El Shaddai

Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God (El Shaddai); walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”

El Shaddai is another name or title of God. Like the other “El” names - El Shaddai is used to describe a specific characteristic or trait of God. In most English translations, this name is translated as God Almighty. This is a little unusual, considering the literal meaning. Shaddai literally means “many breasted”. This reference to the female body as a description of God must’ve made the translators a little nervous.

To be clear, God is NOT female! El Shaddai is not speaking of a lewd or pagan concept of God. Remember, the “El” names are descriptive of God’s nature. So what in God’s nature could “the many breasted God” be describing?

Let’s go back to Genesis 1:27. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” God made man in His image, but that isn’t a reference to males. When we read that man was made in His image, it’s better said “mankind.” We know it’s referring to males and female because this verse says so! Both men and women were made in God’s image. God put part of His nature in the male and part in the female. Together, they were to reflect God’s entire nature. After God made mankind (male and female), He blessed them and gave them dominion over the earth (verse 28). Men and women were made to display God’s nature on the earth. This is why it has always been God’s will for children to have a mother and a father. Together they can relate God’s entire nature to that child.

When we realize this, we can understand that there is something in a mother’s nature that reflects God’s own nature. This is what the word shaddai pictures, the care that a nursing mother has for her child. So El Shaddai is the God Who cares for us.

El Shaddai is named many times in the book of Genesis, as God is dealing with the Patriarchs. Isn’t it interesting that God revealed Himself to these great fathers as Someone who cares like a mother?
Genesis 28:3 “May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples”
Genesis 35:11 “Also God said to him: “I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.”

Although Isaiah doesn’t use the name El Shaddai, he clearly describes the care God has for His people. Isaiah 66:13 gives us a beautiful word picture: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” The next time you see a mother comforting a child who hurt himself, you’re looking at a picture of how God comforts us in our own trouble!

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Sadly, we have seen many mothers who have forgotten and forsaken their children. You see, a mother’s love isn’t perfect anymore - we live in a fallen world now. But no matter how your parents cared for you (good or bad), God’s tender care goes far beyond that! Psalm 27:10 says, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take care of me.”

God cares for you. He’ll never leave you or abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). If you stay close to Him, He will bring you through whatever problem you’re in. Trust in the care of El Shaddai!

Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (El Elyon) shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (El Shaddai).”

El Roi

Genesis 16:13 “Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, You are The-God-Who-Sees (El Roi); for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

El Roi is another name of God (like El Elyon and El Olam) that describes one of His specific attributes. It literally means the God who sees. It tells us that He observes, considers, and distinguishes. It is the name of the all-seeing God. El Roi sees us, knows us as we really are, sees what we try to hide, and sees what we’re going through.

God sees us as we really are. For an unbeliever, that is not a good thing. But for the ones who have faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it’s a very good thing! Why? Because He doesn’t see us as sinners any more.

He sees believers the way that 2 Corinthians 5:21 describes us: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 declares that Jesus became righteousness for us. So because of what Jesus gave us, God now sees us the same way He saw Noah in Genesis 7:1. “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” God sees us the way we really are - righteous, the way Jesus made us.

That’s worth repeating -  God sees us as righteous!

There is another side to this, though - we’re called to pursue righteousness (1 Timothy 6:11) and to seek righteousness (Matthew 6:33). We can’t live a sinful, rebellious lifestyle, refuse to repent, and then claim that we’re righteous in Jesus. Righteous people seek and pursue the righteous way of life. It’s cause and effect - we were made righteous, so we seek righteousness! Why? Because now we serve a righteous God who sees everything!

Hebrews 4:13 warns us, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Even after we’re saved, God sees our conduct. One day we’ll be required to account for what we do on earth, and nothing is going to be hidden on that day! Psalm 94:7 speaks of the people who claim that God won’t see their wrongdoing. It says, “Yet they say, ‘The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand.’ Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?”

In the book of Jeremiah, God saw the sins of His people - those who were called by His name and who were worshipping in His temple! Out of love for them, He sent Jeremiah to warn them. God’s exact words were “Behold, I have seen.” Nothing they were doing was hidden from God’s sight - and nothing we do is either.

Some Christians ignorantly say, “Doesn’t the Bible say that God doesn’t see my sin?” Yes, that is part of the truth. But it isn’t the whole truth. You see, God does say in Hebrews 10:17, “Your sins and your lawless deeds, I will remember no more” - but read it again carefully! God chose not to remember our sins, but He did see them at first! There’s a crucial step between God seeing our sin and God forgetting our sin. That step we all have to take is called repentance!

Thankfully, God sees repentance too! Nineveh is a great example of how God sees repentance. When Jonah preached about impending judgement, the entire city of Nineveh repented. Jonah 3:10 says “When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.” God saw their repentant hearts and forgave them. And, since El Elyon never chages, He will do the same for us. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”

Repentance and forgiveness isn’t about God closing His eyes to the sin that’s in our life. El Roi never closes His eyes, God always sees everything! Instead, God’s forgiveness is about Him washing us clean from our sin. When we’re forgiven, there is nothing in our life anymore for Him to see! Think about this, the God Who sees everything, sees us as righteous! When we’re forgiven, there is literally no sin in us for Him to look at!

Let’s start seeing ourselves the way El Roi sees us!