The Lord Almighty

James 5:4-5 - Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

Genesis 17:1 - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

Ezekiel 16:49 - " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

Jeremiah 12:3 - Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

Luke 16:22-23,30 - "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side…" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

Conclusions:

• Thirteen years had passed since Ishmael’s birth
• The Hebrew for God Almighty (El Shaddai) perhaps means “God, the Mountain One”, either highlighting the invincible power of God or referring to the mountains as God’s symbolic home
• God Almighty was the special name by which God revealed Himself to the patriarchs
• After Abram’s and Sarah’s attempt to obtain the promised offspring by using a surrogate mother, God appeared to Abram
• The Lord made it clear that if Abram was to receive God’s promised and covenanted benefits, he must be God’s faithful and obedient servant
• Abram’s faith must be accompanied by the obedience that comes from faith
• The sin of your sister Sodom highlights social injustice rather than immoral perversion
• Jeremiah asks that his wicked countrymen receive the fate they had sought for him
• Jeremiah’s request arises not so much out of a desire for revenge as the vindication of God’s righteousness
• The Talmud mentions both paradise and Abraham’s side as the home of the righteous
• Abraham’s side refers to the place of blessedness to which the righteous dead go to await future vindication
• Its bliss is the quality of blessedness reserved for people like Abraham
• Hades is the place to which the wicked dead go to await final judgment
• That torment begins in Hades is evident from the plight of the rich man
• The location of Abraham’s side is not specified, but it is separated from Hades by an impassable chasm
• Hades includes the torment that characterizes hell
• Some understand Jesus description of Abraham’s side and Hades in a less literal way
• The story of the rich man and Lazarus may suggest that Lazarus was intended, but Luke’s account seems to imply that Jesus was speaking also of His own resurrection
• If a person’s mind is closed and Scripture is rejected, no evidence—not even a resurrection—will change him

Application:

• Are you God's faithful and obedient servant?
• Are you arrogant, overfed and unconcerned?
• Do you seek vindication of God's righteousness?
• Are you prepared to go to the place of blessedness?
• Are you doing what you need to do to keep from being tormented for eternity?
• Is your mind closed?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible