner Jesus has the absolute right to direct your life", what stirs within your heart? I imagine there is a bit of resistance present! Every time we step off the road of obedience we are expressing this inner rebellion, our old sin nature. I am continuously challenged by the Lord Jesus' words of Luke 6:46: "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" He goes on to tell us that the one who does follow His words will be like the man who built his house upon the rock, and when the storms and floods came, the house stood firm." But praise be to God, He is working to root out this rebellion, which acted out or not, is present in every heart. Galatians 5:16 encourages us with the words, "...walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Walking is done step-by-step. One step of obedience at a time. To Adam and Eve God gave the promise of a Redeemer Who would reverse man's fall into sin. Jesus fulfilled that promise, coming in the fullness of time. He redeems His children and then equips them for service. The Lordship of Christ over our lives has a profound meaning for each of us. For me, this came to a head my third year in college. At that point of my life, as a believer I was living in rebellion to the Lord, pursuing a lifestyle almost completely contrary to God's will. I was living the life of a hypocrite, appearing religious when visiting my parents and my home church, but living like the world away at school. When God graciously took hold of my life, a great struggle began between me and the Lord concerning my future. I had my plans, but God was asking me to follow Him down another road. When this issue came to a head, I was a senior and had invested three and a half years training for my career, and in addition, was pursuing a serious relationship which I was using as an excuse to continue on my own selfish path. God was clearly calling me a different direction, but I didn't know whether I could trust Him with my life. I could trust Jesus with my eternity, but with my choice of my career? I finally resolved the issue with realizing that God was the One who made me, and He knew what would give me the greatest satisfaction and joy in life. He challenged me to leave my future in His capable hands, even though the road ahead was filled with mystery and the unknown. Trusting my Lord and Master completely with my future was the absolute best decision I could have made. I have found it true that "At His right hand are pleasures evermore." My life has been incredibly blessed as I have yielded to His Lordship over my life and decisions, not perfectly, as I am still daily challenged with decisions which challenge my commitment to His leading. What might the Lord Jesus be asking you to trust Him with today? Shall we each bow the knee in complete obedience to our Lord, our owner and Master, saying "Yes, Lord." 2