Chapter Twenty

 Ki 20:1  And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. 

1Ki 20:2  And he sent messengers to Ahab the king of Israel, to the city, and said to him, So says Ben-hadad, 

1Ki 20:3  Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your sons, the best, are mine. 

1Ki 20:4  And the king of Israel answered and said, According to your word, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have. 

1Ki 20:5  And the messengers came again and said, So says Ben-hadad, saying, Sending I sent to you, saying, Your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons you shall give to me; 

1Ki 20:6  I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and your servants' houses; and it shall be that whatever is pleasing in your eyes, they will put it in their hand and take it away. 

1Ki 20:7  And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Please note, and see the evil this one is seeking, for he sent to me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I did not withhold from him. 

1Ki 20:8  And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not listen nor consent. 

1Ki 20:9  And he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, All that you sent for to your servant at the first, I will do; but this thing I am not able to do; and the messengers went and took word back to him. 

1Ki 20:10  And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, So shall the gods do to me and more also if the dust of Samaria shall be enough for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 

1Ki 20:11  And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Do not let him that girds on boast himself like one who loosens his armor. 

1Ki 20:12  And it happened when this word was heard, and he was drinking, he and the kings, in the booths, that he said to his servants, Set in order; and they set in order against the city. 

1Ki 20:13  And behold, a certain prophet came near to Ahab the king of Israel, and said, So says Jehovah, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold I am going to give it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. 

1Ki 20:14  And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, So says Jehovah, by the young men of the rulers of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, You. 

1Ki 20:15  Then he called up the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two; and after them he called up all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand. 

1Ki 20:16  And they went out at noon, and Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty two kings helping him. 

1Ki 20:17  And the young men of the rulers of the provinces went out at first; and Ben-hadad sent, and they told him, saying, Men have come out of Samaria. 

1Ki 20:18  And he said, If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come to battle, seize them alive. 

1Ki 20:19  And these went out of the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 

1Ki 20:20  And each struck his man, and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse, also the horsemen. 

1Ki 20:21  And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses, and the chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow. 

1Ki 20:22  And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, Go, make yourself strong, and look and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. 

1Ki 20:23  And the king of Syria's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; on account of this they were stronger than us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely, we shall be stronger than them, 

1Ki 20:24  And do this thing: take away the kings, each out of his place, and set commanders in their place. 

1Ki 20:25  And number to yourself an army like the army that was lost from you, even, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and we shall fight with them in the plain. Are we not stronger than them? And he listened to their voice and did so. 

1Ki 20:26  And it happened at the turn of the year, Ben-hadad called up the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 

1Ki 20:27  And the sons of Israel were called up, and were supplied. And they went to meet them. And the sons of Israel camped before them, like two flocks of goats. And the Syrians filled the land. 

1Ki 20:28  And a man of God came near to the king of Israel and said, So says Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is God of the hills and not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. 

1Ki 20:29  And they pitched, these against those, seven days. And it happened in the seventh day, the battle came up. And the sons of Israel struck Syria, a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 

1Ki 20:30  And those remaining fled to Aphek, to the city. And the wall fell on twenty seven thousand of those left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner room. 

1Ki 20:31  And 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 we shall go to the king of Israel. It may be he will keep alive your life. 

1Ki 20:32  And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads. And they came in to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad has said, Please let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother. 

1Ki 20:33  And the men keenly observed, and quickly caught it from him, and said, Your brother, Ben-hadad. And he said, Go, bring him. And Ben-hadad came out to him. And he took him up on the chariot. 

1Ki 20:34  And he said to him, The cities that my father took from your father, I give back. And you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then I will let you go with a covenant. And he cut a covenant with him and sent him away. 

1Ki 20:35  And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, By the Word of Jehovah, please strike me. And the man refused to strike him. 

1Ki 20:36  And he said to him, Because you have not listened to the voice of Jehovah, behold, you shall go from me, and a lion shall kill you. And he left him, and a lion found him and killed him. 

1Ki 20:37  And he found another man and said, Please strike me. And the man struck him, striking and wounding. 

1Ki 20:38  And the prophet went and stood for the king on the highway, and disguised himself with ashes on his eyes. 

1Ki 20:39  And as the king passed by, it happened that he cried to the king, and said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man. If he is at all missing, then your life shall be for his life; or you shall weigh out a talent of silver. 

1Ki 20:40  And it happened, your servant was working here and there, and he was not there. And the king of Israel said to him, Your judgment is right. You have decided it. 

1Ki 20:41  And he hurried and took the ashes from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw him, that he was of the prophets. 

1Ki 20:42  And he said to him, So says Jehovah, Because you have sent away the man I had devoted from your hand, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. 

1Ki 20:43  And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria. 

Verses 1-12 Summary: First, diplomacy: Benhadad sends word to Ahab that all he has belongs to Benhadad. This would include wives, sons etc. Initially, Ahab agrees, but then consults his court. They advise that he resist. Ahab changes his mind. Benhadad prepares for war.

Note: Ben-hadad means "son of Hadad, the god of thunder/weather/storm (much like Baal).

6. We already studied earlier in 1Kings how Solomon as Adonijah as a threat to his throne when he asked for Abishag. Knowing this, what are the implications of Ben-hadad's demands? These sorts of actions were made against David as well in the case of Absalom. It is speculated that David may have even taken one of Saul's wives (2Sam 12:8). This sort of action proved the king to be impotent and unworthy of being a king. The taker was assumed the new king.

Note: As we saw earlier, Asa, king of Judah conspired against Baasha with Benhadad (possibly a different king), and it did not set well with Jehovah ( Chapter15)+(2Chro. 16). The initial conquests of Benhadad included all of Naphtali the likely region Elijah was from.

Verses 13-22 Summary: A prophet delivers God's word to Ahab. God tells him that Ahab with battle and win, and Ahab will start the battle. Ahab is told that young fighters will do this thing. It does happen this way. Syria is routed and Benhadad has to flee for his life. The prophet tells Ahab to strengthen himself because at the beginning of the year Behadad will come again.

Note: What does the writer want us to know about Benhadad in verses 12 and 16? Why is this important? There is no ambiguity of the effects of alcohol and decision making in this narrative. It's just a bad idea. In this second battle, heavy drinking is not implicated. Perhaps Ben-hadad thought that was an issue, while ignoring the Jehovah factor. 

Verses 23-30 Summary: As prophesied Benhadad plans to attack Israel at the turn of the year. He is advised this time to fight them on the plains and not the mountains. He agrees. A prophet tells Ahab that Benhadad will be defeated because they underestimated God. Benhadad gathers his armies to the plains. They are routed and 127,000 ultimately fall. Benhadad flees.  

7. Why would the Syrians believed that the gods of the Israelites were the gods of the hills? On the surface of it, they seem find it unbelievable to have lost the last battle. So they look to blame something. That thing was that Israel has an advantage in the mountains/hills because of their God. 
To another point, why does God make this statement part of the reason why He is going to rout them?!

Note: Ben-hadad has had to literally RUN AWAY from Israel to avoid death two times. This had to have an impact on him and his advisors. Total humiliation. By all rights, he has been shown to be an impotent king. More importantly, his god has been revealed to be impotent as well. 

Verses 31-43 Summary:  After two defeats, Ben-hadad is advised to ask for mercy. He does. Ahab, calls him "brother," gives him back the cities Omri defeated, the cuts a covenant with him.A prophet disguises himself and speaks to Ahab. He tells Ahab a parable  and Ahab says that the prophet has been justifiably judged. The prophet removes his disguise and tells Ahab the parable was about him and God has judged Ahab AND the people for letting Ben-hadad go free (as well as strengthening the alliance). 

8. What do you learn from Ahab in this section?
1) He does not want war.
2) He does not understand his position under Jehovah.

3) We don't see him asking for God's guidance. Does he think God gave him victory to build up the king?

4) He was easily duped by "'taking a road of peace." Preferring that over Jehovah. God was not finished with false idols or their kings. "you have sent away the man I had devoted" is the judgement against Ahab:
The term "dedicated" or "appointed": chêrem    cherem  - is typical of what God requires to be utterly destroyed. 

Again. These actions are indicative of a misunderstanding of our relationship to God. We are here to serve Him, not the other way around. It can be all too easy to think too highly of ourselves and make God out to be a buddy or pal we can call in favors for. There are strong implications for the Christian in this as well. God's gracious character is made available to us, not as a tool to build us up selfishly, but as a way to reveal our inadequacies and total need/reliance of God. 
All of that blew right by Ahab.