God is the God of the Hills and Valleys

Pastor Barry Kerner

Polytheism (many gods) allows for a group of people that worship a multitude of gods. Each of the minor gods of these religions are usually relegated to having influence over specific domain or area of expertise. After taking down their father Chronus, the king of the Greek Olympian gods, the three brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon bickered over who would become the next king. Rather than fight amongst themselves they agreed to settle it by drawing lots. Because of the draw, Zeus whose domain was the sky became the new king of the Olympian gods while of his brothers Hades ruled the underworld and Poseidon ruled the seas. The gods and goddesses of pagan Rome likewise ruled a specific domain. Jupiter was the equivalent of Zeus ruling the sky as king while Neptune (Poseidon) ruled the fresh waters and seas and Pluto (Hades) ruled the domain of the dead.

It was also common in other ancient pagan nations to perceive each god and goddess as ruling a particular domain or sphere of power on the earth. Dagon, for example, was the Philistines god of fertility and crops. (judges 16:23) Later Dagon’s son Baal served as the Caaninite’s god of fertility and Lord of rain and dew. Additional gods exercised power over the forests, the crops, the mountains, the seas, and the rivers. A host of other local and household deities were also confined to a certain geographical areas or spheres of influence. In this cultural framework, monotheism (one god) was unique, and the idea that any god was supreme in all areas was unheard of.

The expression God is the God of the hills and valleys is drawn from the narrative of two battles in the book of 1 Kings. Basically, saying that God is the God of the hills and valleys means that God’s sovereign power is not limited or confined to any one location or sphere of influence. The Lord Almighty rules and reigns supreme over every place on earth—every hill, every valley.

The story in First Kings 20 begins with King Ben-Hadad, ruler of Aram, attacking the city of Samaria in Israel. Ben-Hadad demands that King Ahab surrender his wealth, wives, and children to him. Initially, Ahab agrees, but when Ben-Hadad adds the condition that he be given anything that his servants lay their hands on, Ahab refuses. His refusal infuriates Ben-Hadad to the extent that he threatens to destroy the city so that not even enough dust would remain for each of his soldiers to take a handful.

An anonymous prophet informs Ahab that God will grant Israel victory so that “you will know that I am the LORD” (1 Kings 20:13). King Ahab obeys God by initiating the conflict. True to God’s Word, the Arameans are driven back, and defeated.

Because Samaria is in the hill country of Israel, the Arameans sages mistakenly believe that the God of Israel is only the god of the hills and not of the valleys or anywhere else. Thinking Israel’s ability to triumph was limited to higher terrain, they convince King Ben-Hadad  to regroup and begin to strengthen their forces for an attack on the lower plains.

The unnamed prophet warns King Ahab that Ben-Hadad’s army will strike again in the spring: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD’” (1 Kings 20:28).

Once again being soundly routed by the Israelites, the Arameans discover that Israel’s sovereign God knows no limitations. King Ahab and all of Israel begin to grasp this concept as well. The one true God has proven that He rules everywhere. Ben-Hadad’s forces were defeated so thoroughly in the second battle at Aphek that the king surrendered to Ahab while he plead for his life to be spared.

God gave Israel victory both at Samaria in the hills and at Aphek in the valleys to show that, unlike the ineffective and finite gods of Canaan, Israel’s God is sovereign over all territories and regions. 

Many Christians spiritually liken mountains to our good times, and valleys, our bad times. It is a mistake for anyone to think of God as only a “hill god” or a “valley god.” Our faith is seen to falter when we have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but that He is not there when we are going through bad times. Many think that God has blessed them when they are “King of the Hill” but feel that He has left them alone and helpless when they are struggling in the darkness of the valleys.

The fact is that our God is the God of both the hills and the valleys. In fact, He is the all-powerful, infinite Ruler of the whole earth. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).

No matter the situation or place in which we find ourselves, men and women of faith need to move forward in boldness and courage knowing that while our God is the God of the mountains, He is also the God of the valleys! “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Our God walks hand in hand with us as we climb every mountain and traverse every valley..

God the Son laid aside His crown of glory, His royal majesty and came down for us, stepping into a world of darkness to light our way. He came down to where we were for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, so that He could bring us up to what God the Father has for us at His right hand. Jesus came down to crown us with glory and honor, to clothe us with robes of righteousness and make us His bride, sharing everything that He has with us. That is the grace of God. He left His mountaintop and came down to our valley.

So whatever you are going through right now, know that God is right there with you. Whether you are triumphantly raising hands with Him high on a mountaintop or He is holding you in His arms and carrying you through the valley. Victory is already yours. Just as the Israelites were also victorious , so will you be because the God of the hills and valleys is right there with you!

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The Context

There’s a story in the Bible that what from I can tell, is most often used to illustrate the importance of perspective. God’s people are about to enter the land He promised them, so their leader Moses assigns twelve guys to go spy it out. Two of them come back saying the land is GREAT, “You guys! It’s finally time to settle down, we can stop wandering through the desert, you should SEE this place, it’s amazing! Look at these grapes, they’re bigger than my head!!” (That’s the Johanna version).The other ten spies? Completely terrified. They tell everyone there’s nothing but huge giants there. They say (roughly), “OMG those guys are MASSIVE next to us! We were basically grasshoppers next to them, so they definitely saw us as grasshoppers. Grasshoppers, right Bob? Yeah, definitely grasshoppers. We should probably get out of here, like now.”

So what was the difference between the ten and the two? (Yup, ten and two, like they teach you in driver’s ed). I’ll tell you what I think: The two were making decisions based on vision, the other ten based on fear. Obviously, everyone wants to be a person of vision, but consider the following characteristics to see where you fall on the vision – fear spectrum (I just made that spectrum up, but sounds good right? Anyway…

The Characteristics

1.) Risk Taking:

1. Fear = A person who makes decisions based on fear will frequently protest
   anything out of their comfort zone. They like their routine, they know what’s safe, and stick to that, thank you very much.
   ii. Vision = A person who makes decisions based on vision is willing to take risks. This is a person who constantly challenges themselves and is always trying to stretch and grow his/her self.

2.) Perspective:

1. Fear = A person of fear has a narrow, day to day perspective. I’m cupping my hand around one eye to show you, they can only see what’s immediately in front of them. They are in “survival mode” (to be fair, usually with good reason) and cannot see past the next demand or crisis.
2. Vision= This is the person who has the 5 year, 10 year and 20 year goals all set. And probably more goals in between. They regularly assess where they are in light of where they want to be.

3.) Self- Image:

1. Fear = Fear gives a skewed view of personal strengths and weaknesses. This is where the excuses come in: “I couldn’t possibly do that, I’m too…(old, young, uneducated, inadequate, tired, busy, etc.).” The excuses might have some validity, but typically are used to put a nicer face on the underlying cause: I am afraid.
2. Vision = A person of vision typically has a strong sense of self- awareness. They have worked to become familiar with their strengths and limitations and use both as fuel to get to where and who they want to be.

4.) Character:

1. Fear = This is where we see fear as something that can cripple or paralyze a person’s potential. A person of fear lacks confidence, is inconsistent, indecisive, and tend to be people pleasers.
2. Vision = A person of vision tends to disregard the opinions of haters, “No offense, but I know who I am, I know where I’m going, I would thank you kindly to remove yourself and your negativity from my path, sir.”

5.) Commitment:

1. Fear = When you are allowing yourself to be guided by fear, take yourself to the laundromat, because you, my friend, are wishy-washy. (HA! That was a good one!). Fear makes committing to ANYTHING, especially a big dream, SO uncomfortable. As a result, the person becomes conditional and immature (if this, this and this happen in this exact moment in this exact order, then and only then will I move forward). So, a person of fear never sticks to anything because they run when things go wrong.
2. Vision = A person of vision has the ability to see the long-term result of “staying the course.” Think of your most loyal, dedicated, dependable friend. Good person to have around, yeah?

6.) Speech:

1. Fear = Ooo this is a good one. Fear can’t help but to leak out in speech. This leads to negativity, gossip, backstabbing, and complaining without offering solutions. Ouch! Like the ten negative spies, a person of fear can only talk about the bad stuff, regardless of how much good stuff there is. Before you start thinking about your grumpy co-worker, remember this is a *self* assessment!
2. Vision = Contrarily, a person of vision is the one who offers hope in a tough situation. They aim to encourage and ease burdens rather than add to them.

7.) Action:

1. Fear = For a person stuck in fear, their action is inaction. They will sit, worry, and count all the reasons why not.
2. Vision = A person of vision is driven by that vision. If you’re convinced going and conquering a land full of giants is the right thing to do, you will simply find a way to do it and conquer the barriers as they come. Rather than wasting time worrying, people of vision surround themselves with smart, encouraging friends for a sounding board, they are off and running. Chances are, the next time you see them, that thing they were chasing after they now hold in their hand.

The Conclusion

So, friend of mine, where do you fall on the vision-fear spectrum? Are you happy with where you’re at? I think all of us are more influenced by fear than we would care to admit; sometimes life is just a scary place. But I hope considering the seven characteristics above are an important step for you in shaking off the fear, and moving forward with the person you want to be. I hope you would fall in with the “unusual two” spies who saw and were determined to focus on the good (Can you imagine eating a grape the size of your head?). And I hope that, despite the fear and all the reasons why you shouldn’t, you fill your days running after and fighting for the vision that’s been placed inside of you.

God bless,
Johanna

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