Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
1 Kings 20:13 (NIV)

My office window is cracked open this morning as I sit in the quiet. The crisp fall air is wafting in. As I took a peek at the extended forecast I didn’t see a single high temperature above the 70s. Fall has arrived.

Wendy and I enjoyed watching a lot of football over the weekend. Iowa can be a bit of strange place when it comes to fandom. States around us have teams that dominate the fan base. In Wisconsin it’s the Packers and Badgers. In Minnesota it’s the Vikings and Gophers. Illinois cheers for the Bears and Illini. Without a professional team in the state and two large state universities, Iowa tends to fracture into multiple fan groups. This makes for a lot heated rivalry.

As I read today’s chapter, it struck me that the ancients thought of their many pagan gods like territorial fan bases. Gods were associated with a particular location and believed to have power in and around that territory. I imagine it like thinking of Minnesota being the land of the Gopher god, while the Badger god controlled Wisconsin.

This is important in understanding today’s chapter. The Arameans go to war with Israel under evil King Ahab. Twice, Ahab is told that God is going to graciously give him victory. Twice prophets tell Ahab that God will do this “so you will know that I am the LORD.” Despite all the evil Ahab has done, God is still trying to get his attention. I was reminded of Peter’s words as I meditated: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (1 Pet 3:9 NIV)

The Arameans think that they were defeated because the first battle was in the hills and Israel’s god must be a god of the hills. So the next season they fight on the plains thinking Israel’s god won’t have power there.

But ever since Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, YHWH has been perptually reminding the Hebrews that He is Lord of all, and He can’t be put in a box or contained by any territory. He isn’t merely Israel’s mountain god. He isn’t confined to Samaria, Jerusalem, Carmel, or Sinai. This connects with Solomon’s prayer back at the dedication of the Temple: “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.”

The irony is exquisite. Israel itself has been behaving as though Yahweh were merely one god among many. Ahab and Jezebel have enthusiastically imported Baal worship. Yet now Israel’s pagan enemies make essentially the same theological mistake: they put Yahweh in a box. God proceeds to blow the box apart.

God isn’t merely rescuing Israel. He is revealing Himself. Ahab gets front-row seats to the revelation. He watches an impossibly small force defeat an enormous coalition. He watches God prove that He is Lord of the hills. Then Lord of the valleys. He receives prophetic warnings before events happen and watches them come true. Ahab has more evidence than most people could ever ask for. Yet somehow he walks away from all of it essentially unchanged.

I find that sobering. It is possible to experience God’s provision without experiencing transformation. It is possible to receive blessings and simply incorporate them into the machinery of my own ambitions. It is possible to pray desperately in the valley, receive deliverance, and then walk away thinking primarily about what I can make of the victory.

Ahab’s problem isn’t lack of evidence. It’s that everything eventually becomes about Ahab. Even God’s miracle becomes political capital in his mind. That’s where those Arameans unwittingly hand me the spiritual question spinning through my head and heart. They thought God was God of the hills but not the valleys. I would never say such a ridiculous thing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes live like I believe it.

God can have Sunday morning, but not Monday’s business decision. He can have my belief, but not my money. I’ll take my crisis to God, but I’ll keep my successes, thank you very much. I’ll pray when I’m surrounded by an army, but once the battle is won, I’ll take it from there. I can easily divide life into hills and valleys and quietly decide where God has jurisdiction.

In today’s chapter, God refuses that arrangement.

He is God of the hill.
He is God of the valley.
He is God when I’m desperate.
He is God when I’m victorious.
He is God when I have nothing.
He is God when suddenly I have leverage, opportunity, influence, and choices.

I think perhaps the true spiritual test isn’t whether I’ll trust God when I look like two small flocks of goats surrounded by an army. It’s when God gives me the victory, cecause then I have to decide: “Was this victory so that I could get what I want? Or was it given so that— ‘you will know that I am the LORD?’”

I don’t want to be an Ahab. I want to learn the difference between knowing what God has done for me and knowing God because of what He’s done for me.

I’m out on a business trip the next few days.
Lord willing, I’ll be back Friday!

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