Chapter 6: Adonai - Lord & Master

I thought I might take a moment before we get to our study on Chapter 6 to explain a few things...
If you're following along and don't see many comments after the chapter summary, please don't take this as a sign that no one is really doing the study!!  You are not alone here!  In fact, many more ladies are following and doing this study that the names & faces you see to the right of the post!

In fact, I get comments via Facebook & email all the time regarding what ladies are learning about their God as a result of this Bible study!  I think that this particular study becomes very personal rather quickly.  And therefore, perhaps women are not as willing to be vulnerable to the world wide web.

I completely understand this and applaud you for not airing all of your skeletons to strangers.  But if you so desire to comment - I welcome them in any way you want to send them.  And even if you don't want to comment - that's okay too - as long as your making your comments to the Lord - you're on the right track!

Now on with Chapter 6 - Adonai

Before we get too far into this chapter's lesson, I want to ask you two very important questions...

What are the things that you own?

(don't over spiritualize this - just think about the things in your life that you would attach the word, Mine, to)

Do you have any areas in your life where you would say, "Lord, I can't"?

(this could be about places you would go, things you would do, people you would love, etc)

Okay - hang on to those questions and answers and let them bake in your mind for a bit while we back up and learn a little more about this particular name for God - Adonai.

Whenever you see, "Lord", in scripture (written in exactly like this - capital L, smaller uppercase ord) it means, Adonai, meaning Master or more simply owner.  If you see, LORD, (written in all caps) it means God or Yahweh.

The first time we read about Adonai is with Abram - (yes, again with Abram!).  Abram is asking God what He will give him since he is still childless.  Will He make Eliezer of Damascus his heir?

The interesting thing here is that Eliezer was Abram's bondslave (not a hired slave).  A bond servant or slave was far better off than a hired servant because his master provided for his every need!

Ladies, as believers, as Christians, we are bondslaves to the Lord.  Slave?  How in the world could this be a good thing?  Well, for one, just as we see with Abram - you are welcomed in as a member of the family and are totally provided for by the Master. 

Kay then had us read several scriptures where we saw the benefit of having God as our Master.

I've listed them below.  Please take a moment to read them (or review them from your personal workbook) and see the benefits and/or responsibilities of living under this kind of authority.

Psalm 89:50-51;     Psalm 141:8-10;     Psalm 119:125;     
Judges 6:14-16

Then we looked at some verses about all that God is Adonai (Master) over:

Deuteronomy 9:26;    1 Kings 2:26;    Psalm 2:4;    
Psalm 8:1, 6-8;    Psalm 37:12-13

I want to specifically draw your attention to Psalm 8:1, 6-8 (just in case you gave up with all the Bible calisthenics)...  Here we see that the Lord is ruler, Master, over EVERYTHING!  If you listed them out in your workbook you probably wrote down: works of Your hands (which is everything), flocks, herds, beasts, birds, fish.  This doesn't leave room for anything to be left out of the Lord's dominion, does it?!

Are you ready to call the Lord, your Master?  Are you ready to hand it all over to Him?  Because quite frankly, my sweet sisters - He already owns everything that you are currently calling, "Mine!"

Go back to the first question that I asked you at the beginning of this session.  "What are the things that you own?"  Did you know that the Lord, Adonai already owns everything?  You are just a steward of what belongs to Him.  This includes your house, your car, your washing machine, and yes, even your children!  They do not belong to you - they belong to God.  And He is allowing you to temporarily take care of them.

How does this make you feel?

In a way, it kind of puts things in a better perspective if you think about it.  Ownership is not always what it's cracked up to be.  Ownership demands maintenance and repairs and much attention and provision.

Okay, I know that we could stop right here and chew on this information for a while - but there's one more thing I want you to see with Adonai.  And it's something that Abram kind of missed when he called the Lord, Adonai.  See, Adonai means Master, meaning I am completely submissive to your direction, God.  And yet, Abram saw his areas of lacking while trying to call the Lord, Master.

If your Master is telling you to do something, He is going to provide you with what you need to do the task!  Remember when we were saying that a bond servant was treated like a member of the family and the Master had to completely provide for the servant's needs?  It is an incompatible statement to say, "Lord (Adonai), I can't do that!" - when He's told you to do it!

Are you submissive or not?  Are you allowing Him to be your Master or not?  Another incompatible statement is, "Lord, I don't want to!"  

If He is truly your Lord,  your Master, you don't get to put your wants above His instructions and directions for your life!!!

Did you know that a Master can demand respect & obedience?  This is kind of the nature of "Master".  But I want to show you where God addresses this in scripture:  

Malachi 1:6

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master.  Then if I am a father, where is My honor?And if I am master, where is My respect?" says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.

We are to honor, respect, and obey the Lord as the Master, the owner of our entire life. 

I want to end our time together with 3 things that a person who knows God as their Adonai will do:

(this was taken from Ken Hemphill's, The Names of God)

1.  They know God is the owner of their entire life and consider it a privilege to serve Him

2.  They know that their Master will supply everything in order for them to do what He has called them to do.

3.  They can do whatever God (Adonai) calls them to do.  

(In other words, they never say, "Lord, I can't.")

I want to close with the Memory Verse that Kay gives us at the end of the chapter.  Take a moment and look it up in your own Bible, pray over and make it personal.

Psalm 16:2, I said to the Lord, "Thou art my Lord (Adonai); I have no good besides Thee."

Points of discussion for the Comment Section:

1.  How do you feel about God, Adonai, owning EVERYTHING - which includes you, your things, and your family members, and friends?

2.  Have you ever said, "Lord, I can't!" or "Lord, I don't want to?"  What were the results of those circumstances?

3.  What kind of comfort does it bring you that as your Adonai, He will supply you will your every need?

4.  Point to ponder - knowing God as your Adonai puts you in a position (bowed down) to actually see Him as your El Shaddai (nourisher, provider, all sufficient).  Have you experienced this?

I'm super proud of your faithfulness to learn and get to know your God!

Your sis in the faith,

pen