God of the Hills and Valleys ... and the Plains

God of the hills and valleys has been popularized through song in recent years; if you listen to Christian radio then you will likely know the songs. But the expression God of the hills and the valleys originates in the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 20, the king of Aram, Ben-Hadad, is attacking the city of Samaria in Israel. He demands that Israel surrender everything to him; its wealth, wives, and even children. The king of Israel at that time, King Ahab, agrees to the terms, but when Ben-Hadad expands the conditions of surrender to include anything that the enemy touches they will keep, King Ahab flatly refuses. His refusal to comply aggravates King Ben-Hadad, who sends King Ahab a threatening remark. He says that if Israel does not comply then he will annihilate the city so methodically that there will not be enough dust for each of his soldiers to take a handful home.  

As the enemy is getting ready to attack Israel, an unnamed prophet approaches King Ahab with a message from God, “thus says the Lord: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord” (1 Kings 20:13). This supernatural act on God’s part was directed at King Ahab, because it was King Ahab who enjoyed worshipping other gods rather than the one true God. True to God’s promise, the enemy is driven back, and the siege is brought to an end. When King Ben-Hadad questions his men as to why they lost a battle that was clearly in their favor to win, they replied, “their gods are gods of the hills…they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they” (1 Kings 20:23). Because Samaria was in the hill country of Israel, the enemy mistakenly believed that the God of Israel is only the god of the hills and nowhere else. It was common for ancient nations to perceive their gods as having a specific territory or sphere of power on earth. Baal, the god that King Ahab enjoyed worshipping, was the god of fertility and weather. There were other gods for the forests, crops, mountains, seas, rivers, etc. The idea that one God was supreme over all the earth was a truth that many ancient nations did not believe. Well, this ancient nation of Aram (Syria) is radically educated that their theology is completely wrong.

After being driven back the first time, the enemy comes back at Israel with a new strategy. They begin to regroup and focus the battle on the lower plains and valleys. Once again, this unnamed prophet comes to King Ahab with a message, “…thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is the God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” The enemy quickly discovers that the one true God knows no boundaries. God gave Israel victory both in the hills of Samaria and in the valleys of Aphek to show that He is sovereign over all the earth. However, did you notice that not only does God demonstrate to the enemy that He is sovereign, but He also demonstrates to King Ahab and all Israel that He is sovereign?

Figuratively speaking, the hills represent our high points in our lives, mountaintop experiences, times when we’ve seen God move in miraculous ways. Clearly, Scripture also notes the importance of mountains: Moses received the law on Mt. Sinai; Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel; Jesus’ most glorious moment of transfiguration took place on a mountaintop; and Jesus even ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. Mountaintop experiences are landmarks and milestones in our lives as they were in the lives of many of God’s people, but valleys are also commonplace in the lives of God’s people. We all know what the valleys represent. They represent the low times in our lives, the hard times, the struggles and challenges that we face. But it’s in these lowest points of our lives that God is still with us. Psalm 23:4 says, “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.” Not only is God the God of the valley, but He is also the God who goes with you through the valley.    

God isn’t just with us when we’re on top of the world, nor is He just with us when we are in a low place; He is also God of the plains.

Author Richard Foster said it best, “The discovery of God lies in the daily and routine, not in the spectacular and the heroic. If we cannot find God in the routines of home and shop, then we will not find Him at all.” The fact of the matter is that God is just as interested in the plains of our lives as He is in the hills or valleys. King Ahab and all of Israel needed to be reminded that the one true God is the God of the hills and valleys… and the plains. Sometimes we need to be reminded of this truth too – God is not just walking with us during the high points and low points of life; He is walking beside us every step of the way.