Jehovah-Elyon

Genesis 14

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Lot, Abraham’s nephew had been taken captive. So Abraham, decided to after kings with only 318 men. It is not logical. How do you pursue kings with just 318 men. Abraham knew something, God was on his side. Jehovah-Elyon- the most high God. “Most” is a superlative. You might have come across great men in your life. maybe an uncle…a politician,…your boss at work…they have strength or resources to influence.  When God says he is the MOST high, he understands that there are people we have called great…there are people we see as high….but he is the MOST high.

Maybe you have just got a job, and everyone there seems better than you…maybe you’ve just given birth to a child and all you friends seem more capable of being awesome parents than you…maybe its in class…. you feel little.

Jehovah-Makkeh

Ezekiel 7
9 And my eye will not take pity, and I will not show compassion. According to your ways I will deal with you,[e] and your detestable things will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I am Yahweh who strikes.

In Exodus 19:8, the Israelites thought they could keep the commandments of God and so God gave the commandments to expose their weaknesses. (Romans 5:20) Then, they failed! They worshiped man-made gods and ended up breaking all the commandments. Then we see God now, angry speaking his wrath upon them. He is now talking to Ezekiel, his prophet. He says very strong words in the previous verses but I’d like us to focus on verse 9. He talks of dealing with the Israelites according to their sins…and calls himself Jehovah-Makkeh; the Lord who punishes. One thing you need to understand is that the Lord is HOLY. However much he loves you…however much he is compassionate and loving, he CANNOT lower his standards. He has to punish sin.

Before his 400-year silence, he speaks in Malachi 4:6 and promises to restore the relationship between the father and the children. He does exactly that by sending Jesus.

JEHOVAH-SHALOM

Judges 6:24

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

The Medianites had been greatly oppressing the Israelites. They stole their harvest and did many other unjust acts. Gideon was in the farm when the angel of the lord appeared to him. He told Gideon that the Lord would use him to deliver the children of Israel from this great oppression. It wasn’t easy for Gideon to understand all this. According to him, God had actually forsaken them. Why did God come to their rescue? In the previous verses, the bible says that the children of Israel cried out to God and he heard them. They had fallen into injustice as a result of disobedience to God…but the moment they called out to him, he heard them. That’s how God is….extra extra merciful!

On the revelation of this mercy, Gideon received the peace of God and built an altar and called it shalom, which means the Lord is peace. Shalom doesn’t just mean absence of strife, its deeper than the English word ‘peace’, it also means wholeness, safety, health, a sense of well-being within and without, prosperity, tranquility, and quietness of soul.