El Shaddai

This is a guest post by my friend Ron Lease, aka Ron Stoppable

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Starting in Exodus chapter 3, God engaged in dialog with Moses. God begins telling Moses of His plan to free the Israelites from bondage. Moses keeps asking “w” questions: “who” (Ex 3:11) and “what” (Ex 3:13, 4:1). God responded by saying “I will be with you.” (Ex 3:12 NIV)
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Exodus 4 and 5 show Moses and his brother, Aaron, returning to Pharaoh asking him to let the Israelites go and hold a festival to the God of Israel. Pharaoh refuses and punishes the Israelites. Then God promises deliverance.

One of the names that God uses to reveal himself is El Shaddai, or God Almighty. Imagine Moses’ reaction when he not only heard the voice of God, but heard God introduce himself as almighty, all-powerful, omnipotent. In Exodus 6:3, Moses heard God say that though he appeared to Abraham (Gen 17:1), Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 35:11), he did not make himself fully known to them. Even without this complete revelation, God and Abraham (and his descendants) entered into a covenant. This covenant, as one would expect, turned out to be a pretty big deal! While we don’t necessarily know of God revealing himself as El Shaddai between Jacob and Moses, we do know that God was not silent or inactive during this time, especially when considering the life of Joseph (starting in Gen 37). Sometimes He calms the storm. Sometimes He calms His child. However, after hearing the cries of the persecuted Israelites, God reached out to Moses.
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