No Thing too Big, No One too Small

The least of these, as Jesus would say, the oppressed and abused find the notice of God. And to continue the Exodus in reverse idea, God tells Moses from the burning bush, I have seen.

The Deep Waters Way: Where Scripture, theology, and transformation meet.

What if you truly knew that no thing you faced was bigger than your God?

What if experience told you no one was too small to escape his notice?

What if those two things were both true about the same God?

Could that potentially change the way you live?

As we continue the series, What's in a Name?, we're exploring those ideas and the Hebrew names for God behind them: El Elyon, God Most High, who reigns over creation and empires, and El Roi, the God who sees the broken, the discarded, and the forgotten.

Before we get into that though, I'm Ray Cooper, and this is The Deep Waters Way. And I'm glad you've joined me on this journey into a deeper relationship with God and understanding of scripture and theology. If you enjoy this content, please take a moment wherever you are and subscribe or follow the show so that you never miss an episode. Also, if you would take a moment and leave a review on Apple Podcast or PodChaser, doing so helps make it easier for new listeners to find us and it truly helps the show grow.

Now grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and settle in. It's time to slip the moorings and head for the deep waters.

In order to properly explore the name El Elyon, we need to first explore the political and geographic situation around where that name first appears in Genesis. Genesis 14 tells us that about 4,000 years ago, Chedorlaomer led a coalition of ancient near east kings that made war against five cities in southern Canaan: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. The kings of these cities had been subject to the nation of Elam for 12 years before refusing to pay tribute. The next year, Elam's king, Chedorlaomer, along with three other regional powers set out to crush this rebellion.

Genesis 14 also gives us the direct route that Chedorlaomer and his allies would have taken. Due to the steepness and depth of the Jordan River Valley, which is part of the Great Rift Valley, travel, especially with an army, would have been easier along the plateau along the eastern side of the Rift Valley. At that time, this route was just a collection of trails. Later, though, it would become a major trade route called the King's Highway. While traveling along this plateau made it possible to travel the length of the Jordan Valley without actually descending down into it, it did present its own challenges. Running east to west and cutting deep canyons through the plateau were four major rivers. Each one of these rivers marks a choke point that has to be crossed and they also made good places for cities and fortifications.

In fact, Genesis 14 tells us that on his way south, Chedorlaomer encountered and defeated armies at each one of these rivers. Now, in the show notes, I've included links to a few websites that have maps of the area showing the possible route taken by the four kings. Some of these maps are more detailed than others, and there is some disagreement between them on the precise location of events, but that's the price you pay of trying to pinpoint locations from nearly 4,000 years ago.

Once he reaches southern Canaan, Chedorlaomer defeats the five kings assembled against him and heads back north along with the plunder of those cities and hostages. Among those hostages is Lot, Abram’s nephew, who had settled on the plain around the city of Sodom. When word reaches Abram, he gathers 318 trained men from his household and three allies who live near him, and they together pursue Chedorlaomer's army.

We don't know exactly how large either group was, but Abram was probably significantly outnumbered. Humanly speaking, his chances of winning this are very slim. Miraculously though, Abram and his allies succeed. After overtaking and defeating Chedorlaomer's forces, Abram pursues the remainder to a point north of Damascus. He then turns south to travel the 130 or so miles back home.

This however is not the end of the story. In fact, it's really just the beginning, at least of the important part, because as they near Salem, which would later be known as Jerusalem, Abram is met by two very different kings. Now, this meeting takes place in the Valley of Shaveh, the King's Valley. And it is here that we get a glimpse of who Abram thinks is truly responsible for his victory.

Picking up in verse 17 and then reading down through the end of chapter 14, this is what we get:

After his, that is Abram’s, return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."

The king of Sodom comes out to meet Abram first. But before he can speak, a second king appears with food and a blessing. This is Melchizedek, who honestly deserves his own episode. But here he's described simply as a priest of God Most High. The Hebrew word here is El Elyon.

o their own gods. In fact, in: 1928

Now, for this whole scene to make more sense, you have to understand how the ancient world viewed the gods. In the ancient near east, gods were strictly regional. They were localized deities tied to specific territories and people groups. That was the worldview of Chedorlaomer. And it most certainly was the worldview of the king of Sodom. And it explains why the king of Sodom stands there as a completely silent observer during Melchizedek's blessing. In his mind, Melchizedek's god El Elyon was simply the local deity of Salem. If Abram had won a massive victory right there in El Elyon's backyard, the king of Sodom certainly wasn't going to argue with Melchizedek about who got the credit.

Here's why that's important, though. Melchizedek comes out and offers a meal to Abram and then blesses him in the name of El Elyon, God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth. Abram not only accepts the food, he accepts the blessing and offers a tithe to Melchizedek of the spoils that he captured. That means Melchizedek isn't just applying the name El Elyon to a god of some random nation. He is worshiping the same God that appeared to Abram in chapter 12 and called him to leave his father's house, promised to bless him, and to make him a great nation.

In addition to calling God El Elyon, both Abram and Melchizedek call him the possessor of heaven and earth. The Hebrew word translated possessor here is qanah. And it doesn't just indicate ownership or possession; it can also mean creator. So this God Most High, this great God, holds all creation in his hands because he is the one who made it.

When the king of Sodom finally gets to speak, he offers Abram all the spoils as long as Abram gives him the people. Abram could have easily justified doing just that. After all, he was the one who organized and executed the pursuit of Chedorlaomer. He was the one who brought back not just the people, but all of the material things that had been taken. Surely, Abram deserved something for his trouble. But Abram turns it down. He instead uses almost the exact same words that Melchizedek uses, saying he has sworn to not take anything that belongs to the king of Sodom.

And Abram's reasoning? He doesn't want the king of Sodom to be able to say he helped make Abram rich. What this really means is he doesn't want to be put in a position of owing anything to the king of Sodom. He doesn't want the king to be able to come back to him later and say, "Do you remember when I let you keep...?" He doesn't want to have his reputation associated in any way with the reputation of Sodom, which has already been described as a wicked city back in chapter 13.

And by rejecting the king's offer, Abram also rejects the entire pagan religious framework. By identifying Yahweh with El Elyon, Abram isn't acknowledging a local tribal god who just happened to give him help in a battle. He's declaring that his God is universal, the supreme sovereign over every nation, every king, and every square inch of the map. It is also a declaration of trust by Abram. He has a promise from El Elyon, the creator of heaven and earth. And he is trusting El Elyon to fulfill that promise.

That's why Melchizedek's blessing coming first is necessary. Abram is reminded that the victory he just won and all the victories ahead are in the hands of the one who made all things. If Yahweh Elohim, El Elyon, is the possessor of heaven and earth, then surely there is nothing so big in heaven or earth that he can't take care of it. And the battle Abram just won is evidence of that very fact. Abram is essentially saying, "I don't need your possessions. I have the promise of the one who possesses all things."

Now, the aftermath of this spiritual moment seems to have hit Abram the same way we often feel after spiritual highs. In chapter 15, God comes to Abram in a vision and says, "Fear not," and then continues to offer reassurance. But Abram questions God concerning an heir, asking, "What can God possibly give him to make up for the fact that someone not his flesh and blood will be his heir?" God once again tells Abram that he will have an heir.

And then God does something unheard of. He makes a covenant with Abram, which in and of itself is not that unusual. But God handles this familiar act differently. He has Abram arrange a series of animals that have been cut in half. Ordinarily then, it would have been Abram who passed between the butchered animals. Instead, God himself does it, essentially saying, "If I don't fulfill the covenant, may I be cut up just like these animals?"

Another spiritual high and more years pass, and already old bodies continue to age, and the promise seems further off than it did when it was made. So Sarai, Abram's wife, comes up with a plan: "Let's help God out." Ancient near east laws and legal customs allowed a barren wife to offer a female slave to her husband as a second wife or concubine in order to give him children. So Sarai gives her Egyptian slavewoman Hagar to Abram, hoping to give him an heir through her.

And Abram, who just two chapters before refused to let the king of Sodom help God out, goes quiet. Instead of rejecting the plan and insisting on trusting God, he becomes passive. He becomes desperate. Where before he had trusted that God's promise was good enough and he rejected the pagan religious ideas, here he accepts societal standards over God's promise. Now, we can come up with all sorts of reasons to justify Abram's actions. At the end of the day, however, it comes down to a simple lack of faith in the God he had raised his hand to in chapter 14 and entered into a blood covenant with in chapter 15. The real question is this: Is the God who delivered Chedorlaomer into Abram’s hands able to give a child to an elderly couple?

Looking in from the outside of this situation, we often look at it and at the very start think, "this isn't going to work out very well for anyone." And sure enough, it doesn't. Hagar becomes pregnant and chaos ensues. Genesis 16:4–6 tell us: "And he went into Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!' But Abram said to Sarai, 'Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.' Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her."

There's a lot to pack in these short few verses. And we still haven't even gotten to the name of God yet that we're going to discuss. But let's take a minute to deal with some of this first. Notice as soon as Hagar realizes she's pregnant, she begins to look down on Sarai. And Sarai blames Abram. Now Abram is probably thinking, "How is this my fault? It was your idea." But realistically, yes, it is Abram’s fault. After all, he is the head of the household, and he is the one who chose two chapters before to not let anyone shortcut El Elyon's plans or promises for him.

Yet, he doesn't take the same stand with Sarai. He allows her to influence him into taking God's plan into his own hands. And when Sarai confronts Abram and blames him for the whole situation, he deflects again. Instead of taking a stand, he tells Sarai to do whatever she wants. The custom of the time, and certainly the later law encoded by Hammurabi, said that if the slave turned concubine conceived, she could not be sold. However, she could be demoted back to slave status. And apparently, this is what happened. But that's not real clear because it's not stated for sure in scripture.

What is clear though is that Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar. Now we need to be honest about this arrangement. The whole situation is bad. It is exploitive of Hagar as she has no agency here. She doesn't get a choice ultimately with the exception of looking down on Sarai. Hagar is the innocent one in this story. And this is one of the strange quirks of the Bible: the heroes of the faith are often portrayed in bad light. God is not shy about showing the flaws and failures of those who follow him.

And often when he does, it is to make a point to later readers. Paul makes this clear in first Corinthians when he says these various historical events happened as examples for us and were written down that we might learn from them. So what is the point? Well, let's look back at verse 16. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar and Hagar fled from her. The language used here is Exodus language. The words translated dealt harshly and fled are the same words used to describe Israel's experience in Egypt.

Think about this for a second. Centuries before Israel ever entered Egypt, much less fled from Egypt, the whole story plays out in reverse with an Egyptian slave fleeing into the wilderness and encountering the God of Israel.

Genesis 16:7–13 continues:

"The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, 'Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?' She said, 'I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.' The angel of the Lord said to her, 'Return to your mistress and submit to her.' The angel of the Lord also said to her, 'I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.' And the angel of the Lord said to her, 'Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.' So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are a God of seeing,' for she said, 'Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.'"

Hagar flees into the wilderness, possibly trying to return to Egypt, and she stops at a spring. And there, the angel of Yahweh appears to her. Now, I firmly believe that this is one of those appearances of the angel of the Lord that is what theologians call a theophany, a visitation or seeing of God. Scholars often call this visitor the pre-incarnate Christ. And context usually helps you see this. In this case we see it down a little ways in verse 10 when the angel says, "I will surely multiply your offspring so they cannot be numbered."

Angels don't make promises. They don't enter into covenants and they certainly don't credit themselves with doing something God has specifically said he would do. This one does, going so far as to use the same language to promise offspring to Hagar that has been used with Abram. The angel addresses Hagar by name and asks her to explain what's going on. He gives instruction to return to Sarai, makes promises about her offspring, and then gives her a name for her son that means God hears.

And in response, Hagar calls God El Roi, the God who sees. The promise here is that even the smallest, the least of these, as Jesus would say, the oppressed and abused find the notice of God. And to continue the Exodus and reverse idea, God tells Moses from the burning bush, I have seen.

The point here is simple: God sees what others miss. Nothing escapes his notice. In Matthew, Jesus is talking about how God watches over people. He makes the contrast between sparrows, the cheapest and most plentiful protein source, and human beings, saying that God knows when one sparrow falls to the ground. He then adds, "And you are much more valuable." That idea is exactly what is played out here. El Roi, the god who sees, has seen Hagar in her oppression and affliction and come to speak to her personally.

What makes this truly beautiful is not just that God sees her or even that we can apply that to ourselves knowing he sees us. No, what makes this truly wonderful is that El Roi is also El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth. He is the God who sees and the Most High God. And as he makes clear to Hagar, he has the power to act and the power to make and fulfill promises. All he asks is for our obedience and willingness to follow his plan.

It also means that he is not caught off guard or surprised by our actions. He knew what Abram and Sarai were going to do. He knew what was going to happen to Hagar. That means it was factored into his plans from the very beginning. We may ask then, well, why didn't he stop it? The short and somewhat unsatisfactory answer is that he allows free agency, but he takes it into account and uses it and its consequences to further his redemptive and covenant plan.

Rest assured, God is both El Elyon and El Roi. That means nothing you face is too big for him to handle. And no one and no situation is so small as to escape his sight. The one who created all that is sees every part of it in intricate detail. He is the God of creation, the transcendent mighty God, supreme among all powers in a class by himself, uncreated, self-existent. And he is the God who sees the smallest thing. The God who comes down, who knows everyone and everything.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope that this lesson has inspired or blessed you in some way. If it has, please share it with someone you know. And remember, the all powerful God whose eye is on the sparrow also watches over you. Now it's time to slip the moorings and head for the deep waters.

The Deep Waters Way: Where Scripture, theology, and transformation meet.