El Shadday

So far in our journey, we have learned about Elohim and El Roi. In Scripture, names aren’t just titles; they reveal God’s character, his posture towards humanity, and how he meets us in specific seasons. 

What does Elohim mean?

And El Roi?

Last week, we focused on the name El Roi, the God who sees me. I presented you with some questions to consider when thinking about the name El Roi. 

• Is there a time in your life when you felt “unseen”?
• What part of you do you need El Roi to see right now?
• How does it make you feel knowing that God sees you, the past, present, and future you?

Where did you see El Roi, or how were you seen by El Roi this week?

What images come to mind when you hear the name El Roi?

We saw this week how Sarai took things into her own hands and offered up Hagar, then we saw the hurt that occurred between Hagar and Sarai, and then how Hagar ran away. 

Hagar is:

• Used
• Displaced
• Pregnant
• Alone

Yet she names God.

The first person in scripture to name God is not a patriarch, but a runaway slave woman.

Things tend to fall apart when we try to speed up God’s timeline.

How have you seen God’s mercy emerge from your own misguided attempts to be in charge?

How have you experienced El Roi’s watchful care?

At the end of the study, a few verses were listed, and we were asked to consider how they relate to the meaning of El Roi. Would anyone care to share how they saw El Roi in these passages?

El Roi is “God sees us.” This week we will be studying how the one who sees us is also the one who can act.

It’s one thing to be seen; it’s another to be sustained.

This week, we will be studying El Shadday, which means God Almighty. Its literal translation is “God, the Mountain One.” 

What do you think of when you think of a mountain?

• Stability
• Permanence
• Refuge
• Smallness of self

Our God is a god of stability, permanence, and refuge.

El Shadday is mentioned in scripture 48 times. Six times in Genesis, once in Exodus, twice in Numbers, twice in Ruth, twice in Psalms, once in Isaiah, and the remainder in Job.

“Shadday” in English means “Almighty,” which establishes him as an all-powerful, sufficient, and sovereign God. This title suggests that God can keep his promises, establish his purpose, protect his people, and supply all our needs.

We are first introduced to the name El Shadday in Genesis 17:1-2: “When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am El Shaddai. Live in my presence with integrity. I will give you my promise, and I will give you many descendants.”

What stands out to you about Abram’s age?

What does El Shaddai ask of Abram before his promise?

God is asking Abram to walk with integrity before he receives his inheritance.

El Shadday is the name that God gave himself. His name reveals that he is not only the creator of the universe but the one who maintains it. When God tells Abram who he is, he says, “I give you a promise” or “ I will make a covenant with you.” 

Our God, our El Shaddai, is the only one who can make a promise or covenant with his people. There is no other god that can do that.

I once read that “humans make contracts; God makes covenants.” 

A contract is based on performance. A contract is based on character.

In Genesis, El Shadday is the covenant maker; in Exodus, he is the assurance of Moses; and in Numbers, he is the blessing of Balaam. In Ruth, he is Naomi’s devotion; in Job, he is wisdom and divine transcendence; in Psalms, he is the shelter; and in Isaiah, he is prophecy. He is omnipotent, our covenant, a disciplinarian, and universally sovereign. 

How can we not worship at the feet of El Shaddai?

Based on your knowledge of scripture, how do you see El Shaddai in Psalms, Ruth, and Exodus?

Where have you seen El Shadday already in your life?

Where do you need God not just to see but to be sufficient?

Where have you been trying to carry what only El Shaddai can hold?

When we pray using the name of El Shadday, we invoke his power, his promise, and his blessing.

El Roi sees us in our wandering; El Shaddai meets us in our waiting.

The God who sees us is the same God who keeps us.

Have a great day with Jesus!