El Shaddai (Part 2): Beyond Abundance (Genesis 17:1; 49:25; Ephesians 2:20)

Genesis 17:1 says, "...I am El Shaddai...walk before me and be perfect..."

EL SHADDAI

In review, (El) is the covenant God, but (Shaddai) is the demonstration; expression; or fulfillment, of that covenant. In other words..."Yes, I am the God that you are in covenant with, and as your covenant God, this will be the results you can expect, because you are hooked up with me".

SHADDAI

To reemphasize, (Shaddai), in its scriptural usage, means 'fruitfulness; multiplication; blessing; possession; inheritance; generational commitment; rule and authority', and this covenant is 'continuous'. The covenant will never cease or be nullified. The scriptural interpretation of "Shaddai" lends itself to the traditional Rabbinic understanding of "Shaddai", which is also insightful.

RABBINIC ANALYSIS

Rabbinic analysis of the word, is that it is composed of two words, to form the compound "Shaddai" :

1) first, there is the relative (she), meaning "who", and

2) secondly, there is the word (day), meaning "enough"

The joining of these two words gives the rendering of, "the One Who is Enough" or, "the One Who is Self-sufficient". The understanding is that "Shaddai" requires nothing, because He already has all; there is no shortage. Also, the word is plural in form, though it is never used with a plural verb, [since He is one, and the only God]. The meaning, is that not only is He sufficient; enough, but, since the word is plural in form, it means there is an abundance of His sufficiency; a total "lack" of scarcity; short supply; want; need; barely getting by; etc., so that we may loosely translate to declare that He is the God who is "more than enough".

BREAST

Also, the root word that "Shaddai", or "Shadday", as it is sometimes rendered, is connected to, is "Shad". "Shad" means "breast ", as it is seen in its literal use, in Genesis 49:25, in Jacob blessing Joseph:

"...from the (El) [God] of your father there shall be help to you; and with ''Shadday'' there shall be blessings to you; blessings of the heavens above; blessings of the deep that lies underneath; blessings of the breasts [Shad]; and blessings of the womb".

Blessings of the breasts speaks of richness; abundance; full supply, as in the common description of the land of Israel, as a land "flowing with milk and honey". To the sucking child, the breasts are always there, at their disposal, full of supply to meet their every craving.

EL SHADDAI

(El) is the covenant God, but (Shaddai) is the expression of the covenant God. "El" tells you He is the God of covenant, but "Shaddai" tells you what He is like to those who have made covenant with Him. To those who have joined in covenant with Him, He is all sufficient to the extreme. Not only is He enough for every need; want; desire; craving; but in the plural, He is beyond just being "enough", He is superabundance; overwhelming

supply; fullness to over flowing; wave after wave of sufficiency; exceedingly beyond our expectations or imaginations (Eph.2:20).

REVELATION

As we begin to receive revelation of who this covenant God is, in the form of Shaddai, then we will begin to experience the results of the covenant in our lives, as our expectations coincide with the revelation of His word.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours