Adonai, like Elohim, is the plural form of the Hebrew noun. Many writers have used this as a foundation on which to build the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Other scholars take the position that these names represent a plural of majesty, pointing out that this ONE God embodies ALL of the attributes of the many pagan gods worshipped by other peoples.
God is Lord of all lords, Master of all masters. Adonai, conveys the idea of His absolute authority and right to rule. He is the Great Master - the one to whom all honor, respect, allegiance, and obedience are due. The name also personalized the relationship between an individual and the Lord. He is not merely "the great Master" - a ruler in a far-away place - He is "MY great Master" ...mine!
When I call Him "Lord," I acknowledge that I have a close, personal, eternal relationship with Him. I acknowledge that I have a commitment to Him. He is MY Master, and I am His servant.
"Adonai" is the name that stresses man's relationship to God. Adonai - Master - Lord.
Often when we think of the relationship between a master and servant we view it from the servant's perspective. What it means to be a servant. The servant's responsibility to the master. I will speak about this a bit more a little later.
This study, with the help of the psalmists, has allowed me to focus more on the things that Adonai does for His servants... the things that Adonai does for ME.
Psalms 54:4 - He is MY helper and upholds MY life
Psalms 68:19 - He daily bears MY burdens
Psalms 86:4 - He makes ME glad
Psalms 86:5-6 - He is good to ME and forgives ME
Psalms 86:15 - He is merciful and gracious to ME
Psalms 86:15 - He is abounding in love and faithfulness toward ME
Psalms 86:16 - He give HIS strength to ME
Psalms 116:16 - He looses MY bonds
In Psalms 16:2 we find that David exclaimed to the Lord, "You are my [Adonai]; I have no good apart from you."
Why do we have such a hard time with the concept of servant? There are many that might argue that our aversion is the result of our country's history with slavery, but if feel it has more to do with what other countries may describe as our attitude of entitlement. While I thing the later probably comes closest to explaining some of our negative feelings, I believe its more than that. I believe for many the word "servant" is defined as demeaning, belittling, not something to be aspired to. It is this attitude that makes it hard for us to understand our position as servants of the Lord. Perhaps that's why we so often get things reversed, treating God as though He were there to do our bidding. That His divine power was there to further our plans.
Help me become like the servants the psalmist describes in Psalm 123:1-2
"I life my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. Like a servant's eyes on his master's hand, like a servant girl's eyes on her mistress's hand, so [my] eyes are on the Lord [my] God until He shows [me] favor.
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