Israel’s God
In 1 Kings 20, we have a record of the kings of Syria seeking to conquer the kingdom of Israel under the reign of Ahab. Ahab was a terrible king. Not only did he lead the people to live sinfully but he even allowed his family’s personal ambitions to come before any sense of justice in the kingdom.
Under the rule of Ahab, the people had been encouraged to worship false gods. The leadership had been instructed to bear false witness and execute innocent men. They had driven the servants of the true God into hiding in caves or into the wilderness.
Still, because God had chosen to bless Israel he would preserve a remnant of it against the seemingly insurmountable odds that this alliance of kings had mustered against them, so that they would know he was God.
And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
1 Kings 20:13
The kings with Ben-hadad were so confident in victory that, while leading their own armies, they were drunk by noon and, upon seeing the army that Ahab had mustered, instructed their troops to take them alive even if they intended to attack.
God humbled these kings, completely routing them.
So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
1 Kings 20:19-21
God of the Plains
The defeat had shocked the Syrians but they were certain it couldn’t happen again.
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.”
1 Kings 20:23
They reasoned that the Lord was able to protect Israel because they had fought the battle on his turf. Just to be safe, they would have actual commanders leading their armies this time and gather another massive army. Then they would lure them out of the realm of their God and into the plains, so that he could not help them.
And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
1 Kings 20:24-25
However, the God if Israel was not only the God of Israel. He is the God of all creation! His authority reaches to all places. As David had said generations before:
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Psalm 139:7-12
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
When God demonstrated that he was Lord the second time, it was to show that his reach had no limits.
And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.
1 Kings 20:27-30
Sovereignty Without Borders
The same lesson is just as true today. The thought that God may be a god for some but not others is foolishness! Believers may find ourselves in a nation that has turned away from God like Ahab’s Israel. God is still God over that nation. Even in a nation without any history of honoring God, he is Lord there just the same!
His authority is not limited to places of Christian worship. It is not limited to the lives of those who rightly honor him. He has authority over all of his creation and all the wisdom and strength of men is incapable of overcoming it.
Even when it seems the wicked have succeeded, their actions serve the good purposes he has for his people. We can rest like David, knowing that no matter what situation we are in “even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me”.
