The Meaning of El Elyon
If you and I wanted to describe God – what might we say? We could say that God is love or God is powerful, or even that God is holy. We could speak of God being all-knowing or even how everlasting He is.
But what if we needed a word to encompass the vastness of God? An adjective that might describe His authority, the expanse of His dominion? The sheer height of His glory?
The term El Elyon is an adjective that does just that. It describes who God is – by acknowledging His Position. The phrase is used some 12 times in the Old Testament and each case describes God as “The Most High, The Exalted One. The One Over Heaven and Earth”
In Genesis 14:18-20 we are told that – “And 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 by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” (Twice the priest describes God as El Elyon – the Most High).
In Psalm 78:35 – “They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.”
Psalm 91:1 – tells us that “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
When Satan decided that He would attempt to steal God’s throne – he desired to be like the God Most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14).
What does this mean for us?
For one thing, to recognize God as the Most High is to give him dominion over everything. Our world. Our work. Our families. Our lives. We are acknowledging that He alone is worthy of the power He possesses.
He is the rightful ruler of heaven and earth, and that includes us. There is no one higher, no one more powerful, no one more equipped to be the Almighty than God Himself. This is the ultimate expression of God. We cannot exalt our thoughts higher than to say that God is the El Elyon – the Most High God.
Just pause for a moment and reflect on what this means – if this attribute of God is true (and it is), then the other attributes we associate with God are true as well. If no one can out “God” – God, because He is the MOST HIGH – The El Elyon, then no one can outlove God. No one can out-think God. No one can out save, out heal, outperform, outlive, or out mercy God.
Everything we believe about God is true and right and sure because God is the MOST HiGH one. God is truly the G.O.A.T. (Greatest-of-All-Time). God is the Most glorious Being in the universe. There is no other.
So, when you and I stand beneath the stars and ponder the wonders of the heavens, we know that God the Most High – The El Elyon made them, has dominion over them, is exalted above them.
When we stand beneath a mountain towering above us and breathe in the majesty of God’s ability to put this in its place, We acknowledge the Most High. When we gaze into the eyes of someone we love and see the compassion of God – we have barely scratched the surface of his exaltedness.
Our hearts can only sing – “How Great Thou Art.” – Because He is Great, and greatly to be praised.
Names of God
- Jehovah El Elyon: The Lord Most High
- Jehovah Nissi: The Lord Is My Banner
- Jehovah Mekaddishkem: The Lord Who Sanctifies You
- Jehovah Rapha: The Lord My Healer
