El Elyon, God Most High

God is not only our Elohim, He is also our El Elyon, the Most High. This name not only distinguishes Him as the sovereign ruler of all the universe, but also implies that nothing in life is more sacred. El Elyon, “God Most High” delivered Abraham’s enemies into his hand (Genesis 14:20). El Elyon was, and is, Israel’s Redeemer (Psalm 78:35). He is also the Most High God who reigns over the affairs of men and women today: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’ (Daniel 4:34-35). So “Nebuchadnezzar . . . blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever” (Daniel 4:34).

Other scriptures that refer to God as El Elyon in relation to His sovereignty include the following:

Kay Arthur, (Lord I Want to Know You), writes: “If ‘the name of the God of Jacob’ would ‘set you securely on high,’ if you would trust Him to ‘send you help from the sanctuary, and support you from Zion (Psalm 20:1-2), then you must know him as El Elyon, the Most High. For if God is not sovereign, if He is not in control, if all things are not under His dominion, then He is not the Most High, and you and I are either in the hands of fate (whatever that is), in the hands of man, or in the hands of the devil.”

Satan’s relationship to God’s sovereignty and control can be found in Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-10; and Luke 22:31. I love that, just as in Joseph’s story (Genesis 45:5, 7-8; 50:20), God in His sovereignty can take all the ugly details in our lives and “work together for good to those who love [Him], to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

How do you see El Elyon’s work in your own life?