1 Kings 19 & 20: God Of Hills And Plains
Verse of the Day: (20:23) And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
1. The Plowing (19:1-21)
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. (19:19)
When wicked Queen Jezebel commanded her men to kill Prophet Elijah, the latter ran away from her and then suffered depression. God sent His angel twice to encourage and feed him. Though a great wind, an earthquake and a fire passed by him, but it was the still small voice that he heard God spoke to him. God encouraged him and told him that he was not alone as He had 7,000 men who had never bowed to Baal. God then used him to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu to be the king over Israel, as well as Elisha to be his successor. Elijah would have thought that his successor would be another prophet, but never a busy farmer like Elisha plowing his land. Elisha obeyed God’s call, and forsook all and followed him. Indeed, God only bless those who are busy in their work and ministry for His glory as idle minds are the devil’s workshop. (Proverbs 31)
2. The Prophet (20:1-21)
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. (20:13)
God sent His prophet to tell Ahab that he would have victory over Benhadad, King of Syria, though Ahab was the most wicked of all the kings of Israel, and the army of Syria outnumbered that of Israel, because He desired that all should repent their sins, and believe in Him, the God of Israel, who is the true God. However, Israel many times failed God, and this was why He sent His Son to not only die for the sins of the world, but to build His church to replace Israel in sharing His great love for the world. (Matthew 16:18)
3. The Plain (20:22-43)
And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. (20:27)
The army of Syria thought that the God of Israel was only the God of the hills, so they fought with them over the plains. However they were still soundly defeated, as they failed to realise that the God of Israel was the true God. Indeed, let us know that we can do all things through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who shall strengthen us. (Philippians 4:13)
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that You are the God of hills and plains and everything.
