READ: 1 Kings 20-21
Verses
chosen for meditation: 1 Kings 20:23
23 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.
REFLECT
Ben-hadad,
the king of Syria, went up against Samaria, supported by a large group of
kings. He forced Ahab into a treaty, and Ahab was subservient, acknowledging
Ben-hadad’s right to “silver and gold” and their “best wives and children” (1 Kings 20:3-4). Ben-hadad, however demanded more, threatening to plunder the
city, and Ahab saw that Ben-hadad was just seeking trouble, looking for an
excuse to attack.
Hence,
a war ensued. There was no hint of Ahab relying on God, yet God intervened,
sending an anonymous prophet (not Elijah) to Ahab, with instructions to prepare
for Ben-hadad’s attack. Ahab won the battle, but was warned of another attack. For
the 2nd attack, Ben-hadad listened to the advice of his officials,
who recognised that their previous defeat involved divine intervention. However,
their theology was polytheistic, with gods limited to different areas of
responsibility or location. To them, defeat was due to the battle being fought
on the hills, where Israel’s gods had power. They thought Israel’s gods are not
gods of the valleys (1 Kings 20:28), hence advised Ben-hadad to shift the
battlefield to the plains, where they also had overwhelming advantage with
their chariots.
Unfortunately
for them, Yahweh is God of all, so Ben-hadad was defeated again. How the tables
have turned, with Ahab previously taking a subordinate position to Ben-hadad, who
was now begging for his life (1 Kings 20:32). Ahab, against God’s instructions,
spared Ben-hadad.
RELATE
We
believe in an almighty God, creator and ruler of everything in the universe. So
when we look at the words in v23 and v28 (a god of the hills but not a god of
the valleys), we may laugh at the ignorance and foolishness of the officials.
However, this simple narrative may reflect how we live out our faith. Religion,
without our realising, becomes a matter for only certain areas of our lives.
For instance, God can be a very huge part of my personal and family life, but
insignificant or even totally excluded from my public life. In other words, God
is a god of private life, but not a god of my public activities.
We
tend to compartmentalise our lives, with work situations becoming more diverse.
In a church, people find much commonality in personal spirituality and family
life, so those tend to be the focus of sermon content and group studies in many
churches. There may be less discussion of how God is involved in work, commerce,
and politics. One way of assessing if God is only in certain spheres of our
lives, is to see which areas we are least comfortable speaking/thinking about
God, and how bothered we are about it. We may know how to glorify God and
proclaim the good news when we are “in the hills” (for e.g., in church, in
family life), but less sure of how to live and speak as Christians “in the
valleys” (for e.g., in work, in public). We can be encouraged that in recent
decades, there is increasing attention and material helping Christians see how
the Word has an impact on public life. Let us encourage one another to involve
God in every part of our lives, to learn from one another how to do so “in the
valleys” of our lives, as our God is God of all things.
Another
interesting point in today’s text is Ahab sparing Ben-hadad. By any modern-day
criteria, Ahab would be judged as being successful against an aggressor, yet
being merciful in victory, and creating more commercial opportunities. Why did
God punish him then (1 Kings 20:42)?
It
was telling that Ahab did not mention God in his victories. In 1 Kings 20:13,
God told Ahab that Ben-hadad’s army will be given into his hand, so that Ahab
will know He is Lord. This was repeated in 1 Kings 20:28. Ahab however, simply
took advantage of the victory belonging to God. Instead of glorifying God and
giving all spoils of war (including Ben-hadad) to Him, so that the nation be
reminded that Yahweh is Lord, he did whatever he pleased with the victory. It
was not his prerogative to spare Ben-hadad, and he did it for personal and
political gain.
This
passage warns of our tendency to put pragmatic considerations ahead of a right
relationship with God. This happens a lot, when we make decisions based on what
‘looks good’, without following the requirements of God.
REST
Father, may we look to you in every area of our
lives, and ask how we should live in those areas, in ways that glorify you. In
every victory you bless us with, help us not get ahead of ourselves, even using
them to glorify ourselves, but to know that you are Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chris
Chong
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