GOD’S WORD FOR AUGUST 23 ~ ~ Deuteronoy 3:24 ~ ~ “O Lord Adonai, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?”
From the book “The Power of God’s Names” by Dr. Tony Evans
PRAYER:
Oh Lord God, my ADONAI, You are the great and mighty God. You have opened my eyes to see Your greatness and Your strong hand. What god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the amazing and powerful things You can do? Who can create a mountain? Who can make the deep where the waters rest, far beyond anything we can see? Who can calm a storm with just one word? None other than You, ADONAI. You are the Master over all. You are the Lord above all. And You are deserving of the highest honor and praise.
Like ELOHIM, ADONAI is a plural word. Whenever it’s used of God, it occurs in the plural because God is a plural person. He’s only one God, but He’s made up of plurality—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The name ADONAI, is found more than 400 times in the Bible and is full of meaning. The name comes from the singular word, ADON, which is translated “master” or “ruler”. It contains the concepts of dominion, rulership and ownership.
The cultural background to the word ADON is associated with masters who owned slaves. Yet it didn’t merely connote ownership but also conveyed a responsibility for the care and well-being of the servants. The master was to provide for, protect, guide, and maximize that which he owned.
Thus when God is referred to in Scripture with the plural ADONAI, He is seen as owner. Psalm 97;5 says that God is “the Lord (ADONAI) of the whole earth.” He’s not only the Creator (ELOHIM) but also the owner (ADONAI). God reveals this ownership in His Word: “Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10)
In the New Testament, the apostles often called themselves bondservants or slaves of Jesus Christ. They used this language to let everyone know they were owned by Christ. This is a significant statement and not merely a sentient because ownership includes certain responsibilities and duties.
In fact, much to the chagrin of many ladies, the Bible even applies the concept of ownership to a husband and a wife. In 1 Peter 3:6, we read that Sara called Abraham “lord.” the Greek word translated “lord” in this passage is KYRIOS, which is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word ADON, the singular form of ADONAI, a plural name of God.
By Sarah calling Abraham her KYRIOS, (“master” or “owner”), she acknowledged a level of ownership that Abraham had toward her. But what’s more, she also acknowledged Abraham’s responsibility to her.
(I’d like to add that the concept of ownership should increase our faith in God. Owners of servants were responsible for their welfare, healthcare, provisions, protection, even satisfaction as much as possible. The word of God has given us over 8000 specific promises where God promised all these things for us. But, as Dr. Evans pointed out elsewhere, all of the promises are within our reach, but not within our hands. God won’t place them in our hands. It’s our responsibility to find them within the Word, pray about them, apply them, and trust that He will fulfill them within His perfect will. Before all that, we need to have taken our place in total submission to His perfect will for us, trusting that He cannot lie, He cannot make a mistake, He cannot change His mind, and He will not stop loving us and wanting to take care of us IF we have taken the step to accept His offer of free salvation, by making Him our personal Lord, Master, and Savior.)