El

Genesis 14

Through a mess of activity of various kings and armies, Lot and his household get carted off. This puts Abraham in a role we don’t see him in elsewhere: military commander. In fact it seems odd.

At any rate, we get to the real meat of the chapter when the action subsides, especially with reference to “God Most High” on the lips of the king of Salem (later to be known as Jerusalem), and this is in the course of pronouncing a blessing on Abraham.

The “Most High” is the usual translation of an ancient word for God that transcends cultures, as we see it does here. The Hebrew name is Elyon, or El for short. What’s really interesting is that the name didn’t’ start with Israel, but Israel appropriated it. In this passage, it facilitates the trans-cultural exchange between the king of Salem and Abraham, and then Abraham makes reference to the same name in his dealings with the king of Sodom, in which he insists on the integrity of his journey under him. I just find this really cool.

It gets better if we fast forward to the New Testament and find an instance of the Greek version of the same name at Acts 7:48. It is in Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. What precipitates that speech? Stephen is charged with speaking against the temple. He begins his speech at the beginning of Acts 7 reviewing the history of Israel starting with guess who: Abraham. When he gets to Solomon’s building of the temple in question, points out that “the Most High (italics mine) does not live in houses made by men” (Acts 7:48). Then he quotes Isaiah 66:1-2, and tells the assembled religious rulers that they have resisted the working of the Holy Spirit and murdered the one sent by God.

It is always dangerous talk in a religious community to point out it is wrong to be more interested in buildings and institutions than in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen was stoned.

But the church still grew and flourished because of the truth of what Stephen pointed out: God is not contained by the packages we try to put him in. And because he is Elyon, he will continue to try to bring us together in a way that goes beyond who we think “us” is.

Prayer:
I just bow before your greatness, God, Elyon, Ancient One. Who can discern your purposes, except by following you in trust, even imperfectly, as Abraham, and seeing where you take us, and to whom. Through Christ. Amen.