JEHOVAH M'KADDESH

The holiness of God is revealed through one of His Hebrew names, Jehovah M’Kaddesh which means “Jehovah Who sanctifies”.  This name is first found in Leviticus 20:7-8, “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God.  You shall keep My statutes and do them. I am the Lord (M’Kaddesh) who sanctifies you.”  In this scripture God is declaring He is sanctifying us and we are also to sanctify ourselves.

Some of the definitions of sanctify are: to dedicate, make holy, and set apart.  God is telling His people He is setting us apart, by making us holy, and sanctifying us for Himself.  God loves His creation and desires a holy people that He can have a relationship with.

Sin separates God’s people from Him, but when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are set apart and called out from this world.

Romans 12:2 says “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.”

In 1st Peter 1:14-16 we are told to, “Obey God because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways—doing evil because you knew no better.  But be holy now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child.  He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.”

How are we to become holy?  God has provided the means for our growth in holiness.  Jesus said in John 17:17 God’s Word will sanctify us.  “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.”  Sanctification begins as we obey God’s Word and surrender our habits, wrong mindsets and behaviors to Him.  This is called working out our salvation.  Paul tells us in Philippians  2:12-13, “ work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;   For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey Him, and then helping you do what He wants.”

What a beautiful picture of a loving God.  As we allow God to influence our heart and we obey His directions, we are changed.  

Father, It is a privilege to be loved and set apart for You.   I pray we surrender our hearts to You.  Help us to become all You have created us to be.  

EL SHADDAI Part 2

El Shaddai is God Almighty, the all sufficient One, more than enough to meet our needs. That sentence speaks volumes regarding Who God is.  In Exodus 6:2-3, God reveals Himself to Moses as El Shaddai.  The people of Israel had been slaves to the Egyptians for over 400 years.  The Israelites called out to God for help (Exodus 2:23-25).  God heard their cry and chose Moses to go to the Egyptian king (Pharaoh) to bring them out of captivity into a new land (Exodus 3-5).  

This angered Pharaoh and his treatment of the Israelites became worse. In Exodus 5:22-23, Moses returned to God and said, “Why have You brought all this trouble on Your own people, Lord?  Why did You send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh as Your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to Your people. And You have done nothing to rescue them!”

At this point God revealed Himself as El Shaddai.  Exodus 6:2-3, “God said to Moses, I am Yahweh—the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—God Almighty.”

God wanted Moses to realize Who He was and that He was more than able to bring His people out of captivity.

The Israelites wanted to be free, but were afraid of the unknown and had grown comfortable in their captivity.  

Our lives are not much different than the Israelites.  There are many things that can keep us captive today.  Fear, depression, shame, hopelessness, rejection, drugs and alcohol are just a few.  We too may desire to be free from these mindsets,  but fear of the unknown, being comfortable in our situation, and even unforgiveness can keep us from moving forward.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. “

God is the same God today as He was in Exodus.  He desires to release us from those mindsets that keep us in captivity, and prevent us from having the abundant life Jesus came to give us.  He is El Shaddai, God almighty,  all sufficient One and is more than enough to meet our needs.

EL SHADDAI

The name El Shaddai is translated God Almighty, more than enough, all sufficient One.  El stands for power or might.  Shaddai comes from a word that means Breasted.   This refers to God completely nourishing, satisfying, and supplying His people with all their needs as a mother does with her nursing child.  When you think of a nursing baby, the mother has the capability to give life, love, nourishment, protection, and comfort.  This  illustration of mother and child depicts an intimate connection between them, and total dependency of the baby on the mother. Like the mother, El Shaddai is the One Who gives His creation His nature of: life, love, nourishment, protection, and comfort.  He is God Almighty, more than enough, to fulfill our needs.  

El Shaddai, is mentioned seven times in the bible. (Genesis 17:1, 28:3, 35:9-11, 43:14, 48:3-1, Exodus 6:2-3, and Ezekiel 1:24).  Each one of these narrations depicts God as mighty, all powerful, and fully able to bless and multiply His people.

The name, El Shaddai, is first revealed in Genesis 17:1-2.  God had promised Abraham and his wife a child, but because they were well beyond childbearing age ( 99 and 90 years old), this seemed impossible to them.  Because God is not bound by natural circumstances,  He was more than enough to meet their needs, and blessed them with a child.

Each of God’s names is a reflection of a different facet of His character.  It is a revelation of Who He is.  God has revealed His names to us because He desires His creation to know Him in a personal, intimate way.  Jeremiah 9:24, “but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.

Father, I pray that we would quit hiding, quit running from you, stop looking for other ways to meet our needs and look to You.  Open our hearts to Who You are and give us a revelation of Your love for us.