God Almighty (17:1-2)
Revelation. The Hebrew name is El Shaddai (shuh-DYE), and this is the first time it occurs in Scripture. Shaddai is translated as “Almighty” forty-eight times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the Greek equivalent is used in 2 Corinthians 6:18 and Revelation 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7 and 14; 19:6 and 15; and 21:22. It is translated “Almighty” except in Revelation 19:6 (“omnipotent”).
El is the name of God that speaks of power; but what does Shaddai mean? Scholars do not agree. Some say it comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to be strong”; others prefer a word meaning “mountain” or “breast.” Metaphorically, a mountain is a “breast” that rises up from the plain, and certainly a mountain is a symbol of strength. If we combine these several ideas, we might say that El Shaddai is the name of “the all-powerful and all-sufficient God who can do anything and meet any need.”
But why would God reveal this name to Abraham at this time, at the close of thirteen years of silence? Because God was going to tell His friend that Sarah would have a son. The Lord wanted Abraham to know that He is the God who is all-sufficient and all-powerful, and that nothing is too hard for Him. God says “I will” twelve times in this chapter; He is about to do the miraculous.
After Abraham’s battle with the four kings, God came to him as a warrior and told him He was his “shield.” When Abraham wondered about his refusal of Sodom’s wealth, God told him He was his “exceedingly great reward” (Gen. 15:1 nkjv). Now when Abraham and Sarah were “as good as dead,” God assured them that He was more than sufficient to bring about the miracle birth. God comes to us in the ways we need Him most.
Responsibility. Revelation always brings responsibility. Enoch and Noah had walked with God (5:22; 6:8-9), but Abraham was to walk before God, that is, live in the knowledge that the eyes of God were always upon him (Heb. 4:13). The word perfect does not mean “sinless,” for that would be an impossible goal for anyone to reach (1 Kings 8:46). The word means “single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to the Lord.” In Exodus 12:5, the word refers to a “perfect” sacrifice without blemish. It was a call for integrity.
This is not to suggest that God’s people should settle for anything less than striving to conform to His will. “His desire for us should be our aim and desire for ourselves,” wrote Alexander Maclaren. “It is more blessed to be smitten with the longing to win the unwon than to stagnate in ignoble contentment with partial attainments. Better to climb, with faces turned upwards to the inaccessible peak, than to lie at ease in the fat valleys” (Expositions of Holy Scripture, vol. 1 [Baker Book House, 1974], 120).
The secret of a perfect walk before God is a personal worship of God. Like Abraham, every believer must fall before the Lord and yield everything to Him. If He is El Shaddai–“God Almighty”–then who are we to resist His will?
Relationship. The phrase “My covenant” is used nine times in this chapter and defines God’s relationship with Abraham. This was not another covenant, different from the one God had already established with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-21). It was a reaffirmation of that covenant, with the important addition of circumcision, the sign and seal of the covenant.
God promised once again to multiply Abraham’s family, even though he and his wife did not have any children. His descendants would be “as the dust of the earth” (13:16) and as the stars of the heavens (15:5). These two comparisons–earth and heaven–suggest that Abraham would have a physical family, the Jews (Matt. 3:9), and a spiritual family made up of all who believe in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:26-29).