Ben-hadad Labeled God

Synopsis     1Kings 20:22-28     6/21/2019 

After Israel defeated Ben-hadad’s army, the prophet returned to King Ahab. He told Ahab to expect another attack from Ben-hadad.  

For his part, Ben-hadad’s advisors encouraged him to change the political system of Aram and rebuild his army. They told him that the reason for his loss was that the God of Israel was a “mountain god”. And so, it was important to fight King Ahab on level ground. So, the great king, Ben-hadad, replaced the local kings with prefects and rebuilt his army.  

Once again, Ben-hadad invaded Israel. And King Ahab brought his forces out to oppose the Aramites. And once again, a prophet approached Ahab to inform him of God’s intentions through the battle.  

Ben-hadad Labeled God 

Ben-hadad’s advisors told their king that his first loss was due to the fact that the God of Israel was a God of the mountains. But, they advised, He was not a God of the plains. And so, the king of Aram adjusted his strategy accordingly.  

Of course, the God of Israel is the God of all Creation. He is not limited in any way. And labeling God in a way that seems to limit or constrain Him only assures error. 

And so, Ben-hadad’s strategic adjustments made no real difference with respect to God.  

Labeling God 

I tend to label things. This isn’t some unnatural propensity. It’s the way we’re built. And we have lots of words that describe this phenomenon. We label, name, tag, stereotype, classify, nickname…it goes on and on. But what’s important to understand is that we label things so that we have a reference to them. And in our human thinking processes, words serve as the medium by which we reference things that aren’t actually present. 

However, a pretty smart philosopher once observed that we name things according to what they do. In other words, we think about things according to the action that they make. And then we label them according to this understanding. So, the unintended consequence is that we naturally build into the labels we use, our beliefs about the limitations of the things we label.   

It’s part of the extraordinary challenge of knowing God. To label is to limit. That’s why, to label God is always a mistake. It couldn’t be anything else.  

So then, I resolve to let God simply be God. I will meet Him there, without preconception. 

“Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar, as it is written: “That you may be justified in your words, and conquer when you are judged.” Rom 3:4