The God of the Hills and the Valleys

The Story

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, came against Israel with a huge army and thirty-two allied kings. He laid siege to Samaria and sent insulting demands to King Ahab. But a prophet told Ahab that God would give him the victory, and He did. A small band of young men led the charge, and the Syrians fled.

Ben-hadad’s advisors came up with an explanation for their defeat. “Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we.” Fight them on the plain, they said, and we’ll win.

So the next year, Ben-hadad gathered an army just as big as the first and marched out to fight Israel on flat ground. The Israelite army camped across from them “like two little flocks of kids,” while the Syrians filled the countryside.

Then a man of God came to Ahab. Because the Syrians had said the Lord was God of the hills but not of the valleys, God would deliver the whole great army into his hand, “and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”

After seven days, the battle began, and Israel won a great victory in the valley.

Reflection