The Names of God
07/15/2001 - El Elyon, "God Most High"
This morning we begin a brand new series that's going to take us through the summer months. It's a series we're calling The Names of God and it's going to help us all get to know God better. And that's what Jesus wants for each and every one of us, to get to know God. That's what he prayed for in John 17:3 when he said, Now this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. So this series is part of God's answer to Jesus' prayer 2,000 years ago. It's our opportunity to get to know the only true God.
Eternal life, Jesus said, is not just about living forever. Everybody is going to live forever somewhere. Eternal life is about enjoying a deep, personal relationship with the God of the universe right here, right now, the kind of relationship that will go on forever and ever and get better and better the more we know him, not just in our heads but in our experience as well.
And to get to know God better this summer, we're going to look at some of his names. Did you that God has more than one name? He's not just God. He's God Most High, El Elyon. He's God Almighty, El Shaddai. He's the Lord who Provides, Jehovah Jireh. He's the Lord who Heals, Jehovah Rophi. He's the Lord our Banner, Jehovah Nissi. He's the Lord of Hosts, Jehovah Tsebaioth. He's the Lord our Peace, Jehovah Shalom. He's the Lord our Shepherd, Jehovah Rohi. And he's Immanuel, God With Us. All told there are twenty-three compound names of God in the Bible, as well as more than forty compound names of Jehovah, Lord. This summer we're going to look at nine of them.
Each one of God's names tells us something about his character, something about God that we can depend on, that we can take to the bank and build our life on. And each one of his names is revealed in a classic story found in the Older Testament. Stories that the boy Jesus learned growing up from his mom and dad that inspired his own faith in God. So one reason I'm looking forward to this series is because it's going to get us into the Old Testament, books like Genesis and Exodus, which have so much value for our lives today.
Names are funny things aren't they? Often they tell us a lot about the person or thing being named. Last week, on the 4th of July we were out at Cedar Point Park in Sandusky, Ohio, voted the best amusement park in the world, 14 roller coasters, 68 rides, and millions of people with lines up to two hours long. But if you like roller coasters, and I do, it is roller coaster heaven! And each one has a name that describes the thrill of that ride. There is Mean Streak and Magnum XL-200 , Iron Dragon, Corkscrew and Raptor . But the mother of all coasters, the tallest, fastest one in the universe when it was built last year, over 30 stories high, with an 80 degree drop, 93 miles an hour, is not even called a roller coaster, not even a mega-coaster, it's called a giga-coaster and it's name is Millennium Force . And after I survived it, I thought that's not the best name for this coaster. It probably should be called "Suicide" because that's what you feel like you're committing when you're at the very top looking down 310 feet!
Sometimes names tell us a lot about the thing named and really seem to fit. And other times they don't seem to fit at all. Like the newspaper ad that read, "Lost-one dog, brown hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken in an auto accident. Rear left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dogfight. Answers to the name 'Lucky.'"
But when it comes to God his names do fit and they tell us a lot about his character. And each one of his names is revealed when one of his people is going through a crisis experience. Because so often it's when we're hurting, when we're suffering, when we're going through hard times that God makes himself known to us in ways that we never knew him before.
God could have just announced, "I am God Most High. I am God Almighty. I will provide. I will heal. I'll be your banner. I'll be your peace. I'll be your shepherd. I'll be with you." Memorize the list. That's who I am. Just like a parent could say to their children, "I'm your mom. I'm your dad. I love you. I'm patient. I'm kind. I'll take care of you. I'll forgive you. I'll watch over you. Any questions?" Memorize the list. That's me.
But that's not how a child gets to know it's parents. A child wouldn't understand those things by just memorizing a list. They need to experience their parents love during a time of crisis. They need to feel mom or dad scoop them up in their arms after they fall off their bike on the sidewalk and scrap their knee. And mom or dad hugs them close and dries their tears and puts a Toy Story 2 Band-Aid on the cut. Then they know, from their experience, not from the list, that mom or dad loves them.
So God, our heavenly Father, reveals his character in times of crisis and then gives himself a name to remind us what that characteristic is. And so today we want to look at the first name on our list, the name El Elyon, "God Most High." It first appears in Genesis 14.
Up to this point in the Bible, God has identified himself with just two names. The first is Elohim and it simply means "God," "Supreme Being." It's the name he uses in Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. You'll notice that the prefix El on El Elyon and El Shaddai stands for God.
The second is the name Yahweh or Jehovah and it means "Lord." It appears in Genesis 2:15, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. In this verse we have both names Lord and God. So the prefix Jehovah on a name like Jehovah Jireh means "the Lord provides."
Now when we trace these two basic names for God through the whole Bible we discover something very interesting. When God refers to himself as Elohim he's often emphasizing his power, his transcendence, his relationship to all people on the earth as their creator. It's the word God uses to show how big and powerful he is. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
But when he refers to himself as Jehovah he's often emphasizing his love, his immanence, his concern for individuals, his desire to have a relationship with us. It's the word God uses to show how loving and personal he is. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. It's the name God most often uses when he's talking to people. The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18
So those are the two basic names for God in the Bible: Elohim and Jehovah. And now in Genesis 14, God wants us to get to know another part of his character. He wants to reveal more of himself to us.
In my Bible, Genesis 14 has a title, it's called Abram Rescues Lot. Let's start with a little background. Abram, who later became Abraham, was the man that God chose to start a nation that would represent God on the earth. Eventually it would be called the nation of Israel. The Bible calls Abraham "the father of all who believe." If you're a believer in Jesus Christ this morning, Abraham is your spiritual father. He set the standard for faith.
In Genesis 12:1, we have the call of Abram. The Lord (Jehovah) had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." We don't know exactly how the Lord delivered this message, whether it came as a dream or a vision, an audible call or a telephone call. But Abram got the message. He was to leave everything he knew, his country, his culture, his people, his job, his relatives and follow God to Siberia for all he knew. God didn't tell him where he was going.
How's that for faith? "Sell your house, quit your job, load all your stuff in a U-Haul trailer, turn the key, start driving and I'll tell you where we're going when we get there! And, oh yeah, you're never coming back here again!" That's a faith risk and Abram took it.
And God honored him for it and made him this promise in Genesis 12:2, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." And that promise of God made 4,000 years ago is still in force today.
Abram took the risk, at seventy-five years old, and did what God said. He took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, Lot, and a bunch of his servants and started walking 850 miles west, the distance from here to Chicago.
He eventually came to the Promised Land and built an altar at a place called Bethel. And after a detour in Egypt he finally settled in Hebron, a city about twenty miles south of Jerusalem. Today Hebron's often on the news. It's a hot spot of conflict between Arabs and Israelis in the West Bank. Abram pitched his tent in Hebron and his nephew, Lot, pitched his tent about forty miles southeast near the wicked city of Sodom. And that's where we find them when we come to Genesis 14.
Look at Genesis 14:1-4, At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
What we have in Genesis 14 is the first war ever recorded in human history. Four Eastern kings under Kedorlaomer the king of Elam against five Jordanian kings under Bera the king of Sodom. The five kings are fighting in their own backyard, around the Dead Sea. They have home field advantage. The four kings have marched almost 200 miles to squash this rebellion. They're hot. They're tired. They're thirsty. They're overmatched. The crowd's against them. But it doesn't matter. They win anyway.
Look at verses 10-12, Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
But one of them escaped, verse 13 says, and came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. And when Abram hears that his nephew's a POW he rallies the troops and goes out to get him. Look at verses 14-16, When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Abram takes his militia of 318 commandos marches them about 140 miles up "the kings highway" all the way to Dan, the northern border of the Promised Land, and stages a night raid that completely destroys the enemy. He recovers everything that was lost, brings back Lot and all his stuff, along with everyone else from Sodom and Gomorrah who was captured. It's a total victory! An upset! And Abram's a hero! He's the General Swarzkopf of his day! And God fulfills his promise to bless Abram, make his name great, and curse those who oppose him. Abram is now a force to be reckoned with.
And when he gets back to the Promised Land something very interesting happens. He's met by two kings, the king of Sodom and the king of Salem. Look at verses 17-18, After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.
Melchizedek was the king of Salem, or what we call today Jerusalem. His name means "king of righteousness." He's a mysterious figure in the Bible. He only appears in this verse, in Psalm 110, and in the book of Hebrews. He's a heavy spiritual hitter, both a king and priest of God Most High, but we don't know anything about him. In a book like Genesis that's filled with genealogies and family trees, Melchizedek is anonymous. Which is why many believe that he's a theophany, which means he's really an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus is a priest and the king of righteousness. Abram recognizes him as a spiritual leader, receives a blessing from Melchizedek and pays him a tithe.
Look at verses 19-20, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by El Elyon, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be El Elyon, God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Acting as a king he received a tenth of everything Abram had. Acting as a priest he shared a communion meal with him of bread and wine, the elements we still use today for communion. And he gave God a new name, El Elyon, God Most High.
After Abram encounters Melchizedek, he's met by the king of Sodom who ran from the battle that Abram won. And in verse 21 he says, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." And you might expect Abram to say, "Okay. That sounds like a good deal. You take the people. I don't need all that responsibility. I'll take the stuff and get rich. I earned it."
But that's not what he says. Instead Abram says to the king in verse 22, "No way! I have raised my hand to Jehovah, the Lord, El Elyon, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."
What's going on here? I'll tell you what's going on here, Abram's being tempted, with as strong a temptation as anyone of us could face. He's being offered a ton of wealth by a wicked, evil king. We're not just talking about a cart full of groceries here. We're talking about wealth from two city-states, Sodom and Gomorrah, thousands of cattle, sheep, camels, donkeys, weapons, clothing, furnishings, treasures of gold, silver, diamonds and jewels. Who wants to be a millionaire? It's all right here for the taking.
Abram's at a crossroads. "Am I going to live for God or am I going to live for the things of this world?" The text may be a little fuzzy to us, but it wasn't to Abram. He knows what's at stake. He doesn't want the world to get its grip on him. If he's going to get rich, it's going to be a God thing. He doesn't want the wicked king of Sodom running around saying I made Abram rich. What mattered most to Abram was not his wealth, but the reputation of his God. In effect he's saying, "I'm giving everything back to you, Bera. My God owns it all anyway. If he wants to make me wealthy, that's fine. But I don't want you saying that you made me rich."
And where did Abram get the strength to be able to do that? To be that detached from the world? He got it from a fresh revelation of God. He got it from El Elyon, the God Most High. When Melchizedek blessed him and gave him that new insight on God's character he was saying, "Abram, your God is not just the God above all other gods. He's the creator of the entire universe. Everything in it belongs to him. He owns it all, all the wealth, all the cattle, all the possessions. He's in control of everything around you. Trust him to take care of you."
Which is why Abram immediately raised his hand and took an oath that he would not accept a single shoelace from Sodom. Instead, he put himself completely in God's care.
Does that mean we shouldn't work for a living and just trust God to care for us? No. Does that mean we can't accept gifts from other people? No. What it means is that our life is to be driven by a passion to please God more than a passion to possess goods. And if it is El Elyon will take care of us. You see, everyday all of us are approached by two kings, the king of righteousness and the king of Sodom. Which one do we listen to?
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:19-20,33, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal ... Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Everything in this world will rust, rot or get ripped off. So don't live for it, Jesus says, live for God's kingdom and his righteousness and El Elyon, God Most High, will take care of you.
In May, a few of us from Valley View went to the Philadelphia Leadership Prayer Breakfast. The speaker was Bob Buford, the author of a book called Half Time . Bob Buford made a ton of money supplying cable television to all of New York City. But then he had a crisis, his son suddenly drowned in a swimming accident and it changed his life. It caused him to do a lot of soul searching. And eventually he left the marketplace and now devotes his life to using his money to help further the work of God. He's got quite a story.
And at the breakfast he challenged all of us to access what we're living for. He told us to draw a box and put in the box the most important thing in our lives. Money, ourselves, our kids, our job, or Jesus. Then he said, "I believe that God has a final exam. And it has just two questions. The first is what did you do with my Son Jesus? And the second is what did you do with your life?" And at that point we all what to hear God say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." But what he might say to some of us is, "So what?" What will he say to you?