Names are a pretty big deal. When a young couple has a child, they go to great lengths to pick a very special name for their baby because that name is going to be an identifying factor for that little kid for the rest of their lives. I remember my dad just about drove my grandmother nuts because while I was in the womb, he said that he was going to name me “Alpine McGregor Friedmann”. My grandmother kept telling my mom not to let him do that. It got worse with the birth of my little brother when he told my grandmother consistently he was going to name him “Quimby”. Names are a big deal. That’s true with God in the Bible.
There are many, many names for God. Each carrying a distinctive, significant aspect of who He is.
For example, there’s Adonai which reflects His might. He is a mighty God. Yahweh, the great name of the Old Testament, the “Covenant-keeping God.” And we have Jehovah Rapha, “God the Healer.”
Today, I want to look at the name El Shaddai. You know we use that name a lot as people of faith without really understanding what it means. The Hebrew word, shad is the word for the “female breast.” El is the word for “God,” so if we’re literally translating that, it would be “God, the Breasted One.” Now that gives me a beautiful word picture and I hope it does the same for you. I picture a mama cradling her precious child next to her chest. That mom is providing security, significance, comfort, and of course, is a life source as she nurses her little baby. My friends, this is how God chose to reveal one aspect of His character to Abraham back in Genesis chapter 17. “I am God the Breasted One. I am the one who will be tender to you, nurturing to you, comforting and providing security for you.”
”But above everything else, I will be a life source to you. Find life in Me.
I hope that encourages you today, that God is the Breasted One — providing comfort, encouragement, and security — providing life to you in an intimate relationship. What a wonderful God we serve.
