Readings for today: 1 Kings 21-22, John 3:1-21
Do you know what God cares about most? His glory. Whenever anyone would diminish Him in any way, God responds. God acts. God reminds us who He is and what He’s all about. In yesterday’s reading, the Syrian king, Ben-hadad, invades Israel. He places his trust in his power. His military might. The 32 client kings who join him. His numbers are overwhelming. Israel has no chance. But Ben-hadad makes a fatal mistake. He underestimates God. Overconfident. Prideful. Arrogant. He defies God and suffers an embarrassing defeat. Licking his wounds, he prepares yet another invasion. Again he gathers his forces. Again his numbers are overwhelming. Again Israel has no chance. But once again, Ben-hadad underestimates God. His servants encourage him in his foolishness. “And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Israel’s gods are the 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.” (1 Kings 20:23) Once again, he is defeated. Not by Israel but by the Lord as God declares His authority over both hills and plains.
You would think Ahab would learn from this experience. Sadly, he does not. He too underestimates God. He refuses to obey God and devote Ben-hadad to destruction. He compromises. He equivocates. He cuts a deal. But God doesn’t cut deals. God will never compromise. He is fiercely jealous for His name and for His fame. Ahab compounds his sin by concocting a scheme with his wife to steal Naboth’s vineyard. He not only has Naboth killed but he takes possession of his family inheritance. In all these things, Ahab shows himself to be selfish and petulant. Almost like a child. He pouts when he doesn’t get his way. He gets angry and offended easily. He refuses to listen to God until it is too late and he dooms his son in the process.
What do you believe about God? Is He only the God of the mountaintops of your life? Is He only present when you feel a spiritual high? Have a moving experience during a worship service? Do you only connect with Him when you are in worship on a Sunday morning? Or is He the God of your valleys as well? Those times when you feel like you’re walking in darkness? Those moments when depression and despair threaten to overwhelm? Those experiences which devastate and cause so much pain? Do you believe He is there with you? What do you believe about God?
What you believe matters. What you believe drives how you think and feel and behave. If you believe God is limited or weak or not omnipresent or omnipotent, then you might act like Ben-hadad or Ahab. Believing God is confined to either the hills or the valleys of your life, you may believe you can get away with a certain level of sin. You may believe God helps those who help themselves. You may believe you can make it on your own. And you will fall into the trap of self-sufficiency. You will rely on your own wisdom and strength. And you will fall short of God’s glory. On the other hand, if you do believe God is all-powerful and ever-present, then you will act accordingly. You will submit every decision. Every action. Every thought to Christ. You will seek to bring all things under His Lordship. You will seek to align your will to His rather than the other way around.
God cares about His glory. God cares about His great name. And God intends to fill the earth with His glory through the faithful obedience of His people. This was as true for Israel as it is for us today. This is why Jesus says to His disciples, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 1-3, John 3:22-36