Good Day
The God of the mountains and the valleys
1 Kings 20:23 NIV “Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they.”
In 1 Kings 20, we find the Syrians being defeated by the Israelites. Then, some of the Syrian king’s advisers gave the king what they thought was the reason for their defeat. They said that they had fought on the hills and lost because Israel’s God is the God of the hills. So, if they were to fight the Israelites in the valleys, they would win.
Mountains refer to good times, and valleys, bad times. Some people have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but not of the bad times. We all know that God is not only the God of the mountains but also the God of the valleys.
We all go through trials and temptations in the valleys of life. But there are certainly some wonderful mountain top experiences, as well.
Today we are going to look at some of these mountain top experiences in hopes that you will find yourself more often on the mountain with the Lord than down in the valleys.
1 Kings 20:28 NIV “The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “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.’”
Let’s look at what the Bible says about the God of the Mountains.
Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Psalm 72:3 “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.”
Isaiah 40: 9 (ESV) Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, lift up your voice with strength… 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young”
Ecclesiastes 7:14 (GW) “When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future.”
From the song “For the God on the mountain” – For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right. And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night.