Elohim speaks of God of creation. He is the God of the universe. He created the universe, He set the stars in motion and told the water just how far it could go so as to have dry land. But Adonai speaks of His right to rule and reign over us. You know God has that right, just because He created us and this world anyway. But while God is Jealous for you and He wants to be Lord of your life, He gives us the right to decide that or not. And that is where Adonai comes in. If we recognize Him as Lord of our life He is our Adonai. And while you may or may not have heard that term prior to this study anytime you have given it all to Him, surrendered your life to Him, I think that is what He heard.
Adonai is a Hebrew word. I read that the Jews of the day felt that using the name Jehovah or Yahweh was too holy. They would replace that name of God for Adonai because they thought that it was disrespectful to call God Jehovah or Yahweh, that God was too great for them to use the term. I find that interesting because Adonai is such a personal term to me. It speaks of His rights to rule over us and that we are giving Him total submission. I also read that when the term Adon is used which is the singular form of lord and speaks to the relationship between a master and slave that the relationship was always one of protection by the master and loyalty by the slave. While the master may have had the rights to rule and reign over the slave, he treated the slave with respect and love and gave protection to the slave, and in turn the slave would be loyal and would feel the protection and not fear of the master. It was a relationship when this term was used.
Let’s look quickly at another place that someone used Adonai in the Bible. We will look today at Moses. He had grown up as an adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. But even with all the privilege that would have given him, Moses still felt drawn to the Israelites, because he was one of them. One day Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave so Moses killed him. When this was found out Moses feared for his life so he fled Egypt and went to Midian. Many years later when God hears the groaning of the Israelites, He appears to Moses in a burning bush to tell him that He will send him back to Egypt to free the Israelites from Pharaoh. As if a bush burning, in the dessert that was not burning up mind you, is not enough to make you do whatever God is asking of you, Moses argues with God about sending him. However, even when he is arguing with God, he still is recognizing God’s lordship over his life. God gave him other signs to prove that He really was sending him and still Moses argued.
“But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh my Lord, (Adonai), I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue.’” Exodus 4:10
Moses clearly knew he was arguing with God. How many times when I feel like the Lord is leading me to do something do I argue with Him even when I clearly know that it is Him I am arguing with? More than I’d like to admit I can tell you. However, when I look backwards at my life at the things God asked me to do that had me shaking in my flip flops, I can now see the hand of God clearly on my life as He carried out my assignment through me and many times in spite of me. Oh that I would do better. Oh that I would just go ahead and submit and not argue and that I would know that whatever He is asking me to do He will see it through and all I have to say is My Adonai!
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
Lord please use me, this jar of clay, and show your surpassing power through me.
Restore 