Reposted from 'thought of the day' 12/21/2011
All links in this website are underlined and usually in dark blue.

By now you know for a few days we are doing something different.  I have never been to bible college so am giving you a very basic outline of what the experts say about the individual names of God. All links given will be good for a more detailed study on all the names of God.  We will then look at how we can apply it.

"Adonai" is another Hebrew masculine plural noun.  The plural form of "Adon", meaning “Lord, Lord, LORD, master, or owner”. 

It occurs over 400 times in the Old Testament and 200 times in Ezekiel alone.  Adon is used to describe a human lord and the plural Adonai for God.

Adonai Yahweh.  Adonai is used over 300 times with Yahweh.  Most modern bibles have Yahweh in small capital letters – LORD and Adonai as “Lord”.  See bibletopics for more explanation.

Yahweh (YHWH): Comes from a verb which means “to exist, be” – (God is self-existing – He always was, is and is to come – “I AM”).  YHWH when used with other names reveals additional facts about God’s character see bible.org.

It was Adonai who sent Isaiah (chapter 6). Daniel used Adonai in his prayer of confession (chapter 9).

So what does this mean for us? 
One of the leaders of my bible study once said, becoming a Christian isn’t like getting insurance:  Another thing ticked off the list and then you can forget about it and do what you want.

If we are Christians, God should be Adonai of our lives.  We live to please Him!  (2 Corinthians 5:9) 
He should be our master, obeying him in everything. 

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46

It’s when we obey Him that we realise God wants the very best for us even if we don’t see it at the time.  Dogs don’t know that chocolate is very toxic to them (a small amount can kill.)  If we see a dog going for chocolate we will do anything to stop them - acting in their best interest.  They may wonder why we yanked the leash so hard, but it’s only in response to how much energy they are using in trying to get at it.

A master provides everything.  Just like we are our dog’s master (or should be!) our dog doesn’t worry about his next meal, exercise or shelter.  He faithfully expects we will provide it.   So does God – when we make Him our Adonai.  God has promised He will provide all our needs.

It’s not an oppressive thing like we may think but a truly liberating one.

When we acknowledge that God is Adonai in all areas of our lives and let Him have control: then it is freeing, knowing Adonai wants the best for us and loves us so much.

Dog owners may find this concept easier to grasp.

We can be like dogs – fighting for the top dog position but when a dog gives it up, you know as an owner how much more relaxed and balanced they are. 
If they are nervous or anxious they want and look for you to take control or they will be unstable. 
If a dog tries to be top dog it’s because they know someone has to be top dog.  They aren’t relaxed or happy if they have to take the job, they would much prefer it if you took charge although they don’t know that until after they give it up. 
We also know it has to be a daily thing being a top dog.  In the same way we have to daily give it over to Adonai.

Do you know Adonai?
Is God Adonai in all areas of your life?

Let Adonai "take the wheel"

Elohim.  As this is the first name used in the bible (Genesis 1:1)
I thought we’d start with
Elohim – Creator and Judge 

Hamish has many names and sometimes one name but many meanings!  HAMISH can be shouted when I am angry at him, whispered when I am endeared by him.  Hamish is also known as rascal, NO, cutie and given his full name when I mean business – Hamish Ponton!

God is perfect so all His names have positive, unique and amazing meanings. In the bible different names are given to God; sometimes modern translations take out the nuances of the original names.  These different names help us to appreciate, worship and better understand the different attributes, abilities and nature of God. 
Meanings of names were very important in the bible as it showed who you were as a person.

I bought 6 Christmas baubles of God’s names which I will share with you what I found in my study to be the basic meaning of those names.  But there are many more names of God.  Maybe next Christmas I will make some more.
I urge you to do a full study on God’s names – it’s really interesting and enlightening.

There are many different places you can start (strong’s exhaustive concordance is one), but here are a couple of many websites which I found helpful in studying the names of God.
www.blueletterbible.org
www.myredeemerlives.com (loads more info on Elohim)


Elohim – Creator and Judge  ‘El’ means mighty or strong.  Elohim is the masculine plural Hebrew noun of El or “Eloah”.  This does not mean there are many gods as the usage is mainly within singular verb, adjectives and pronouns.
Many believe it to be plural in majesty and the intimation of the trinity.
Elohim is used in the Old Testament over 2200 times.

Some verses where Elohim is used - (Isa. 54:5, 45:22; Jer. 32:27; Gen. 1:1, 1:27, 6:13, 9:12; Isa. 45:18; Deut. 5:23; 8:15, 4:39, 32:39; Ps. 68:7; Ex. 20:2-3 ).

So how does all this help us?  There was no big bang or random events.  God is the one and only - creator of all heaven and earth and of you and me.  God was and is and is to come.  There is no one and nothing greater than God.

We can also give everything over to Elohim knowing He is the perfect judge.  We can leave that hurtful situation with Him, He knows each heart.

There will be a judgment day when everything will be judged by Elohim – all the injustices of this world; the evil people that seem to have gotten away with it, will not on that day. 
If you are a Christian we do not fear the judgment day, as we are not under condemnation of judgment of sin anymore, (John 5:24) but we will have to give an account of what we did in our life, to Christ.

Do you need to trust Elohim today? 
Trust and know that Elohim made the earth and it wasn’t a random series of events?
Believe that Elohim is the perfect judge so you can trust Him?
Or do you need to come and know God personally so you do not need to fear the judgment day?