1 Kings - Lesson 20

• In Chapter 19, we unpacked the experience of a fearful and discouraged Elijah who, not too long before, witnessed an incredible demonstration of God’s power.

  • After having defeated Baal worship and the 450 priests of Baal, Elijah is forced to flee from the death threats of Jezebel.

    • It was there where Elijah quickly grew depressed and discouraged by the threat of his life and fearful that the Lord would not come through.

  • However, he was reminded through these subtle ways that the Lord has always made a way.

    • Herein lied the opportunity for Elijah’s faith to grow all the more in knowing the Lord’s word is true.

  • He was fed a special meal by the angel of the Lord to nourish him for the journey ahead.

    • He then came to the realization that his circumstances were not a means of deflation by consolation.

    • He came to realize that the Lord was at work and already ahead of Elijah by several years as it relates to how the Lord would deal with idolatry with the North.

  • He was then sent to a young man named Elisha who would be his protégé and continue on in the ways of the Lord according to the word of the Lord.

    • And what a beautiful lesson that served in knowing that the Lord is always going to accomplish His word through men and women of His choosing.

  • Tonight, we will see a shift in scene and setting yet a very common theme of God’s power at work through the lives of people.

  • If I were to put an outline together for our time tonight, we will see the following:

    • 1. Battle between Ahab and Ben-Hadad: Part 1 (vv.1-25)

    • 2. Preparation for Battle (vv.1-12)

    • 3. Anticipation for the Battle (vv.13-25)

    • 4. Battle between Ahab and Ben-Hadad: Part 2 (vv.26-34)

    • 5. A Disguised Prophet (vv.35-43)

  • If I were to put a tag on our text tonight, it would simply be: Only By His Grace.

    • With that being said, I invite you to meet me in 1 Kings 20 verses 1-12 for the reading of the word of the Lord.

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.
1 Kings 20:2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad,
1 Kings 20:3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’ ”
1 Kings 20:4 The king of Israel replied, “It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have.”
1 Kings 20:5 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,”
1 Kings 20:6 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.’ ”
1 Kings 20:7 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.”
1 Kings 20:8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”
1 Kings 20:9 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.
1 Kings 20:10 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.”
1 Kings 20:11 Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.’ ”
1 Kings 20:12 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.

• To better understand where the narrative is picking up after the spotlight has been on Elijah for some time, we need to see when was the last time we encountered Ben-Hadad.

  • The last time that Ben-Hadad was mentioned was in 1 Kings 15:18 where King Asa of Judah partnered with Ben-Hadad against Baasha, King of the North.

    • This occurrence would have been some years prior to King Ahab’s rise to the throne.

    • And with the time frame between King Baasha and King Ahab, there is a difference of several years and several kings.

    • There are some who assert that the Ben-Hadad of 1 Kings 15 is not the same as that of 1 Kings 20.

    • That perhaps 1 Kings 20 is talking about Ben-Hadad, the second. Whatever the case, we see that the king of Aram continues in discourse with the North.

  • We’re told that the king of Aram attacked Samaria and began to lay siege to it.

    • And while holding the city hostage, Ben-Hadad sends messengers inside the city with a message for King Ahab.

    • And that message, more of an order, was that all the king’s silver and gold, wives and children were his.

    • To which King Ahab replied in a few short words, “Whatever you want, it’s yours. I don’t want any trouble.”

  • This response from King Ahab was given with much haste as if he knew they were incapable to defend themselves.

    • And this was the case because numerically speaking, the odds were stacked against the Northern Kingdom, even on their best day.

    • So as a means to acquiesce to the terms, Ahab sends word back to Ben-Hadad with his compliance to the terms mentioned.

  • Once word is sent back to Ben-Hadad, it is as if the request were “too simply” or easily given into.

    • So as a means to up the ante, Ben-Hadad sends word back that he would add more to his request which would now impact “all of his servants” and their belongings.

  • It’s at the hearing of the increased demands from Ben-Hadad that King Ahab assembles the elders of the land that he might seek counsel on how to proceed.

    • And like the American military, the elders of Northern Israel agreed that, “We do not negotiate with terrorists.”

    • And they tell Ahab not to consent or even consider the demands of the king of Aram.

  • It becomes clear, that Ahab is in no position to negotiate or has a leg to stand on due to the fact that he is in a vulnerable position.

    • However, he takes the advice of his counsel and acquiesces to the first set of demands but refuses the second half of the request.

    • For to give in to the second request would have completely pulled the rug from underneath him as king.

  • It’s in verse 10 that after word of Ahab’s decision is sent back to King Ben-Hadad, that Ben-Hadad threatens King Ahab with total destruction of Samaria.

    • However, Ben-Hadad’s confidence is quickly checked by King Ahab’s quick wittedness.

    • King Ahab responds by saying: “Let not him who girds on armor boast like him who takes it off.”

    • In other words, don’t speak too soon before the battle has even begun. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

  • Well this message, received by Ben-Hadad while drinking to his pleasure, responds to his servants by telling them to ready themselves for battle.

    • In other words, in Ben-Hadad’s self-confidence, his retaliation was: “I can show you better than I can tell you.”

    • After the high school banter back and forth, the scene closes in on what’s happening inside the camp in Samaria. Check out verses 13-25.

1 Kings 20:13 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.’ ”
1 Kings 20:14 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.”
1 Kings 20:15 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.
1 Kings 20:16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him.
1 Kings 20:17 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.”
1 Kings 20:18 Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
1 Kings 20:19 So these went out from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
1 Kings 20:20 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.
1 Kings 20:21 The king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans with a great slaughter.
1 Kings 20:22 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.”
1 Kings 20:23 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.
1 Kings 20:24 “Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place,
1 Kings 20:25 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.

• While Ben-Hadad is planning his attack and rallying his men, we are given a peak behind the veil as to how Israel would defeat this enemy.

  • And the way that this message of victory would be delivered was through another no-named prophet to King Ahab.

    • And the message was that the Lord would deliver the Aramean army into the hands of the Northern kingdom.

    • However, notice that this statement of the Lord’s delivering power was preceded with a question.

    • The question was: “Have you seen all this great multitude?” In other words, what you are going up against requires an even greater force.

  • As verse 15 tells us, Israel’s number was approximately 232 men in which he was able to gather together.

    • And if worse came to worst, the sons of Israel would be drafted which totalled to nearly 7,000 men.

    • Whereas, the Aramean army contained over 127,000 men according to verses 29-30.

  • So as one would assume Ahab, not knowing how this victory would be possible, asks the prophet, “By Whom would the victory be accomplished?”

    • And he mentions that this victory would be accomplished because of the Lord’s doing.

    • To which Ahab proceeds to ask, “Who will begin the battle?” and the prophet responds, “You”.

  • Notice, that the Lord intervening on behalf of Ahab and Israel was not based upon Ahab having repented.

    • It’s not based upon Ahab turning the hearts of the people back to the Law.

  • This provision of victory is simply an act of God’s unmerited grace!

    • The Lord responds out of His love for His people and because He cares.

  • Grace is the means by which God extends His undeserved kindness towards those who aren’t deserving of it!

    • And the reality is, if it weren’t for the grace of God on our side, we too would be hopelessly lost and in dire need of saving.

    • Yet, in His kindness, He saw fit to rescue us out of darkness and into His marvelous light by means of His sole provision.

  • Grace, at the same time becomes the object by which gains our attention and affection to turn to the Lord all the more.

    • It’s from the word of the prophet of the Lord that Ahab goes out in confidence to take the enemy by surprise.

    • While, Ben-Hadad is operating is a sense of self-assurance knowing that because of the number of his army that he would succeed, he fails to realize the Lord is working behind the scenes.

  • So, while drinking himself to the point of intoxication, the young officers with Ahab are sent out for strategic purposes.

    • Ahab sends out 232 young men in whom Ben-Hadad, unaware of their intent, is taken by surprise.

  • He assumes these men would come to talk for peace and seems to have an arrogance as to the strength that he possessed in number.

    • However, Ben-Hadad failed to understand that the God of Israel was behind His people to show them that He alone is God!

• Isn’t it funny how sometimes the Lord will use our circumstances as a teaching tool to recognize that He is the one in control.

  • And where our independence and pride gets in the way, it hinders us from seeing the Lord respond victoriously in our circumstances.

    • In this case, Ben-Hadad witnessed for himself his army dwindle in number.

    • Where his confidence was inflated, it now became deflated, and he flees embarrassed for his life.

  • The writer records that this slaughter was one of great number having been accomplished by a small army.

    • As one would imagine, this victory was well enjoyed. However, it was not to be missed that this was just the beginning.

  • Furthermore, the prophet came to King Ahab to recommend he strengthen himself and prepare because Ben-Hadad was going to return stronger than before.

    • Perhaps, this was the opportunity for Ahab to reflect and recognize that the only reason that this battle was won was because of the grace Yahweh had shown.

    • And in turn Ahab would truly know where his strength came from – not from the Baals in which he was worshipping.

• The question that comes to mind in this section of the narrative is: Who will you run to?

  • Will you trust in Yahweh, the God of Israel, or will you continue in your ways knowing that the idols worshipped before are nowhere to be found.

    • God is not auditioning for Ahab’s attention and affections, rather He is demonstrating to him His might and power that Ahab may choose rightly.

  • And the reality is, the Lord provides us with these divine encounters so that we may respond rightly to Him and see the Light of truth!

• While Ahab was receiving counsel from the prophet of Yahweh, Ben-Hadad was receiving counsel of his own.

  • It’s in verse 23-25 that Ben-Hadad is told that their initial defeat was due to Israel’s gods being the “god of the hills”.

    • At first read it becomes clear that Arameans were pagan worshippers and had no regard for the true and Living God.

    • So they conclude that their mishap was due to terrain differences, not the power of a transcendental Creator.

  • This ultimately boils down to the idea of “luck” or “chance” with the non-believer today.

    • Rather than seeing life’s events as divine actions or “allowables” of God’s Sovereign plan, the world is reduced to circumstances by mere “chance”.

    • However, the reality was that Ben-Hadad encountered the power of the Lord on the battle field.

    • Paul says the following regarding the wisdom of God and the foolishness of man in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29:

1 Corinthians 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
1 Corinthians 1:28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
1 Corinthians 1:29 so that no man may boast before God.

• So, in his arrogance and ignorance, Ben-Hadad figures that a change in terrain would settle the score a second time.

  • Along with the change in terrain came a change in their personnel use on the field.

  • That rather than having the 32 allied kings on the field with them, they replaced them with typical army commanders.

  • And from there he was advised to regroup their army, refortify themselves, and prepare for the next opportunity to fight.

  • And as we will see in the next few verses, the battle would resume in the following Year (At the turn of the Year). Check out verses 26-34.

1 Kings 20:26 At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
1 Kings 20:27 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.
1 Kings 20:28 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.’ ”
1 Kings 20:29 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.
1 Kings 20:30 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.
1 Kings 20:31 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.”
1 Kings 20:32 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.”
1 Kings 20:33 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.
1 Kings 20:34 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 writer shifts the reader to a new season and time chronologically as the battle comes to a head.

  • Notice how he begins verse 26, he states “At the turn of the Year”.

    • Historically, this would mean “the next Spring” because in that day war was oftentimes fought during the spring time.

    • The reason being was because it was typical for kings to go to battle in the spring or early summer for their military expeditions.

    • The environment was ripe for horses to feed on grass for their nourishment.

  • And we are told it’s at this time in which the two armies are geared up and ready.

    • The writer includes the details of the sizes of both Israel’s army and Ben-Hadad’s army.

    • Israel’s army is said to have been “like two little flocks of goats”. In other words, they were small in size, numerically speaking.

    • Whereas the Arameans were great in number, however the only difference was that the Arameans did not have Yahweh on their side.

  • The prophet of God then goes to King Ahab to remind him of what the Arameans assumed regarding their previous victory.

    • He then reminds King Ahab that because the Arameans assumed that the Lord was only the God of the mountains, that the Lord would demonstrate His power even in the valley plains.

  • In other words, God is not limited to simple geographical or topographical limitations – He is Creator of all things and not bound by limitations.

    • In the words of my mother, “I will show you better than I can tell you!”

    • This statement would not only prove as true for Ben-Hadad in his arrogance, but it would also serve as a testimony to King Ahab of the One who provided the means of victory for Israel.

  • It wasn’t Ahab’s militaristic abilities or methodical battle strategies – it was simply the power of the Living God as a grace to the ones in whom He loves.

    • So the text says that for seven days Israel camped out over the territory of the enemy and on the seventh day, war ensued.

  • Now remember how many people Israel had versus the Arameans – the proportions did not make sense logistically.

    • As a matter of fact to your best military strategists, the odds were stacked against the Northern kingdom of Israel. This was a hopeless cause.

    • Yet, the people of God move forward in the strength of God by faith knowing that the Lord would come through as He had done before.

  • The text says that the sons of Israel killed 100,000 foot soldiers in one day and because of the siege a wall fell on an additional 27,000 men while the others escaped.

    • 7,000 against over 127,000 men – yet the victory fell in the hands of King Ahab and his army – this is no ones doing but God alone.

  • Imagine what the Lord can do in our lives when we simply take Him at His word!

    • So in this second defeat, Ben-Hadad and a few of his men manage to escape to a nearby city and take refuge in their chambers.

  • Clearly, there was great force and power behind Israel because in verses 31-34 we see that Ben-Hadad is counseled to surrender to Israel’s king.

    • And he is told to surrender because as the official mentions to him, “the kings of Israel are indeed “merciful”.

    • So he suggests that they bind themselves with sackcloth and ropes as a sign of surrender and submission to the terms of the king.

  • Ben-Hadad’s servants send word to King Ahab that Ben-Hadad surrenders. And they do so by calling Ben-Hadad, “King Ahab’s servant”.

    • Oh how quickly evil will fall when it comes in contact with God in Holy War!

    • One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess!

  • However, therein lies an issue which was something that the prophet had warned Ahab which was to be considered.

    • You might recall after the great showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Elijah had all the prophets killed.

    • He did not show mercy, rather he abided by Torah and killed them for having turned the people from the instruction of God’s word.

  • God’s Law required the death of Israel’s enemies according to Deuteronomy 20:10-15. Check out the text:

Deuteronomy 20:10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace.
Deuteronomy 20:11 “If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.
Deuteronomy 20:12 “However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.
Deuteronomy 20:13 “When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.
Deuteronomy 20:14 “Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you.
Deuteronomy 20:15 “Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby.

• So, where the surrender began as a means of servitude, it quickly changed to a treaty of brotherhood.

  • Where this surrender initially took Ahab by surprise, something was happening in his heart.

  • Perhaps Ahab looked to the strength of Ben-Hadad as a potential ally for the future rather than considering the counsel of the prophet.

  • The use of the term “brother” here was not meant as “blood-relatives”. Rather it was cordial gestures implying partnership for “future protection”

    • This treaty, not authorized by the Lord, was established to protect Israel from future threats of a rising enemy, the Assyrians.

  • It’s as if Ahab completely neglected the fact that the Lord had just made a way out of no way for Israel’s victory.

    • Ahab completely failed to see that the victory was delivered not due to the military partnership of other nations, but because of Israel being God’s people.

    • How quickly we forget where our help comes from!

  • We will see the Lord move mightily in our circumstances through the valleys of life, yet when we see victory, pride sweeps in as if we did it in and of ourselves.

    • Rather than relying upon the strength of the Lord, Ahab thought it better to lean upon the strength of the Aramean army and Ben-Hadad’s partnership.

    • Compromise can happen quickly where there are no values or standards upheld.

    • For when we compromise in our faith, it leaves room to acquiesce to the dependency of others rather than upon the Lord.

  • So upon the agreement of this treaty, Ben-Hadad aids in fortifying the land for Israel and restoring streets and cities.

    • However, as we will see, this does not take well with the Lord as displayed through the actions of another unnamed prophet.

    • Check out verses 35-43.

1 Kings 20:35 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.
1 Kings 20:36 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.
1 Kings 20:37 Then he found another man and said, “Please strike me.” And the man struck him, wounding him.
1 Kings 20:38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
1 Kings 20:39 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.’
1 Kings 20:40 “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.”
1 Kings 20:41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets.
1 Kings 20:42 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.’ ”
1 Kings 20:43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

• Although a unique turn of events, this section sums up the results of Ahab’s decision and the consequences of his disobedience.

  • And the Lord uses the “sons of the prophets” to accomplish this lesson demonstratively.

    • We are told that an unnamed prophet in a group known as the “sons of the prophets” said to another member of this group to “strike him down.”

    • Really quickly, “the sons of the prophets” was like a school for prophets being trained in the ways of Torah and to know the word.

  • Being that this instruction from the Lord was given through the man of God, the other students should have done according to the word of the Lord.

    • However, this particular pupil refused to engage in this activity and this refusal could be quite understandable.

    • However, because this was a command from the Lord, his refusal demonstrated an act of rebellion against the Lord.

  • So like anyone disobedient of the things of the Lord, judgement must fall and indeed it does.

    • We are told that the voice of the Lord speaks to the prophet, who requested to be struck down, and tells the other prophet that because of his failure to obey, he would die.

    • He even proceeds to tell the other prophet how he would die!

  • This story begins to sound a lot similar to the story of the young prophet from the south and the old prophet from the north.

    • And as soon as the prophet departs, he is killed by a lion.

  • We are then told in verse 37 that the prophet found another man, potentially another son of the prophets, however this man was willing to obey the command.

    • And having struck the man, it now allows the prophet to disguise himself with a bandage over his eyes.

    • This should remind us of another instance of someone disguising themselves in 1 Kings 14.

    • This disguise is being done so that King Ahab will not be able to identify this prophet for the sake of relaying the message. (Prudent means)

    • The next part of this narrative becomes a bit nostalgic!

  • The prophet, now in disguise, comes across King Ahab who sees him on the side of the road – assuming the man is a wounded soldier, he stops!

    • The prophet then cries out to the king with a story explaining how he was told to guard a man and if the man escaped his life would be taken but if guarded he would be rewarded.

  • The prophet continues the story that the servant “became busy” and the prisoner got away.

    • Having heard the story, the king immediately responded that judgement should be given regarding the man who neglected his responsibilities.

    • It was at that moment that the prophet quickly took off his bandage to which the King was taken aback and immediately recognized the prophet!

  • Really quickly: Truth concealed will always be revealed!

    • This moment resembles the classic David and Nathan moment in 2 Samuel 12:1-7.

    • Where Nathan paints an illustration by way of a story so that David could ultimately see himself in that narrative.

  • Storytelling has a very interesting way of allowing us to see ourselves in the narrative and once we see ourselves, we are forced to face ourselves in the mirror.

    • Friends, that is the point of biblical narrative: You and I must face ourselves with the ugly truth that is presented before us.

    • And the reality is it will either convict us to respond accordingly or keep us blind because we refuse to see ourselves in the end.

  • Some will quickly come to a narrative like this one and say – “That’s an interesting story", and walk away seeing it through a historical lens.

    • But the word of God serves as a mirror. James 1:23-27 says this:

James 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
James 1:24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
James 1:25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

• Well, from the completion of this story and the king's response, the prophet tells the king:

  • “Because you have let go out of your hand the man who I devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life and your people for his people.”

    • The prophet puts the cards on the table letting King Ahab know, you are the man that let the other go.

    • And because of your negligence to the instruction of the Lord, you must face the rightful judgement of your disobedience.

  • Now one may ask the question: “Where in the narrative did the Lord say that Ben-Hadad was to be killed?”

    • The reality was the writer does not include that in the narrative, however it is to be assumed based upon what we have just read in verse 42.

    • If the Lord has held Ahab to this word, it means that at some point it had been revealed prior.

    • However, Ahab saw fit to neglect the instructions given to him because he must have thought “his method and ways” were better.

  • And as one could imagine, hearing this word would have caused much internal/mental conflict for someone – and that it did.

    • Because in verse 43 we are told that upon the king’s arrival home that he was sullen and vexed.

    • The word sullen in Hebrew means to be in a gloomy and darkened state – almost depressed and downcast.

    • And at the same time he was vexed – literally angry or furious.

  • He is probably sullen at the fact that his life was soon coming to an end, as we will see in Chapter 22.

    • But furthermore, he is angry. Angry at both himself for failing to have listened to the word of the Lord and angry at the prophecy itself.

  • Isn’t it interesting that when we have been the primary cause of our issue that we would rather seek to shift blame of our downfall on others rather than examine ourselves.

    • It’s the oldest trick in the book going back all the way to the garden in Genesis.

    • The moment that Adam has eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and God calls out to Adam where are you – how does Adam respond?

    • Turn with me to Genesis 3:9-12.

Genesis 3:9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
Genesis 3:11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Genesis 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”

• Adam completely ignores the fact that it was the Lord who gave him the instructions of what to eat and what NOT to eat.

  • Yet, Adam seeks to “blame shift” his frustration and missteps to his wife instead.

  • And here we find King Ahab, having neglected his duty of upholding the word of the Lord, yet he fails to do so because he thinks he has it under control.

  • The lack of obedience becomes his downfall which leads to the rightful judgement of God heading his way.

• The reality is, we all were doomed for the rightful wrath of God to fall upon us, but at the right time, God sent His Son.

  • Jesus fully accomplished the Law and obeyed the Lord to the “t” knowing that we would never be able to apart from His divine help.

    • So, He who knew no sin, took upon Himself our sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God.

    • His innocence for our guilt.

    • Our blame for His blamelessness.

    • Our brokenness for His beauty.

  • Christ obeyed the Father so that we could ultimately walk in obedience under the power of His Spirit, by way of His righteousness!

    • The word of the Lord and His truth will either move one to respond positively or it will cause one to be vexed.

  • The opportunity to respond to truth is available. The question is will you respond to the knocking of the Spirit of the Lord on your heart?

  • Let’s Pray.