It doesn’t appear that Elijah had managed to anoint Hazael or Jehu yet. We are introduced to Ben Hadad the king of Syria (v1-6). He went to make war against Samaria. He gathered all his forces together and was in an alliance with thirty-two kings with chariots and horses. He besieged Samaria and his was a huge army. He sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel saying, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’” Ahab replied, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.”
It seemed as if Ahab was surrendering to Ben Hadad. He was obviously outnumbered and considered unable to repel his attackers, and they had been through three and a half years of drought which had probably weakened them. How different this situation was to Gideon in Judges 6, who was in hiding but trusted in God and even had victory with a few hundred men against thousands. Ahab had no thought for God. Ben Hadad even added greater threat by giving Ahab a deadline of twenty-four hours to deliver up his demands and also that he would send his men to search his house, and his servants houses to take what they wanted of Ahab’s delights.
Instead of asking for help and advice first, he agreed to Ben Hadad’s demands and then asked advice from the elders (v7-9). How different to Elijah who prayed to God first. Ahab informed his elders that he had agreed to the first demand, but the elders and the people told him to send word to Ben Hadad that he was refusing his further demands. He had given his word to the first demand for his wives, children, silver and gold; therefore, he should comply, but not with the second demand. His refusal to the second was weakened by his agreement to the first.
It is like giving way to a bully. They will continue to bully. We need to stand up to them. Also, if we pay on the first ransom demand, it will not stop there, and if we say yes to a temptation, it will not stop there.
Ben Hadad would not be happy with this reply, and he wasn’t (v10-12). He sent threats to Ahab, interestingly the same words Jezebel used to Elijah. It must have been a common saying in those days – “The gods do so to me, and more also, if ….” (see 19:1-3). The king sent back word to Ben Hadad, “Tell him, ‘Let not the one who puts on his armour boast like the one who takes it off.’” In other words, do your boasting after the battle and not before. Very courageous words from a king who is facing defeat. Ben Hadad and his allies were drinking at the command post, and he told his men to get ready to attack.
Totally unannounced, an unnamed prophet appeared and approached king Ahab with words from the LORD, and said, Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” (v13-15).
Would Ahab believe this prophet? He wasn’t altogether sure. Ahab and his idolatry deserved no help from God, but in His great mercy, God was assuring him of victory. Ahab asked, “By whom?” Ahab had seen the victory of God over Baal on Carmel, but it didn’t seem to make much difference to him. However, the prophet replied, “Thus says the LORD: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’” Ahab is still questioning, so, he asked who was going to lead them, and he received the reply, “You.” God often uses the most unlikely people.
It seemed that the prophet gathered the people together, firstly, two hundred and thirty-two young leaders of the provinces and then seven thousand of all the people of Israel. Hardly a huge number to fight the enormous enemy, but God could use this small number.
They went out at noon while the enemy were getting drunk at the command post. The young leaders went out first. Ben Hadad sent out a patrol who informed him that people were coming out of Samaria, the city they had surrounded. Their drunken stupor wasn’t helping their thinking and Ben Hadad told his patrol to kill them whether they had come in peace or in war, when one would have expected him to spare those who came out in peace. The young Israeli leaders kept coming with the army behind them and each one took a Syrian and killed him. The enemy were rattled and fled pursued by the Israeli army, including Ben Hadad who fled on a horse. Ahab and his men attacked horses and chariots and there was a very great slaughter of the Syrians (v16-21).
Ben Hadad had allowed himself to be sidelined, and defeated by drunkenness, which is a lesson to all to keep sober.
God, in his mercy, defeated the Syrian’s huge army with a small force. Surely Ahab would recognise that God was in it all. Numbers with God are largely immaterial. In 1 Samuel 14:6, Jonathan states, “For nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
The unnamed prophet came again to Ahab (v22) and said, “Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, for in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.” Some suggest that this prophet was Elijah or Elisha in disguise, but there is no indication of that. Remember that Obadiah (18:3,4) had hidden one hundred prophets to save them from Ahab and Jezebel, so, whilst Elijah and Elisha were the main prophets there were others. God is able to use anyone He chooses. God, in His mercy, was preparing Ahab for a future attack by the Syrians under Ben Hadad, even telling him when it would take place.
We need to be prepared for the enemy (Satan) attacks. We do this by prayer and reading of God’s word.
Sure enough, the Syrians plot another attack on Israel (v23-25). They conjure up the idea that God is a God of the hills, and they were defeated on the hills last time, so, this time they will attack on the plains. Fancy, thinking that God is restricted to certain terrain. He is Almighty God and is in no way restricted in His power. Ben Hadad dismissed the kings and replaced them with captains. Not even a change in tactics or personnel will be enough to defeat God.
As the prophet had said, Ben Hadad attacked in the spring (v26-28) and Israel were prepared. Evidently, Ahab had listened to the prophet and mustered his army which, in comparison to the Syrian armies was very small. The phrase used here is, “…. like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside.”
The man of God came to Ahab again and told him that the Syrians were scheming to attack on the plains because they believed that God could only save them in the hills. God knew exactly what the Syrians had plotted. God was going to give them victory to show His greatness. It is amazing that God was sharing His plans with this idolater, Ahab, and giving him assurance of victory.
The two armies camped opposite each other, one large one small totally outnumbered, for seven days. On the seventh day the battle commenced, and Israel killed one hundred-thousand-foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. The rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled into the city and went into his inner chamber (v29,30)
All this was truly miraculous, totally outnumbered and and then a wall falling on twenty-seven thousand.
Ben Hadad’s men spoke with him saying that they had heard that the kings of Israel were merciful and suggested they went in sackcloth with ropes around their heads (v31-34). This they did and approached the king and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” Ben Hadad was really no friend but, he realised that Israel’s victories were miraculous, so he put on false humility. Ahab was taken in by it and referred to Ben Hadad as his brother. They were both pagan kings, so, in one sense, they were. Ahab wanted peace thus he was prepared to make a pact with Syrians. Surely, he realised that God was fighting for him and his people, and he needed to seek God’s wisdom, but he thought he knew better.
It was clearly a plot of some kind, for we read that the men were ‘watching closely to see if any sign of mercy would come’, grasping at any word. Looking for any chink of light which they could use. They used friendly words, referring to Ben Hadad as his brother. Ahab was taken in and invited Ben Hadad to come to him, and they made a treaty together, which included, restoring the cities taken by Ben Hadad’s father.
Another unnamed prophet comes on the scene (v35-38). He was of the sons of the prophets, probably one of the hundred which Obadiah had hidden or even of the seven thousand which had not bowed the knee to Baal. He told his neighbour, a fellow prophet (indicated in other translations), to strike him but he refused. The prophet was not pleased that he had refused and told him that a lion would kill him very soon afterwards, and as soon as he left, he was killed by a lion. Seemed quite severe in the circumstances but it was in disobedience to God’s command, and, if he he was a prophet of God, he should have been sensitive to the word of the prophet.
He found another man (fellow prophet) and told him to strike him, and he did, inflicting a wound. There must have been a lot of curiosity over this incident, but it would soon become clear. The prophet bandaged his eyes as a disguise and waited at the roadside for the king to pass by.
As the king passed, he cried out to the king, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” (v39,40)
This was a story to teach the king a lesson about taking a captive in a battle on the basis that if he lost him, he would have to forfeit his own life or pay a shekel of silver, and while he was busy, the captive escaped. This was similar to Nathan the prophet going to King David and telling him a story to convict him of his sin in taking Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah and then having him killed (see 2 Samuel 11,12). Just like David, Ahab judged rightly in saying that the man who did this should bear the punishment (v40).
The prophet took away the bandage from his eyes and Ahab recognised him (v41-43). Then the prophet said to the king, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’” God had intended that Ben Hadad should be destroyed by Israel, but the king had disobeyed and spared him. He got the message that he would lose his life, and he sulked and went home to Samaria in a huff. Sorry and unhappy but not repentant.
Our sin should cause us to be sorry and unhappy, but it must lead to repentance if any good is to come of it. It is not enough to be sorry; it is not enough even to cause us depression over it; we must go further to repentance to receive forgiveness.
