El Shaddai: The God of the Wilderness

Let's keep exploring some other names of God given in the Bible. Today, let's study El Shaddai, which means "God Almighty" or "God of the Wilderness." This name shows up 48 times in the Old Testament. The first time it's used is in Genesis 17:1: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me and be blameless.’”

It was about 20 years earlier when God made His original promise to Abram (who would have his name changed to Abraham). Although Abram and his wife had no children, God promised that Abram would be the father of a great nation and that the whole world would be blessed through him. Almost two decades later, God's promise still hadn't happened. But then El Shaddai showed up. The God of the impossible. One scholar says that it's connected to a similar word that means breast, implying that El Shaddai shows us not just God's power, but His power to provide, nourish, strengthen, and satisfy us.

Another scholar sees a connection between El Shaddai and the Hebrew word for wilderness, field, or mountain. He believes El Shaddai should more correctly be understood as the “God of the Mountains” or the “God of the Wilderness.”

Whatever the meaning is (I think it's shades of each of these descriptions), El Shaddai tells us that God Almighty is above all other created things. He was not created. All things exist because of Him and for Him. El Shaddai is a personal God, because He met with Abraham. He's a holy God, because Abraham fell down in worship. El Shaddai is also a God of life change. Abram got a new name that day. And God did the impossible and made Abraham the father of many nations. El Shaddai can give you a new identity, write a new story, and give you the nourishment and fulfillment your soul craves, whether you're in the wilderness or on top of the mountain. That's the God we serve!