The God of Hills and Valleys

SERMON: The God of the Hills & Valleys 1 Kings 20:

Monday, August 6, 2018

10:02 AM

We will be in 1 Kings chapter 20 tonight.

PLEASE STAND IF YOU ARE ABLE FOR THE READING OF THE WORD

Do this with me while you are finding your place:

I WILL SERVE THEE

BECAUSE I LOVE THEE

YOU HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO ME

I WAS NOTHING BEFORE YOU FOUND ME

YOU HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO ME

HEARTACHES BROKEN PIECES

RUINED LIVES ARE WHY YOU DIED ON CALVARY

YOUR TOUCH IS WHAT I LONG FOR

YOU HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO ME

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-28

This particular series of incidents happened during the reign of King Ahab. Ahab you remember was the seventh King of Israel and reigned for 22 years. While most of Israel's kings only fill a part of a chapter, King Ahab's reign spans from 1 Kings 16-22 covering 7 chapters in the book of Kings. Probably due more to the story of Elijah than the exploits of Ahab. While enjoying some political and military success, Ahab was marred by spiritual compromise and failure. King Ahab was known as the most wicked of all the kings of Israel. He married Jezebel, a princess from Sidon. Who was described by one as "an imperious, unscrupulous, vindictive, determined, devilish woman- a demon incarnate." She was a wicked woman.

CONTEXT To give us some context to what we have read tonight we need to catch up a little bit with history.

Three years or so before this battle, Benhadad had besieged Ahab's capital which was Samaria (found in 1 Kings 20) Ahab was placed under bondage to Benhadad temporarily. The demands were simple at first, give me silver, gold and rich gifts. This did not satisfy Benhadad, who demanded the right to come in and search everyone's house including the king and take whatever they saw and liked such as wives, children, goods etc.

This is where Ahab declares, "Enough is enough." When he tells Benhaded no of course he gets angry and threatens Ahab in verse 10:

1 Kings 20:10 (KJV)

10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

You could translate that as:

1 Kings 20:10 (NET1)

10 Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely[9] if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.”[10]

Look at verse 11 Ahab taunts right back:

1 Kings 20:11 (KJV)

11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

You could translate this as: 1 Kings 20:11 (NET1)

"the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off.”

Now Benhadad and the thirty -two kings were drinking and partying when the messenger from Ahab told them that they would not give in to their demands.

I like verse 13 - And Behold - that means take note - look, see

an unnamed prophet comes to speak to Ahab and tell him to go to battle that the Lord would give them the victory. Now this is a conundrum -

Ahab was wicked but God gives them the victory - I don't believe it was out of their righteousness - but rather the righteousness of the Name of the Lord.

Here is why - in the latter part of verse 13 - "Behold- " there is that word again, "I will deliver it into thine hand this day; AND THOU SHALT KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD!!!" emphasis mine.

Benhadad in his pride and arrogance - in the midst of the battle was drinking himself drunk. He was intoxicated, and the battle was lost. Now God didn't need intoxication to win the battle, it just shows the pride and arrogance of the king.

The prophet again meets with Ahab and tells him in my words, "Go refresh yourself. Mark it down they will return next year."

And the King of Syria's assistant came to him and says, "Next year you need to go fight them again and conquer them. Their gods are gods of the hills, but let's fight them in the valley." I love the exact quote in verse 23 "And surely we shall be stronger than they."

Sure enough a year later the Syrians come to fight against Israel.

listen to verse 27 "The children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went before them like two little flocks of kids; but they Syrians filled the country."

And then the prophet comes again and talks to Ahab and says, "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."

The Ancient Syrians believed that different areas had different gods. There were gods that were powerful on the mountain, and gods that were powerful in the valleys, and gods more powerful over the sea and in the sky.

But our GOD - the GOD of all GODS is the GOD on the Mountain and the God in the valley -

Tonight I want to remind you that even though Satan wants us to limit God - by saying, "God doesn't work like that," or even "God doesn't seem to be working at all." That God thought it so serious to defend his name and power to work and be on the mountain or in the plain or the valley that he used the most wicked king of Israel to do it.

Martin Luther wrote in one of his letters to Erasmus, "Your thoughts of God are too human." Sometimes I think this is our problem - God isn't like one of us God is God and He's God in the Hills, He's God in the plains.

The God on the Mountain is the God in the valley.. It doesn't make any difference where you are - God is the same.

Vera Henry used to tell us when she would visit at Foley and at different camps I would see her at, there used to be a black man at this very camp who according to her they wouldn't let on the platform because of his color but he would stand down here with his arms around the post and he would sing:

I know God's still God He don't never change

I know God's still God And he always will be God

He's God on the platform He's God back at the door

He's God all over creation And He's God down in my soul.

If your God only works at the front of your church you're serving the wrong God.

If your God only works at your church you're serving the wrong God.

If your God only works when everything is just right, and prim and proper you are serving the wrong God.

I love the old hymn:

"I can see far down the mountain Where I wandered weary years

Often hindered in my journey By the Ghosts of doubts and fears Broken vows and disappointments Thickly sprinkled all the way But the Spirit led unerring To the Land I hold today."

The God who was working when the writer was on the mountain looking down, was the same God who was leading unerring through the valley and the wilderness.

Now mountains are used metaphorically in the Bible as difficulties or impossibilities.

Mountains may be obstacles for overcoming Joshua 14: 6-15 Caleb - Give me this mountain A Previous Promise 6-9 - Moses said 40 years ago - "Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's forever." Some of the other spies may have gone to the valley, but not Caleb he trekked up the mountain. He wanted to see the land from a high view point. It was a high mountain with great enemies. A Promised Passed - 10- The Lord has kept me alive I am as strong today as I was then (he is 80 years old now) Verse 12 - "Now GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN" Now Joshua didn't just hand over the keys - he said here are your weapons go get em. We have some mountains in our lives that we must overcome We must cry like Caleb "GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN" It was promised him and Caleb received it. How about you - do you have a mountain that is promised you - that has victory, promise, an inheritance - Go GET YOUR MOUNTAIN!!! Even though it had been 40 years in coming it was time. Caleb began to fight those mighty men, and they began to fall like a house of cards. I can almost see old Caleb after he conquers his mountain he climbs to the tippy top raises his hands toward heaven and sings Got any rivers you think are impossible? Got any MOUNTAINS you can't tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible He does the things other's cannot do

I love the verse that says,

"God is the same and his word is dependable He'll make a way through the waters for you: Life's situations by Him are amendable Mountains and hills He will part for your too. At least twice in the New Testament Jesus makes a startling statement about moving mountains. Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21 and Mark's coverage in Mark 11:23A couple of things I noticeMoving mountains according to Jesus' words was available to anyone. Matthew says "if ye" but Mark puts it plainly - "That whosoever shall say unto this mountain be removed… he shall have whatsoever he saith" It wasn't just for the most spiritual, or even just for Jesus!!! Think about that for a moment. Mountain Moving was conditioned upon faith Faith is described as a Mustard Seed in Matthew - The disciples couldn't help the demon possessed boy because of their lack of faith. Jesus uses the proverbial smallness of the mustard seed to make his point dramatically, but he balances his rebuke with a measure of optimism (not found in the parallel account of Mark 9:28–29) by promising that even just a little more faith than they had could move mountains. Just a little bit more faith and the demon would have to flee, and the mountain would have to go!!! Mountains and even demons don't have a will - when Jesus spoke to the demons they had to come out. Jesus said faith like a mustard seed can say to the mountain and the mountain will do Mountains are a metaphor for difficulties - what kind of difficulties are you having tonight?

Mountains may be also be places of testing and proving God Elijah on Mount Carmel - 1 Kings 18:21-40

1 Kings 18:35-39 (KJV)

35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

Elijah on the Top of Mount Carmel -

1 Kings 18:41-46 (KJV)

41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

The Same God who answered by fire on the mountain is the same God who heard Elijah pray for rain on top of Mount Carmel, who took a little whisp of a cloud and blew it out into the open sky so Elijah's little servant could see it - just about the size of a man's hand - but it was God. The Same God. I don't know how things are with you tonight - maybe you need fire - maybe you need rain but God the same God can send both - climb up your Mount Carmel and let God send whatever you need. One more incident in the life of Elijah and his mountain experiences

In three short verses the writer has totally changed the flow of the story. Victory seems to be transformed into defeat, the brave prophet into a cowering refugee, and the victory over death and Baal into an opportunity for death to reassert itself through Jezebel's oath to take Elijah's life.

How will the Lord prove to be God now? This question remains the fundamental issue in the story.

Paul R. House, New American Commentary – Volume 8: 1, 2 Kings, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1995), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 221.

1 Kings 19:6-13 (KJV)

6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind:

and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire:

and after the fire a still small voice. ****I wonder what the voice said??? Maybe it was just "ELIJAH - ELIJAH"

13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Not only are there mountains but there are valleys that we have to go through to learn and experience how great is our God. Valleys can be places of testing and trial Right after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove - he was led away into the wilderness or the valley a sometimes dark and lonely place and was tested and tried. If Jesus went through this we might as well expect we will too. However I love in this story in the Bible Matthew 4:11 that the devil leaves Jesus, and behold - angels came and ministered unto Him. They blessed him there for being true, and passing the test gave him strength and ministered help and support. There have been times in my valley's that perhaps I haven't seen angels, but I have the precious Holy Spirit to sit down next to me and restore my soul right there in the valley. I remember one time in particular I was fighting discouragement, and just in a battle. I was down in the valley. It seemed dark and despairing. It was a sunny day but the clouds have been just right as I looked up in the sky as the sun was shining through the clouds was a rainbow. Oh how beautiful it was with the silver lining of the sun around it. I was driving through down the road but my mind began to run over the promise of God to Moses and to promises God had made to me and how God will keep his prmoises it is impossible for God to lie. As I was meditating on those things driving down the road I noticied I wasn't driving down the road alone anymore. Somewhere along the way the Precious Holy Spirit had slipped in that vehichle and we road several miles together that day. He took me on a trip out of the valley to the top of the mountain.

Valleys can be places of battles - Just as Ahab had fought the Syrians in the hills and conquered through the power of God, now they were fighting in the plains or down in the valley - but that did not hinder or change God's power one bit. I used to use At&T cell phone services. When we would go visit my parents - who live out in the rural area of Foley, I would lose service. All of the hills and valleys out by where they lived reeked havoc on the cell towers. But with God - you can be on the highest mountain peak or in the lowest of the low valleys and God's service will still be as powerful and strong and the connection can be just as clear - I love how David felt about the valley - in his most famous Psalm the 23rd he writes: Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I WILL FEAR NO EVIL FOR THOU ART WITH ME!!! THAT IS SHOUTING MATERIAL RIGHT THERE - a valley of trouble, or testing - but the very valley of death and GOD the same God who was with David when he flung the rock and the Giant came tumbling down, the Same God who was with him when the lion and the bear came, the same one who lifted him out of an horrible pit the same God David was talking about when he wrote, " I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." God had been there all through David's life - he says that God is going to be there when I go through the valley of the shadow of death. I won't have to fear GOD IS WITH ME!!!

A couple of years ago I had the privilege of going out to Cincinnati, OH with the family. As we got closer and closer to the city the hills became more and more pronounced. My boys would look out now you have to understand we live in Wichita, KS not many hills around there- the boys would look out the window and say, "Look at that mountain over there" And I would try to explain no son that’s not a mountain that is just a big hill.

Well I'm not sure I ever got through to them the difference, sometimes its that way in our walk with the Lord - we go through times and its up a steep hill or to us a mountain then it's down in a deep valley then it's a whole mountain range with the valleys in between.

Last year was one of those years for us. It seems like it was a tough mountain, then a deep valley, then back up to climbing then sliding down the other side.

But I was amazed how time after time when I didn't know how I was going to take the next step, when I didn't know how things were going to work out, when I didn't know - I would go to prayer, and things would turn around for a while and then whoop right back down in a valley we would go.

But as I look back on that I see how time and time again God the God who would meet me on top of the mountain was right there in the valley.

Tonight I don't know where you are - maybe you are on the mountain top enjoying the blessings of the Lord. Maybe you are in the valley going through the trial of your life -

I was sent here tonight to tell you that God is God whether you're up or whether you're down. HE WILL NOT FAIL HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU HE WILL BE WITH YOU!!!

Bro. Duane and Sis. Angie are coming to sing at my request and I want to ask you tonight - are you in the valley - there is a church full of people who would love to help bear your burden. Are you on the mountain rejoice and there is a church full of people here tonight who would love to rejoice with you.

You are welcome to come pray, we would be glad to pray with you,

but what I would really like for you to do is to go encourage someone, especially if you know they are going through a hard time - that the God on the Mountain is the God in the valley.

That's not just a cliché or a feel good saying - that is Bible God defending his name over that fact.

As they sing - would you go to some one or several someone's and let them know God is still God no matter where they feel they are.