“El Elyon and Yahweh Shalom” START If you could make one impossibility possible, what would it be? Why? When was a time in your life or in the life of someone close to you that God did the impossible? How has that impacted your faith? As children, we imagined taking flight like Superman. We had “One of the benefits of daydreams of visiting the far away worlds we read about in knowing God’s names is books. We dreamed of the impossible - and this is a practice that having greater follows us into adulthood. Although, as adults, dreams may look a confidence in Him and little different. Against impossible odds we dream of seeing greater trust.” people rescued from their circumstances, we dream of seeing relationships reconciled, we dream of seeing the world turned -Paul Coleman around. El Elyon and Yahweh Shalom, the Most High God and God is Peace, are names that represent God’s ability to rule and bring a peace that passes all understanding to this life. His dreams are far greater than our own, and the limitations of what’s possible have no hold on Him. READ GENESIS 14:17-24 (CONTEXT v.8-24) After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 20 and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share.” JUDGES 6:23-24 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today. REVIEW Context/Commentary/Background GENESIS 14:17-24 THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY 14:17–21. This is one of the most fascinating encounters in the Old Testament. Two kings met Abram on his return from the battle, and they could not possibly have been more different. In contrast with the wicked city of Sodom and its ruler Bera (v. 2), who also was undoubtedly wicked, was Melchizedek king of Salem (i.e., Jerusalem, Ps. 76:2), a priest of God Most High (Gen. 14:18). Melchizedek’s name (which means “king of righteousness”) suggests a righteous ruler who was God’s representative. (Some Bible students believe Melchizedek was a theophany, an appearance of the preincarnate Christ.) Melchizedek is the only person whom Abram recognized as his spiritual superior. Abram accepted blessing from him (v. 19), and Abram paid him a 10th (a tithe) of all he had (v. 20). Abram did this deliberately, in full awareness of what he was doing. It shows how unthreatened and humble Abram was, even after a victory. He recognized that God’s revelation was not limited to him. While the reader’s attention is focused on Abram carrying the whole spiritual hope of the world, there emerged out of an obscure Canaanite valley a man nearer to God than Abram was, who blessed Abram. That valley was the Valley of Shaveh (v. 17), possibly the Kidron Valley near Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam 18:18). The arrangement of Abram’s confrontation is chiastic: (a) the king of Sodom met Abram (Gen. 14:17), (b) the king of Salem met Abram (v. 18), (b) the king of Salem blessed Abram (vv. 19–20), (a) the king of Sodom offered Abram a deal (v. 21). The fact that the offer from the king of Sodom came after Melchizedek’s blessing helped Abram keep things in perspective. 14:22–24. Abram swore before the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth (cf. v. 19), that he would take nothing that belonged to Sodom, lest the king of Sodom take credit for making Abram rich. This incident was a test of Abram’s faith after a great victory. Bera, Sodom’s king, offered a most appealing deal. But Abram, knowing what he did about the king of Sodom, felt that keeping Sodom’s loot which he captured would make him subject to Bera. He wanted something far more enduring than possessions and wealth; he wanted the fulfillment of God’s miraculous and enduring promise. Faith looks beyond the riches of this world to the grander prospects God has in store. Abram knew that he would become more prosperous, and he knew who was blessing him. He intended to receive everything from God and not even a thread from Sodom. Obedient believers 2 frame their lives so that for all success, joy, comfort, and prosperity they depend on God—but their faith is like Abram’s, deeply rooted and growing stronger rather than brief and weak. The king of Sodom was obviously a wicked man over a wicked empire; Abram discerned that dealing with him might be dangerous. Abram could have reasoned that God was seeking to bless him by means of this offer. But he could not bring himself to equate the blessing of God with the best that Sodom had to offer. Melchizedek is an important figure in the Bible. Preceding Abram, he was not a Levitical priest. When David, the first Israelite king to sit on Melchizedek’s throne, prophesied that his great Descendant, the Messiah, would be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4), David looked beyond the Levitical priesthood which would be done away with. The Book of Hebrews demonstrates how Jesus Christ in His death fulfilled the Levitical order and began a better high priesthood. In referring to Melchizedek as the perfect type of Christ, the writer of Hebrews capitalized on Melchizedek’s anonymity: in a book (Gen.) filled with genealogies and ancestral notations, this man appeared without family records (Heb. 7:3). Melchizedek is remembered as a high priest. Because Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek, the order of Melchizedek is superior to Levi, who descended from Abram (Heb. 7:4–10).1 JUDGES 6:22-24 THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY 6:22–24. Gideon’s consternation probably reflected his fear of impending death because of seeing the divine presence (cf. Ex. 33:20). When the Lord assured Gideon he was not going to die … Gideon built an altar and named it the Lord is Peace.2 NAMES OF GOD - BAKER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE El Elyon (or ’Eljon) is the name used to designate the God of Melchizedek (Gn 14:18–22) as God Most High. In Psalms 57:2 and 78:56 the Hebrew reads Elohim Elyon. It is believed that the term Elyon is derived from the verb Alah, meaning “go up, be elevated, to be exalted.” There are a number of instances where the term Elyon is used alone, but the context indicates that it is then used as a synonym for God (e.g., Nm 24:16; Ps 83:18; Is 14:14). The term Haelyon, translated the Most High, also occurs (e.g., Gn 40:17). The term elyon is used quite frequently as an adjective; it is then translated as “high, highest, upper, uppermost.” The basic ascription given to God when this name is employed is to One who is above all things as the maker, possessor, and ruler. He is incomparable in every way; he is subject to no one and no thing; he is the Exalted One. Some 1 Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 54. 2 F. Duane Lindsey, “Judges,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 392. e.g. for example e.g. for example 3 evangelical biblical scholars have noted that this term is used particularly of God’s ruling in the millennial kingdom, a conclusion based on the fact that Yahweh is called Elyon in passages construed to refer to Israel’s final and full restoration (Dn 4:25; Ps 83:18). It would seem, however, that El Elyon is a name that is applicable to God in all ages and in all circumstances. In all dimensions of life, in worship, military activities, political and economic involvement, God is to be acknowledged as the incomparable, the exalted, the maker, possessor, and ruler of all people, all things, and all events.3 Yahweh-Shalom (shalom, “peace”) is the name Gideon gave to the altar he built when the angel of the Lord came to give him orders to fight the Midianites (Jgs 6:24). In Ephesians 2:14, Christ is called the peace for sinners, a peace which passes all understanding and guards believers’ hearts and thoughts (Phil 4:7).4 Content Leader: Give the back story of Lot being captured by their enemies.