HE'S STILL GOD

1 Kings 20:13-28

Key verse: "And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

This chapter records two separate battles between the small army of Israel and the vastly larger army Syria. Israel had been led off into dark and depraved days of idolatry. The king who sits upon the throne in Israel at this time is Ahab whose wife was Jezebel and she despised the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These were terribly wicked times for the nation, but in spite of Israel's rebellion they were still the apple of his eye…

Topically in this chapter we are reminded of:

• The Realization of Human Experience
  
  • Israel had just fought the first battle on top of a mountain and God had given them the victory; but before the dust settles their adversary was already making plans for the next one.
    
    • The christian life is much the same, it sometimes seems like before we can rest from one battle we can already see the next one in the distance. One trial or trouble after another. If this sounds familiar, just remember you are not alone and you are not without the strength of God's word. The greatest apostle of the new testament could relate in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 where Paul writes "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 
      
• The Results of Holy Expectations
  
  • God was on the side of his people Israel. Even in spite of their faults and failures he still loved them and his promises remained steadfast and His word that was sent by the man of God gave the Israelites faith and hope for an "expected end" not because they deserved it but simply because God said it. 
    
    • No matter the circumstances or situations you as child of God are faced with you can rest assuredly, that if you are saved by His grace, He has your best interest in mind and you should never expect any less than for God to simply be God. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Not that there's power in our positive thinking, but there is power in resting on the God's word that He hasn't forsaken us and He has a plan and therefore we can remain faithful and just keep fighting until He shows up and the results He promised will be in our favor. Peter put it like this after his valley experience in prison: Acts 12:11 "And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews."
      
• The Reassurance of His Execution
  
  • The first battle was on Israel's terms and turf; the mountain top. The second one was to be fought on the Syrian's terms and turf; the valley. I can imagine the thoughts going through the minds of those young, inexperienced men as Ahab relayed the information to them about the arrangement of the next fight. The reason for the change of location was because the Syrians said that God was only God on the mountain, but He is not God in the valley, I can also imagine how many of those young Israelite men might have caught wind of what was said and how that might have impacted and impaired thoughts and caused them to question things such as, "what if the Syrians are right and God won't be with us in that valley..." but thankfully the man of God came with a message from God and reminded the king of Israel that in spite of what the enemy has said God's going to prove his God no matter the location or elevation.  
    
    • As one song writer correctly penned, life is easy when you're up on the mountain and we talk of faith when life's at its best (lyrics paraphrased). I personally will admit, even as a pastor, preaching faith is far more easy than practicing it, especially when in "the valleys" of life. In those times the human mind can become fertile soil where Satan plants his seeds of doubt. One doesn't have to be a biologist to know that the lushest place of any given forest is always in the low lands; but it's also the place where the most growth can occur. When faced with having to deal with the troubles and trials of life we can sometimes find ourselves forgetting that even though we fighting in the valley that doesn't change the truth of who God is and his ability to execute his plan just prove He is God and beside Him there is no other. Paul put it like this: Romans 8:37-39 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
      
      He is still God... Even in the valley...