Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Adonai As we reflect on the numerous names of God, we come to an important one here in the Book of Judges as Gideon asks the Lord, "How can I save Israel?" Gideon addresses the Lord with the word adonai, and it's a word worth exploring. You may be surprised to know that adonai is a word that is often applied to various people in the Old Testament. Abraham's servant, Eliezer, uses it to address his master several times in Genesis 24. This title was also applied to Pharaoh (Genesis 40:1). Hannah addressed Eli the priest as adonai (1 Samuel 1:15), and it was also what Saul's servants called him (1 Samuel 16:16). Check out the variety there. You have a patriarch, a pagan pharaoh, a priest, and a king. Yet all of them are called "adonai" at one time or another. What's the common thread? In each case where adonai is used, the term indicates authority. It stresses the servile nature of the relationship and acknowledges that the one being addressed has power over the addressee. But when this word is applied to God, like here in the book of Judges, the title becomes a proper name. God's authority is different from the authority other people possess. Their authority is conferred upon them. It's a title they've been given, but it's not who they are in essence. God's authority, however, hasn't been given to Him nor inherited; it's essential to His nature. God's authority over us is such a powerful part of who He is that He's named by the very word that describes that kind of relationship. He is Adonai, our Master, our Ruler, and the One to whom we're absolutely accountable. Where adonai is used, the term indicates authority. It stresses the servile nature of the relationship and acknowledges that the one being addressed has power over the addressee. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?