Who is God? Jehovah Elyon…Lord, Most High

Jehovah Elyon…Lord, Most High

Psalm 47:2-3 How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued nations under us, people under our feet. (NIV)

 

            God, the Creator of all things, displayed mighty power in His ability to create an entire universe from nothing. It took an amazing mind to create the planets, sun, moon, stars, animals and finally people. Each part of man’s body was carefully crafted, so that everything worked in proper alignment. Scientists, with their best efforts, have not been able to create a human being from the dirt of the ground as the Biblical account explains. There is no one more skillful and mightier than the Lord, for He is the Most High God of the Universe. Psalm 83:18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord – that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. (NIV)

               Throughout the Bible, we see evidence of His mighty power time and time again being displayed as He worked miracles for His children. Unfortunately, jealousy creeped into one of His angels, Lucifer, with whom God had taken great pleasure in creating. Because no one is mightier than Jehovah Elyon, the Most High God, we are all subjected to His ultimate authority. Arrogantly, Lucifer thought that he could be like the Most High but was proven wrong when he was defeated and kicked out of Heaven. Isaiah 14:13-14 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (NIV) How foolish Lucifer was to even think that he was equal to his Creator. 

               Jehovah Elyon’s power to overthrow the devil, kings, and queens of the earth has shown that no one is mightier than He. We see an example of His saving might in the rescue of the three Hebrew boys who were tossed into a fiery furnace after defying an order to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been taken captive into Babylon but remained true to Jehovah Elyon. Their loyalty did not sway just because they were in a foreign land. However, King Nebuchadnezzar did not understand, at the time, that the Lord, Most High was more powerful than Him. Therefore, God had to show Nebuchadnezzar what He could do. 

               Upon throwing the three Hebrew boys into the fiery furnace for defying his order, God made sure to safeguard them from harm. He protected them from the hottest of fires that killed even the soldiers who were instructed to throw them into the burning furnace. Upon seeing that the fire did not do anything to the Hebrew boys and that there was a fourth person, the Son of Man, in the flames with them, King Nebuchadnezzar realized that he was not the most powerful authority, but Jehovah Elyon was. Daniel 3:26,28-29 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego^, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants they trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (NIV)

               Jehovah Elyon is the Lord, Most High and is to be exalted. His character is one of power and authority over all who is in and above the earth. Psalm 97:9  For you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. (NIV) When the Children of Israel turned away from God and worshipped heathen idols such as Baal, they always had to return back to God because their gods could not do anything to save them from the judgments that came their way from Jehovah Elyon. They had to humble themselves before Him; consequently proving that His power was above all others. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (NIV)

               The devil and his demons are subservient to Jehovah Elyon’s authority even while being the prince of this world. His reign here on earth is only permitted by God for a short time. After which, he will be thrown into the pits of hell where he belongs. John 12:31-32 “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (NIV) The devil is not more powerful than God and has to obey Jehovah Elyon’s rules. We find evidence of this in the story of Job when God set guidelines for Satan to follow when he wanted to attack him. Job 1:12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. (NIV) The devil would have loved to had been able to kill Job, but God set the parameters that he could bring about calamity, but Job’s life was never to be taken. This lets us know that the devil still has to follow the rules of God and therefore, proving that the Lord, Most High is in control over the entire earth. In the next section, we will see how the Children of Israel were blessed to see Jehovah Elohim as the Lord, Most High first-hand when God delivered them out of the claws of the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh.