Slices
Prepare
Pray: Heavenly Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit, speak to me through your Word, put right my wrong thinking and set me on your path of life. Amen.
Bible passage
22 Afterwards, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, ‘Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.’
23 Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, ‘Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this: remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25 You must also raise an army like the one you lost – horse for horse and chariot for chariot – so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.’ He agreed with them and acted accordingly.
26 The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
28 The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’
29 For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
31 His officials said to him, ‘Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth round our waists and ropes round our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.’
32 Wearing sackcloth round their waists and ropes round their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, ‘Your servant Ben-Hadad says: “Please let me live.”’
The king answered, ‘Is he still alive? He is my brother.’
33 The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. ‘Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!’ they said.
‘Go and get him,’ the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab brought him up into his chariot.
34 “I will return the cities my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad offered. “You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Ahab said, “On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.” So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but he refused.
36 So the prophet said, “Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him and wounded him. 38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
“That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.
Explore
This passage deals with key misconceptions about the God of Israel: that he is limited (v 23) and that his mercy means he is a pushover (v 31).
The Arameans, like other ancient peoples, believed in gods with limited power who only had jurisdiction over distinct geographical areas. The Lord wants Ahab to think differently (v 28). The Lord is not limited; he is not even in a battle with any other god. There is no contest because no other gods exist! He proves this by using Israel’s paltry army (v 27) to inflict heavy losses on a well-equipped force that vastly outnumbered them. The writer of 1 and 2 Kings implies that God controls every event in this battle, even the freak ‘accident’ (v 30).
The second misconception is the nature of God’s mercy. Ben-Hadad assumed that his life came at the price of a city or two (v 34). But rebellion against God has only one outcome: death (v 42). Ahab paid the price for the mercy shown to Ben-Hadad, just as another king, Jesus, paid the price for the mercy shown to us. His life for our life.
Respond
Pray: Heavenly Father, you are unlimited in power. We praise you! Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your life as a ransom for ours. We praise you! Holy Spirit, you show us the glories of God. We praise you!
Deeper Bible study
This is the way; walk in it.’1 Which way is the Lord asking you to walk in today?
Who is in charge here? At first it might seem just another episode of war between ancient kings and forgotten kingdoms. The spring season brings another battle between Ben-Hadad and Ahab (v 26); the first knows nothing of God, the other ignores him. But look again. There is another presence (vs 22,28,42) – it is the Lord who wages war for his people and their future.
With their false understandings of gods, the Aramaeans decide their troops will do better if they fight ‘on the plains’ (v 23). They do not know the God of Israel! Imagine a drone perspective of the vast army of the Aramaeans stretching out over the landscape lined up against the Israelites. Opposite are two small camps looking ‘like two small flocks of goats’ (v 27). Humanly speaking, the outcome seems obvious, but the enemy, as God had said, is defeated (v 28). Again, the Aramaean king flees (vs 30,20). To complete the job, Ahab needs to be strong and to exercise God’s judgement. Instead, appeals (v 32) from the enemy and compromise (‘an old ally’, v 32) result in the enemy’s freedom and return to the status quo (vs 33,34). God is not happy with Ahab or his easiest-way-out strategy. He speaks again through his prophet.
The lived-out story in verses 35–43 may at first seem difficult to understand. Remember, this is not a separate biblical tale, but the closing reflection on an enemy’s threat to destroy God’s people. Ahab, with God’s help, was commissioned and equipped to destroy this threat (vs 13,28) – but he had chosen compromise (v 34). The prophet tells a sulky Ahab of God’s judgement on his failure (vs 42,43). As with Jeroboam, it wasn’t just the personal consequences that mattered, but those of all God’s people.
Sometimes, compromise might seem the easiest (the politest, kindest, best for our image) solution. Ask God for strength and courage to hear and obey his Word.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 10–12; 2 Timothy 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for the members of the Development Hub as they seek to create content for Faith Guides and volunteers who deliver the Revealing Jesus mission framework. Pray that the resources are true to the Bible, user-friendly, appropriate for children and young people in the 95, and exciting and inspirational.
