1 Kings 20

In his novel Moby Dick, Herman Melville gave the name Ahab to the deranged captain of the whaling vessel Pequod. (Melville also included a “prophet” named Elijah.) The Ahab in the Bible is a weak man who destroyed himself and his family because he allowed his evil wife, Jezebel, to turn him into a monster. The name Jezebel is familiar to people today and has even made it into the dictionary: “Jezebel—an evil, shameless woman.” To call a woman “a Jezebel” is to put her on the lowest level of society (see Rev. 2:20–23). The prophet Elijah described the man accurately when he told Ahab, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord” (1 Kings 21: nkjv).

These chapters describe four events in Ahab’s life: three battles with the Syrians (Aram) and a land-grab scam that involved an illegal trial and several murders. Because he wasn’t rightly related to the Lord and His Word, Ahab was enslaved to sin, but “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and Ahab received his wages with dividends. We will look at the four events and see Ahab’s varied responses.

This is the first of two occasions when wicked King Ahab showed a glimmer of spiritual understanding. Israel was just coming out three years of famine when Ben-hadad, King of Syria, decided to attack and take advantage of their plight. King David had defeated these northern nations (called Syria in the older translations, Aram in the newer ones), but these nations had gradually regained their independence. Another factor in Ben-hadad’s attack was the growing strength of Assyria in the north. Ben-hadad wanted to control the trade routes through Israel because he had lost the northern routes to Assyria, and he also wanted to be sure that Israel would provide men and weapons in case of an Assyrian invasion.

The siege (vv. 1–12). The thirty-two “kings” who allied with Ben-hadad were the rulers of northern citystates whose safety and prosperity depended a good deal on the strength of Syria. We aren’t told how long the siege of Samaria lasted, but Syria ultimately brought Ahab to the place of submission. First, Benhadad demanded Ahab’s wealth and family, and Ahab agreed. Ben-hadad planned to hold the family hostage just to make sure Ahab didn’t back out of his agreement. Instead of Ahab calling for Elijah or another prophet and seeking the help of the Lord, he quickly capitulated. (Contrast this decision with Saul’s decision in 1 Samuel 11.) Ben-hadad wasn’t satisfied with this arrangement and wanted more, but his covetousness led to his defeat. In addition to taking the king’s wealth and the royal family, Ben-hadad wanted to send officers to search all the royal buildings and take whatever they wanted! Agreeing with this request was much too humiliating for proud Ahab, so he and his advisers refused to accept it.

When he received Ahab’s message, Ben-hadad was probably drunk and feeling very brave, because he made an unwise decision. He could have gotten most of what he wanted without sacrificing a single soldier, but now he made an oath to grind Samaria to powder, and he had to live up to his boast. To his credit, Ahab replied with a familiar proverb that could have applied to him as much as to Ben-hadad. It’s the equivalent of, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

The promise (vv. 13–21). In opposing Ben-hadad, Ahab had nothing to stand on, but God in His grace sent him a message of hope: the Lord would give Ahab the victory. The Lord wasn’t doing this because Ahab deserved it but because He wanted to honor His own name before the wavering king of Israel and his people. As He did on Mount Carmel, so Jehovah would do on the battlefield: He would demonstrate that He alone is God (18:36–37). We commend Ahab for receiving the promise and asking for further instructions. Perhaps Jezebel wasn’t home that day to influence him the wrong way.

Following the example of Solomon (1 Kings 4:7ff.), Ahab’s father, Omri, had divided the kingdom of Israel into a number of political districts, each in the charge of a “provincial leader” who was also an army officer. The Lord selected these leaders to lead the attack against Syria, and Ahab was to lead the small army of 7,000 men. They went out at noon, knowing that Benhadad and his officers would be eating and drinking and be in no condition to fight a battle. Even when Ben-hadad’s scouts reported that a company of men was approaching the Syrian camp, the Syrian king wasn’t afraid but told the guard to take them alive. The military strategy for capturing prisoners would be different from that for destroying an invading army, so Ahab’s men caught the Syrian guards by surprise and proceeded to wipe out the Syrian army. Instead of measuring the dust of Samaria as he threatened (v. 10), Ben-hadad jumped on his horse and escaped with his life. But because Ahab believed God’s word and acted upon it, God gave him a great victory.

The challenge (vv. 22–30). Another anonymous prophet spoke to Ahab and cautioned him to strengthen his forces and be prepared for another invasion. While Ahab was listening to God’s message, Ben-hadad was listening to his officers explain Syria’s great defeat. They were healing their king’s wounded pride while at the same time protecting their own lives. They explained that their great army wasn’t at fault; the defeat was the fault of the terrain. The gods of the Syrians were “gods of the plains,” while Israel’s God was a “god of the hills.” Change the location and Syria will have the victory.

We now have a different scenario, because not only was the enemy challenging God’s people, he was challenging God Himself! This was the Mount Carmel contest all over again, and the Lord wouldn’t let it go unchallenged. Jehovah is the Lord of all the earth! He sent another man of God to assure Ahab of victory, but only because He wanted Ahab, the army of Israel, and the men of Syria to know that Jehovah alone is God. The Lord gave Israel victory on the battlefield, and when the enemy fled into the city of Aphek, God sent an earthquake and killed 27,000 Syrian soldiers. By the grace of God, Ahab won a second great victory!

When God sent King Saul to fight the Amalekites, He made it clear that He wanted the Israelites to completely destroy them (1 Sam. 15). Saul disobeyed the Lord and as a result lost his kingdom. The Lord must have given a similar command to King Ahab (v. 42), but he, too, disobeyed. Ahab won the battle but lost the victory. What the enemy couldn’t accomplish with their weapons, they accomplished with their deception. If Satan can’t succeed as the lion who devours (1 Peter 5:8), he will come as a serpent who deceives (2 Cor. 11:3). Even Joshua fell into a similar trap (Josh. 9).

Ben-hadad’s officers were clever men who knew it was worth the risk to appeal to Ahab’s pride. God had given the victory, but Ahab would take the credit and claim the spoils. In their dress and their attitude, the officers pretended to show humble submission to Ahab as he waited in his chariot (v. 33). Ahab certainly enjoyed the “honor” he was receiving after the great victory, but not once did he give the glory to the Lord. To hear that Ben-hadad was his servant made his heart glad, and he was more than willing to spare the man’s life. Later, Hazael would kill Ben-hadad and become the king (2 Kings 8).

Ben-hadad immediately entered into a treaty with Ahab and gave back to Israel the cities his father had taken (1 Kings 15:20). He also gave Ahab permission to sell Israel’s produce and wares in the market at Damascus, which amounted to a trade agreement. That the king of Israel should make such a treaty with the enemy is remarkable, but Ahab had no convictions (except those of his wife) and always took the easy way out of any situation. Furthermore, he needed the support of Aram in case the Assyrians should decide to move south. This treaty lasted three years (22:1).

The Lord couldn’t allow Ahab to disobey and get away with it, so He instructed one of the sons of the prophets to confront the king about his sin. The “sons of the prophets” were young men who had special prophetic gifts and met in groups to study with elder prophets like Samuel (1 Sam. 7:17; 28:3), Elijah, and Elisha (2 Kings 2:3–7, 16; 4:38, 40). Knowing that he would have to catch Ahab by surprise to get his attention, the man wisely set up an “action sermon” that would arouse the king’s interest. The young man told a fellow student about God’s orders and asked him to strike him with a weapon, but the man refused. We can understand a friend not wanting to injure a friend, but like Ahab, the young prophet was disobeying God, and it cost him his life. This certainly put the fear of God into the other students, because the next one the young man approached was only too willing to comply. Disguised as a wounded soldier, he was ready to deliver his message.

In those days, a person could approach the king to help decide matters that needed legal clarification, and when Ahab saw this “injured soldier” sitting by the side of the road, his curiosity was aroused. Now we have a replay of Nathan’s approach to David after David committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12), for just as David determined his own sentence, so Ahab announced his own guilt! Hearing that the “soldier” had lost an important prisoner of war and would have to forfeit his life or pay an enormous fine (seventy-five pounds of silver), the king replied, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it” (v. 40 nasb). The king could have granted the man a pardon and saved his life, but he preferred to let him die. But in so doing, Ahab was declaring his own guilt and passing sentence on himself!

How did Ahab recognize that the young man was one of the sons of the prophets? It’s not likely that Ahab was that close to Elijah’s followers to know them personally. When the bandage was removed, did it reveal some identifying mark? Had Ahab seen the man on Mount Carmel? We have no way of knowing, but the sight must have shocked the king. The man that Ahab judged now became Ahab’s judge and announced that one day the Syrians would slay Ahab. But instead of repenting and seeking the Lord’s forgiveness, Ahab went home and pouted like a child (v. 43; see 21:4).