Right now, in this existence, within time, we aren’t guaranteed life will be an easy go. In fact, we aren’t guaranteed much of anything. You know the old saying the only sure things in life are death and taxes, but some people avoid taxes, so guess what we all have to look forward to. Anyways, we aren’t guaranteed to be well off financially, health-wise or any other way. Ultimately, in our troubles, our trials, our failings, our tribulations, we are intended and purpose-built to bring glory to God. Really, we have no glory of our own, we’re meant to reflect God’s glory. That’s what it means to be created in God’s image. We represent Him in some small way.
1 Kings 20
1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and there were thirty-two * kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged * Samaria and fought against it. 2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, "Thus says Ben-hadad, 3 'Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.' " 4 The king of Israel replied, "It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have."
I’ll be honest with you, that would not be my response. You can mess with me, but don’t mess with my wife or kids. In fact my response to this proposal would probably not have been very Christian. Julie will recall at least one situation where I didn’t respond very Christ-like when I felt she was being physically targeted. I can recall at least one story where Julie came on like a mama-bear when one of our sons was threatened.
5 Then the messengers returned and said, "Thus says Ben-hadad, 'Surely, I sent to you saying, "You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children," 6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will take in their hand and carry away.' "
Oh, that’s how it’s going to be huh? I’ve read this section of scripture dozens of times (if not hundreds of times), and I still have to re-read it to make sure I’m understanding this correctly. What does this say about Ahab that Ben-hadad even thought this was even possible? Have you ever negotiated a deal that went so easily that when you walked away, you thought to yourself, “I may have left something on the table?” So you go back and ask for more. I think that's what happened.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please observe and see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him." 8 All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent." 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.' " And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, "May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me." 11 Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.' "
Was Ahab encouraged by the backing and support he got from the elders? This seems a little too little, and a little too late. Spineless Ahab gets a little bit of a backbone, maybe? Even the thought of Ahab being willing to follow-through and keep his initial commitment seems unthinkable. Maybe he would have been glad to get rid of his wife, Jezebeel. I don’t know about that though, she was the woman behind the man; the driving force in their relationship. Reminds me of Ephesians 4: 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. You give the devil an inch and he’ll take a mile. Translation of verse 11, don’t count your chickens until they hatch.
12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, "Station yourselves." So they stationed themselves against the city.
13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.' "
Wow! Interesting, as evil, wicked, horrible, spineless, incompetent and bad as Ahab was, God wasn’t finished with him. This speaks to God’s character and nature; God shows his patience, forbearance, kindness, generosity and mercy by giving Ahab this promise. We have got to remember, the promises of God are irrevocable, absolutely sure. You can take God’s promises to the bank. You just need to know what they are. Hint, hint...
14 Ahab said, "By whom?" So he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.' " Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" And he answered, "You." 15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.
So, Ahab asks “By whom?” which shows Ahab’s head is spinning, because earlier he’d called Ben-Hadad lord. Ahab had already conceded the loss. So Ahab wonders, “Who will set the battle in order?” The LORD answers, “You Ahab”. This is an interesting example of how when we’ve lost all hope, when the chips are down (and I’ve done this so many times), we ask questions of the LORD. We kinda go “why is this happening Lord?”, or “why me Lord?”, or “why now?” or “how’s this going to happen Lord?”. When things look difficult, even impossible, we all of a sudden are hungry for answers from God. Our posture, our standard operating procedure ought to be a consistent mode of seeking God, not just the tough times, but always. Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Last point from 14 and 15 is that 7000 men of Israel were mustered for battle. I wonder, and this is just speculation, and you know what that’s worth; what you paid for it. But could it be that this 7000 men were the 7000 mentioned earlier in 1 Kings 19:18 "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him." Wouldn’t it be ironic if the 7000 God uses to win the battle are the 7000 faithful men. If these were the 7000 who didn’t bow the knee to Baal, and they’re being used to “bail out” if you will (pun intended), this Baal worshiping Ahab; the one who made Baal worship popular in Israel.
16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria."
Couple of things here: 1) on the Israeli side, the tactics of commencing at noon; the hottest time of day is questionable. That would be the worst time to launch an attack. The point here is Israel was outnumbered and disadvantaged by the time-of-day, but they have God’s Word on it. This all just goes to show, the battle is the LORD’s, and no one will ever be able to take credit for what He obviously has done. 2) on the Syrian side, Ben-hadad drinking himself drunk, seems a little overconfident, dontcha think?
18 Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive." 19 So these went out from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20 They killed each his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 The king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans with a great slaughter.
Here’s what’s happening; Ben-hadad in his drunken stupor makes this nonsensical statement, “if they come out for peace take ‘em alive, or if they come out for war take ‘em alive. It’s really difficult to get any sense out of a drunk person. BUT GOD… BUT GOD gave them a great slaughter. God is true to his Word, just like He’s always been and always will be. He’s trustworthy. He is faithful and true. We can trust our future to Him, like it says in Revelation 19:2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."
22 Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you." 23 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. 24 "Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, 25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they." And he listened to their voice and did so.
Is God the God of the hills only? No, He is the God of all creation. If Ben-hadad pictures our adversary the devil, this shows us how relentless he is in his quest to bring us down. Sometimes he wins the battle, sometimes he loses, but you can be sure you have an adversary who’ll show up at your door again. We have to be in it for the duration. The war itself is lifelong. This is to the believer, because the devil isn't concerned about someone who is not following God. The encouragement is, if you feel like you’re in a war, that’s a good thing. Since we have God on our side, and God is the God of all people, places and times and He is the same yesterday, today and forever, you can trust Him; you can count on Him.
26 At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country. 28 Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.' "
Look at this vivid word picture, “two little flocks of goats” versus the Syrians who “filled the countryside”. This is the why behind the what; Why? So you will know that I am the LORD. Why does God have to prove Himself? Purely for our benefit. In this second battle, Israel is even more outnumbered than before. God took their statement about “God being the God of the hills” personally. It was a blasphemous insult to God about His nature. So we have two little flocks of goats against the great and mighty numerous Syrian army. Is anything too hard for the LORD? God’s power is not limited to the hills or any other place, but it’s easy when we’re in a difficult situation to be overwhelmed by the “multitude”. You might be backed into a corner, with no way out, you think to yourself, “this is it, this is how it ends, I might as well write my final goodbyes”. That's when you can wait on God's salvation to come.
29 So they camped one over against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber. 31 His servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your life." 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live.' " And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." 33 Now the men took this as an omen, and quickly catching his word said, "Your brother Ben-hadad." Then he said, "Go, bring him." Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. 34 Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
The Syrians start out trying some psychological warfare; camped across the street for seven days. But the battle goes to Israel by the LORD again. Then in verse 31, they hatch a plan to look humble and beleaguered, and they plan to tug on the heart-strings of Ahab for mercy. You can’t make this stuff up! Truth is often stranger than fiction, “My brother!” No, he’s your mortal enemy. Treaty, what in the world? If it weren’t there in scripture, I wouldn’t believe it. Again, I have to re-read this section of scripture over and over, slowly to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Here's the takeaway from this chapter. If I were going to give this chapter a title, it would be “Ahab’s Mistake, How He Gave Away the Victory that God had Won”. Can we all agree; this is not ok? So Ahab, in his infinite wisdom spares Ben-Hadad, when God had appointed him to destruction.
Why do you think Ahab did this?
My take is that Ahab was politically motivated by fear and the quest for self gratification. Those two things will make you do some pretty dumb things. Ahab was emasculated by Jezebeel; she ran the show.
Application: are we driven by fear? Do we give our enemy more credit than he deserves? Are we selfish, self-seeking, self-focused? What motivates us? You have to answer that for yourself.
35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, "Because you have not listened to the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you." And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and killed him. 37 Then he found another man and said, "Please strike me." And the man struck him, wounding him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.' 40 "While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." And the king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it." 41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. 42 He said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.' " 43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.
This reminds me of how God used Nathan to bring conviction to David when he’d sinned with Bathsheba and killed Uriah. God often uses props and costumes to get a message across. The point here is “Partial obedience is disobedience”. Obedience is paramount. To obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
Ahab didn’t really repent, he went away sullen and vexed. No change of heart, just more of a bad attitude. Yuck, Ahab gags me. In spite of all this, Ahab’s sin, wicked, evil sin, God is faithful and always comes through for His people.
When you get a chance to get the bread and cup of juice, please hold it so we can take it together.
Communion/the Lord’s supper reminds us of God’s faithfulness. It’s a reminder of the great cost and suffering our Lord went through to save us. It’s a reminder that our hope is in the Lord, the battle is the Lords and the victory is the Lord’s. Even though death is sure for us, we've been given the victory. 1 Corinthians 15:55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O GRAVE, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" Jesus won the victory on the cross. He conquered death and the grave through his death and resurrection. We no longer live with the fear of death. The grave is not the goal, the funeral is not the finish. God has the last word over all of that.
We take communion 1 Wednesday evening and one Sunday per month. This is for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, just pass, but come talk to me and find out how to become a believer in and a follower of Jesus.
Matthew 26:26 - the bread represents Jesus’ body broken for us
Matthew 26:27-29 - the grape juice represents Jesus’ blood (His life) given for us
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
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