Keeping His Name Holy – El-Elyon
Keeping His Name Holy – El-Elyon.
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of El-Elyon, God Most High. And he blessed Abram and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of El-Elyon, creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be El-Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” (Genesis 14:18-23).
El-Elyon is a name for God that means God Most High. El is the shortened version of Elohim, the Hebrew generic name for God. Elyon means most high, uppermost, supreme to all creation. The name of God is elevated when referenced as Elyon, highly exalted, majestic, holding supremacy in the universe. Elyon is the only legitimate One that we could truly say is “above it all.” And amazingly, in the midst of His Lordship, Elyon desires our friendship. Elyon is a God who exists in the highest realms, but is willing to stoop to the lowest. He is somehow meek in His exaltation. He is out of our reach, but He is pleased to come within our reach.
The compound name El-Elyon appears in the Hebrew Bible twelve times. An example is Psalm 78:35: “They remembered that God was their rock, their El-Elyon, their redeemer.” The name Elyon is found in the Hebrew Bible 34 times, frequently in the Psalms. A particularly poetic appearance of Elyon is in 2 Samuel 22:14, “Yahweh thundered, Elyon uttered His voice.”
The first time we see this name in Scripture is in Genesis 14 above. The backdrop is the dramatic meeting between Abram and Melchizedek, the mysterious King of Peace (Salem) and the priest to God Most High. These two men met over a Communion meal of wine and bread. Melchizedek has no apparent history, no lineage, like he came out of nowhere. In Hebrews 7, Jesus was named as “a priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Who knows… Maybe Jesus made an appearance to Abram before His time? In Hebrews 7:3, Scripture states that “Melchizedek remains a priest forever, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God.” Jesus, the priest of God Most High, El-Elyon.
A Prayer to El-Elyon (el-el’-yon)
We lift our eyes to you, El-Elyon, God Most High, for you are the uppermost King of kings and Lord of lords. You are the highest Sovereign in the universe, the creator and possessor of heaven and earth. We will speak of your wondrous Kingdom. Great is your grandeur and glorious is your reign, your Royal Majesty. We are your loyal subjects. For you are the high and lofty one, who lives in a high and holy place, but also with those who are lowly and contrite in spirit, and with those who tremble at your word. We thank you that despite your position in the highest heights, in your humility you reach out to us in our lowliness. We thank you that your Son is now at your right hand on your mighty throne, receiving the honor due His Name. As your children of the Most High, we exalt you, El-Elyon, and glorify your majestic Name. Amen.