Jun. 09, 2021

“THE POWERFUL NAMES OF GOD”

“EL ELYON-THE MOST HIGH GOD”

GENESIS 14:19-20

Without Hope:

Abram receives word about the events and puts together a rescue mission.

Genesis 14:14-16 “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.”

Peace:

Genesis 14:18 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.”

Melchizedek was king of Salem. Translated, the name Salem aligns with the Hebrew word shalem, which means “peace.” A derivative of shalem is shalowm, which means “complete,” “sound,” “content,” and also “peace.”

The king of peace brought bread and wine to Abram. He came as the priest El Elyon, God Most High, and blessed Abram.

Genesis 14:18-20 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.”

To this Abram replied and acknowledged El Elyon by saying:

Genesis 14:22 “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 57:2 “I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.”

Why is this truth so important to us today?

Knowing the name El Elyon and what it means helps you to understand that you’re never to elevate people, places, or circumstances above their appropriate level. No one but God is to be your final court of appeals. He is the one who has the final say-so.

When you lift someone else or some other situation higher than God, you create an idol.

Sharing God’s Glory:

Genesis 14:21-24 “Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” 

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”

A Priest and a King:

Genesis 14:20 “And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands, and gave him a tithe of all”

Melchizedek was more than a king, He was also a priest. A priest’s job is to stand between God and the people and be the point of communication from God to the people and from the people back to God again.

God is your Source, everything else is a resource!!

The principle is simply this; You only have one Source. And one of the worst things you or I could ever do is to treat a resource as if it were our Source. God is the owner, the Most High over all, so He is the possessor of everything on heaven and earth. He is the Source. Everything else is merely a resource at His disposal.

When Abram recognized God as the one who had delivered him and brought about the victory in the battle, Abram “gave him a tithe of all” or a tenth.

To tithe is to demonstrate to God that He owns you-that you want Him to own you, to be responsible for you. It’s acknowledging that He is your Source.

Jesus, the Great High Priest:

Hebrews tells us even more about the role Jesus plays in bringing us to the Father.

Hebrews 5:9-10 “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 

Hebrews 7:1-3 “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

He is the High and Mighty God, the possessor of heaven and earth.