El Elyon: God Most High Unit 1: Divine Titles of God

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El Elyon: God Most High Unit 1: Divine Titles of God SESSION 1 Scripture Focus Genesis 14:17 15:6 The Word to Live By The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens (Psalm

1 El Elyon: God Most High Unit 1: Divine Titles of God SESSION 1 Scripture Focus Genesis 14:17 15:6 The Word to Live By The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens (Psalm 113:4). Session Truth God, our sovereign Creator, has proven himself trustworthy. Melchizedek blessing Abraham. By offering Abraham bread and wine and blessing him in the name of God Most High, Melchizedek mediated God s grace to Abraham so that the patriarch could, in turn, bless others through his descendants. Living By Faith My paternal grandmother was tall, dark, and skinny, with big holes in her earlobes from where she wore heavy earrings before turning to evangelical faith from her Syrian Orthodox background. She was very poor (as my parents were), but she always had a happy smile and a powerful voice when she prayed. She didn t have any education, but memorized Scripture passages she heard in the local church. Though my memory of her is very distant, I still hear her quoting Hebrews 10:36-38 every time she prayed: You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. And, But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. Though her life was filled with troubles, scarcity of resources, and ill-health, my grandmother was deeply resolved to live by faith and not shrink back, because she was certain that the One who promised to come would come and would not delay in 2 September 6, 2015 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

2 His promises. This is what it means to live by faith; and as both my grandmother and the patriarch Abraham learned, it is the sort of life to which all believers are called. Scripture Exposition Abraham s Meeting with the King of Salem Genesis 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). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. AFTER A LONG journey that took him from Haran to Canaan, Abraham was ready to live a life of quietness and peace in his tent, which he pitched near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron (Genesis 13:18). (Note: The patriarch s given name was Abram, as the text indicates. However, the Lord later changed his name to Abraham, and most modern readers know him by that name. Thus, for the sake of clarity, we will refer to him as Abraham throughout this session s exposition.) But the news about the capture of his nephew Lot by Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies, disrupted Abraham s peaceful world; he responded quickly and carried out a successful rescue mission. On his way back from rescuing Lot he met two strangers, both of them kings the king of Sodom, who fled before the powerful alliance of Kedorlaomer, and Melchizedek, the king of Salem. These two strangers had different agendas for their meeting with Abraham. The biblical narrator quickly moves to the Abraham-Melchizedek encounter, though the king of Sodom was the first one introduced in the story. Abraham s meeting with Melchizedek is clouded in mystery. Though we do not have any clear information about Melchizedek s background or identity, most scholars think that Melchizedek was a Canaanite priest and king. However, Genesis 14:17-20 focuses not so much on who Melchizedek was, but on what he did and said. The first thing this stranger did was offer Abraham bread and wine to refresh him and give him strength as he returned from a hard-fought battle. Then Melchizedek blessed Abraham in the name of God Most High, Creator of SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER September 6,

3 WORDpicture When people forget our names, at least we know God never has and never will. But what about God s name? Do we even know it, really? This week s Illustrated Bible Life article examines God s Personal Name and how understanding the meaning of this Name enriches our understanding of our Creator and Lord. heaven and earth (v 19) in the context of that meal. The title God Most High (El Elyon) was most likely a common reference to God in the world of Abraham; Abraham himself took an oath by that name prior to his meeting with Melchizedek (see 14:22). The idea conveyed by this name is the God above all gods. This is significant because Abraham lived in a world of competing religious claims about gods who had supposedly created the heavens and the earth; in that context, Melchizedek s reference to El Elyon as the creator of heaven and earth was a rejection of the claims of all other peoples. In this way, Abraham, who was called to mediate God s blessings to all peoples on earth (12:3), became the recipient of a blessing pronounced upon him by a local priest. The final thing Melchizedek did was praise God Most High, who gave victory to Abraham in his battle against his enemies. Abraham responded to the priestly blessing and praise by giving Melchizedek a tenth of everything (v. 20). What Abraham gave as a tenth (tithe) were the spoils of war the goods he had recaptured from the alliance of kings who took Lot captive. By this action, Abraham acknowledged the truth Melchizedek proclaimed: Abraham s victory was indeed made possible by God, creator of heaven and earth, the source of his life and blessing. Abraham s Meeting with the King of Sodom Genesis The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself. 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich. 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share. ABRAHAM S meeting with the king of Sodom sharply contrasts with his meeting with Melchizedek. Unlike Melchizedek, who blessed Abra- 4 September 6, 2015 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

4 ham in the name of El Elyon, the king of Sodom offered to make Abraham wealthy he wanted the people Abraham had rescued, including Lot. This is the way people with power and wealth operate even today: They want to show the world that they have the power to help others get ahead through their pretentious acts of power and generosity. Abraham took an uncompromising stand against the king s offer to make him wealthy. Instead of accepting wealth from a human king, Abraham made the faith claim that the the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth (v. 22) was the true source of his blessing and wealth. Abraham made it clear to the king of Sodom that he trusted in the Lord he knew His name and had taken an oath by it. Abraham showed his faith by stating that God was the only source of all he had and all he would have in life and claimed that everything in life came to him from this God as gracious gifts. Abraham left a world of polytheism (belief in many gods) in obedient response to the Lord (Yahweh). He worshipped the Lord wherever he pitched his tent (see 12:1-3, 7-8; 13:18), and his cultural and religious interaction with Canaanites (and Melchizedek in particular) did not cause him to blindly accept the religious beliefs of his new land. Though Melchizedek blessed Abraham in the name of God Most High, Abraham claimed that Yahweh alone was the Most High God, the creator of heaven and earth (14:22). That was the difference between Melchizedek s faith and Abraham s faith. Melchizedek knew his God by a title; Abraham knew his God by name. By naming God, Abraham displayed his special relationship with and unique understanding of Him. Further, Abraham claimed that all glory and honor associated with the title God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth belonged exclusively to Yahweh. Abraham s Meeting with the Lord Genesis 15 1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. 2 But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. 5 He took him outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER September 6,

5 ABRAHAM S victory over his enemies, blessing from a priest, praise and trust in the Lord, and total renunciation of any help from humans (14:17-24) stands in sharp contrast to his anxiety and concern for his future in 15:1-5. The Lord appeared to Abraham as he lived with anxiety about the unfulfilled promise of a son. The Lord offered a great reward to Abraham, who had refused the reward the king of Sodom had offered him. In this context, Abraham s question, What can you give me since I remain childless? was not a complaint or an expression of doubt rather, he indicated that next to the reward of a child to a childless person, any other reward is useless. What Abraham hoped for, and what God had promised him, was a child, and Abraham insisted on God s fulfillment of that promise. Eliezer of Damascus, Abraham s adopted slaveson, was only a temporary solution; without a child of his own, Abraham s future was closed. For that reason, his question in verse 2 testified to his deep conviction that only the fulfillment of God s promise would guarantee the future God offered him. This conversation in Scripture shows us that Abraham s faith was not passive; he did not just accept the promise and hope that someday God would fulfill it. The faith we see in this exchange between God and Abraham is one developed from both strong convictions and serious concerns about the fulfillment of God s promises. Abraham was unapologetic in his concern for his future, but at the same time, he believed in the Promise-Maker. Faith developed in this sort of interaction has an enduring quality. We find this hard-fought faith in the stories of Jacob (see Genesis 32:22-32), in Job s defiant and angry response to the way he thought God treated him (see Job s speeches and the Lord s speeches in the Book of Job), in Jeremiah s complaints to God (see, for example, Jeremiah 15:15-21; 20:7-18), and in Jesus words on the cross (Matthew 26:39; 27:46). An active faith is a faith that engages God and even questions Him with our human concerns. Questioning is not a sign of a lack of faith, but of a healthy relationship built on mutual trust. In response to Abraham s anxiety about his future, God reaffirmed His promise that Abraham s own son would be his heir. The powerful word about a son, Abraham s own flesh and blood (v. 4), opened the door of Abraham s future. His future was not determined by culture or customs, but by the Sover- WORDpicture As the Most High God and Creator, the Lord is the Ultimate Being and the source of all things. When God gave Abraham victory in battle, it was a testimony to His great power and the fact that His involvement with creation is ongoing (14:19-20). 6 September 6, 2015 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

6 eign Lord who created the heavens and the earth by His powerful command, Let there be (Genesis 1:1-3). The creative power of the God who placed a countless multitude of stars in the sky would create a future for Abraham. The stars in the sky thus revealed to Abraham the power of the Creator God and the certainty of the promise s fulfillment. No other gods in Abraham s day or at any other time could claim such power and authority; Abraham s God was indeed, as Abraham confessed, the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth (14:22). He has the power to save His people from their enemies and give them a future filled with His promises. The statement Abraham believed the Lord presents a sharp contrast to his anxiety about his future in verses 2 and 3. The enduring and countless stars he observed in the sky gave him a new understanding of the power of God; he was reminded that the Lord had the will and the ability to fulfill His promises. Thus, Abraham s belief was the appropriate response to the grace and knowledge of God as mediated through creation. More importantly, verse 6 states that God credited Abraham s faith as righteousness. This was the outcome of Abraham s decision to trust the future God had opened for him (15:1). Abraham did not see that future, but decided to live in the certainty of it even though there was no discernible change in the present circumstances of his life. He decided to live in right relationship with his Creator; in turn, the Lord counted that commitment to trust as righteousness. He did not do so because of anything exceptional that Abraham had done, but because God counts as righteous those who relinquish both their present and future into His hands. God desires for all human beings, creatures made in His image, to live in this relationship of righteousness (Genesis 1:26-27). Abraham fulfilled that purpose in his life not through external acts of piety, but by his deep resolve to trust in the Lord. May we do the same as we remember the supreme trustworthiness of El Elyon, God Most High! by ALEX VARUGHESE professor of biblical literature at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, Ohio, and general editor, section editor, and author of Jeremiah in the New Beacon Bible Commentary series. SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER September 6,

A Study of the Book of Genesis Sermon # 13. Abraham and Melchizedek Genesis 14:17-24 Hebrews 7:1-4

A Study of the Book of Genesis Sermon # 13 110403 1Bt SE Abraham and Melchizedek Genesis 14:17-24 Hebrews 7:1-4 In our last message in the study of the book of Genesis on Abraham and Lot we noted that