The pronouncement concerning Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.” - Isaiah 17:1
The Biblical nation of Aram equates to modern-day Syria. Its capital city was and still is Damascus. The people of Aram were descendants of Noah’s son Shem. They became known as Aramaens. Aram is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, during the era of the patriarchs, the judges, and the kings. By the time of the New Testament, its name had officially changed to Syria. During Israel’s divided kingdom era, which is the topic of our current study, Aram was ruled by a leader named Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad is actually a title, not a name, similar to “Pharaoh” or “Emperor”. It means “son of Hadad.” Hadad was the Mesopotamian god of thunder and storms. It was common in ancient times for kings to be named after gods. Bible historians believe there were 3 separate kings in Aram who went by this title - Ben-hadad I, Ben-hadad II (his son or grandson), and Ben-hadad III (an unrelated man who assassinated Ben-hadad II). We will mention all 3 of these men during this series.
In today’s sermon, we will turn our attention away from Elijah the prophet (who we’ve spoken about for the past 2 weeks) and focus instead on King Ahab and Israel’s renewed war with Ben-hadad, king of Aram. This may have still been Ben-hadad I, the same man who made a treaty with King Asa of Judah some 25-30 earlier in his skirmish against Baasha (1 Kings 15:16-22), but was more likely Ben-hadad II. Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20 and let’s begin…
I. AHAB’S RESISTANCE (1 Kings 20:1-12)
Ben-hadad king of Aram, along with 32 other kings, gathered a united army with horses and chariots and went up to Samaria and besieged it. He sent a message to King Ahab, who was surrounded in the city, that he wanted all of his gold and silver, as well as his most beautiful wives and children. Seeing no other choice, Ahab agreed to Ben-hadad’s request. However, when the king of Aram’s messengers returned a second time they told Ahab that they’d be coming the next day to search his house as well as those of his servants to take whatever they found desirable.
While Ahab had previously agreed to a limited seizure of his possessions, this expanded seizure seemed too much. He called all of his elders together and explained to them what had happened. They advised him not to consent to Ben-hadad’s new terms. Therefore, Ahab told the messengers that he would abide by the initial request, but would not consent to the second, larger request. When Ahab’s message was delivered, Ben-hadad decided to attack the city and take it by force.
He sent a pompous message to Ahab stating that he and the Aramaen army would reduce Samaria to dust. Ahab defiantly replied, “Let not him who girds his armor boast like him who takes it off.” In other words, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. When the king of Aram received Ahab’s snarky response, he readied his forces to attack Samaria.
II. AHAB’S FIRST VICTORY (1 Kings 20:13-25)
In the meantime an unnamed prophet approached King Ahab and told him that God would deliver the city from the Aramaens, again showing Himself to be the true LORD. Skeptical, Ahab asked by what means. The prophet answered, “By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.” These were small, regional units of skilled commandos. Ahab asked who would begin the battle and the prophet answered that he would. So Ahab gathered his forces, 232 commandos and 7,000 regular Israeli soldiers, to start the fight.
Israel went out at noon, while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings were drinking themselves drunk in their tents. The young men from the provinces went first and it was reported that they were coming. Ben-hadad commanded that they be taken alive. When the Aramaen soldiers approached them, Israel suddenly attacked. They slaughtered Aram’s forces and pursued them as they fled. Ben-hadad escaped on horseback. Nevertheless, King Ahab and Israel achieved a great victory.
The prophet returned to Ahab once again and advised him to strengthen himself because Ben-hadad and the army of Aram would be back at the turn of the year. Meanwhile, as the Aramaen army sought to recover its losses and regroup from its crushing defeat, Ben-hadad’s advisors reasoned that Israel’s gods were gods of the mountains while Aram’s gods were gods of the plains. They instructed him to replace his supporting kings with captains and to fight Israel on the plains rather than in the mountains, so that they would have the advantage and prevail. This would be the strategy for their next battle.
III. AHAB’S SECOND VICTORY (1 Kings 20:26-43)
Just as predicted, at the turn of the year the king of Aram, Ben-hadad, and his replenished army went up to fight against Israel on the plains surrounding Aphek. Israel went out and camped opposite of Aram. An unnamed prophet, perhaps the same person as before, came and told King Ahab that God would deliver Israel again, although they were vastly outnumbered, once more proving himself to be the LORD. Both camps were still for a week, but on the 7th day the battle began. Israel was victorious, killing 100,000 of Aram’s soldiers in a single day. The remaining 27,000 fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall subsequently fell on them.
Ben-hadad hid himself in the city. His servants advised him that Israel’s kings were known to be merciful, and counseled him to surrender. Heeding their advice, Ben-hadad came out of hiding and surrendered himself to Ahab. Ben-hadad promised to return the Israeli cities that had been previously taken by Aram and to restore friendly relations between the 2 kingdoms. Agreeing to the covenant, Ahab allowed Ben-hadad to live and released him to return to Damascus.
Meanwhile, another unnamed prophet asked a man to strike him. When the man refused, the prophet told him that he would be killed by a lion for his disobedience. When the man left, a lion found and killed him just as had been prophesied. The unnamed prophet asked another man to strike him. This time the man complied and hit the prophet, leaving an obvious injury. The prophet disguised himself with a bandage and went to speak to King Ahab. He presented himself as a soldier who had been charged to guard a prisoner with his life, but told the king that somehow his prisoner had escaped.
King Ahab ordered that he be executed, consistent with the penalty that had been given by his commanding officer. However, the whole story was made up. The prophet revealed his true identity and explained that his story was an object lesson for Ahab. Just as he was furious at the hypothetical soldier for allowing his hypothetical prisoner to escape, so also God was angry at Ahab for allowing Ben-hadad to go free. As a result, God would bring judgment on Ahab for his negligence.
CONCLUSION
I want to make 3 observations from this chapter before we conclude today’s message. First, don’t presume you know the outcome of something before you’ve even started. Ben-hadad boasted of victory prior to the fight, and ended up getting whipped - twice. Second, when God shows you who He is, believe Him. God showed Himself to Ahab at Mt. Carmel (which we discussed last week), and again during both his first and second victories over Aram. Sadly, Ahab still didn’t repent or change his evil ways. Third, if God affords you an opportunity to rid yourself of danger, consistent with His will of course, take it. I am not suggesting that you should murder your enemies, but I am saying that if you foolishly allow sinful influences to remain in your life rather than disposing of them, it is likely that they will eventually bring you down. Beloved, the broad road leads to destruction, so if you see an exit ramp, get off. And by the way, the exit ramp is named Jesus…
The Biblical nation of Aram equates to modern-day Syria. Its capital city was and still is Damascus. The people of Aram were descendants of Noah’s son Shem. They became known as Aramaens. Aram is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, during the era of the patriarchs, the judges, and the kings. By the time of the New Testament, its name had officially changed to Syria. During Israel’s divided kingdom era, which is the topic of our current study, Aram was ruled by a leader named Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad is actually a title, not a name, similar to “Pharaoh” or “Emperor”. It means “son of Hadad.” Hadad was the Mesopotamian god of thunder and storms. It was common in ancient times for kings to be named after gods. Bible historians believe there were 3 separate kings in Aram who went by this title - Ben-hadad I, Ben-hadad II (his son or grandson), and Ben-hadad III (an unrelated man who assassinated Ben-hadad II). We will mention all 3 of these men during this series.
In today’s sermon, we will turn our attention away from Elijah the prophet (who we’ve spoken about for the past 2 weeks) and focus instead on King Ahab and Israel’s renewed war with Ben-hadad, king of Aram. This may have still been Ben-hadad I, the same man who made a treaty with King Asa of Judah some 25-30 earlier in his skirmish against Baasha (1 Kings 15:16-22), but was more likely Ben-hadad II. Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20 and let’s begin…
I. AHAB’S RESISTANCE (1 Kings 20:1-12)
Ben-hadad king of Aram, along with 32 other kings, gathered a united army with horses and chariots and went up to Samaria and besieged it. He sent a message to King Ahab, who was surrounded in the city, that he wanted all of his gold and silver, as well as his most beautiful wives and children. Seeing no other choice, Ahab agreed to Ben-hadad’s request. However, when the king of Aram’s messengers returned a second time they told Ahab that they’d be coming the next day to search his house as well as those of his servants to take whatever they found desirable.
While Ahab had previously agreed to a limited seizure of his possessions, this expanded seizure seemed too much. He called all of his elders together and explained to them what had happened. They advised him not to consent to Ben-hadad’s new terms. Therefore, Ahab told the messengers that he would abide by the initial request, but would not consent to the second, larger request. When Ahab’s message was delivered, Ben-hadad decided to attack the city and take it by force.
He sent a pompous message to Ahab stating that he and the Aramaen army would reduce Samaria to dust. Ahab defiantly replied, “Let not him who girds his armor boast like him who takes it off.” In other words, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. When the king of Aram received Ahab’s snarky response, he readied his forces to attack Samaria.
II. AHAB’S FIRST VICTORY (1 Kings 20:13-25)
In the meantime an unnamed prophet approached King Ahab and told him that God would deliver the city from the Aramaens, again showing Himself to be the true LORD. Skeptical, Ahab asked by what means. The prophet answered, “By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.” These were small, regional units of skilled commandos. Ahab asked who would begin the battle and the prophet answered that he would. So Ahab gathered his forces, 232 commandos and 7,000 regular Israeli soldiers, to start the fight.
Israel went out at noon, while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings were drinking themselves drunk in their tents. The young men from the provinces went first and it was reported that they were coming. Ben-hadad commanded that they be taken alive. When the Aramaen soldiers approached them, Israel suddenly attacked. They slaughtered Aram’s forces and pursued them as they fled. Ben-hadad escaped on horseback. Nevertheless, King Ahab and Israel achieved a great victory.
The prophet returned to Ahab once again and advised him to strengthen himself because Ben-hadad and the army of Aram would be back at the turn of the year. Meanwhile, as the Aramaen army sought to recover its losses and regroup from its crushing defeat, Ben-hadad’s advisors reasoned that Israel’s gods were gods of the mountains while Aram’s gods were gods of the plains. They instructed him to replace his supporting kings with captains and to fight Israel on the plains rather than in the mountains, so that they would have the advantage and prevail. This would be the strategy for their next battle.
III. AHAB’S SECOND VICTORY (1 Kings 20:26-43)
Just as predicted, at the turn of the year the king of Aram, Ben-hadad, and his replenished army went up to fight against Israel on the plains surrounding Aphek. Israel went out and camped opposite of Aram. An unnamed prophet, perhaps the same person as before, came and told King Ahab that God would deliver Israel again, although they were vastly outnumbered, once more proving himself to be the LORD. Both camps were still for a week, but on the 7th day the battle began. Israel was victorious, killing 100,000 of Aram’s soldiers in a single day. The remaining 27,000 fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall subsequently fell on them.
Ben-hadad hid himself in the city. His servants advised him that Israel’s kings were known to be merciful, and counseled him to surrender. Heeding their advice, Ben-hadad came out of hiding and surrendered himself to Ahab. Ben-hadad promised to return the Israeli cities that had been previously taken by Aram and to restore friendly relations between the 2 kingdoms. Agreeing to the covenant, Ahab allowed Ben-hadad to live and released him to return to Damascus.
Meanwhile, another unnamed prophet asked a man to strike him. When the man refused, the prophet told him that he would be killed by a lion for his disobedience. When the man left, a lion found and killed him just as had been prophesied. The unnamed prophet asked another man to strike him. This time the man complied and hit the prophet, leaving an obvious injury. The prophet disguised himself with a bandage and went to speak to King Ahab. He presented himself as a soldier who had been charged to guard a prisoner with his life, but told the king that somehow his prisoner had escaped.
King Ahab ordered that he be executed, consistent with the penalty that had been given by his commanding officer. However, the whole story was made up. The prophet revealed his true identity and explained that his story was an object lesson for Ahab. Just as he was furious at the hypothetical soldier for allowing his hypothetical prisoner to escape, so also God was angry at Ahab for allowing Ben-hadad to go free. As a result, God would bring judgment on Ahab for his negligence.
CONCLUSION
I want to make 3 observations from this chapter before we conclude today’s message. First, don’t presume you know the outcome of something before you’ve even started. Ben-hadad boasted of victory prior to the fight, and ended up getting whipped - twice. Second, when God shows you who He is, believe Him. God showed Himself to Ahab at Mt. Carmel (which we discussed last week), and again during both his first and second victories over Aram. Sadly, Ahab still didn’t repent or change his evil ways. Third, if God affords you an opportunity to rid yourself of danger, consistent with His will of course, take it. I am not suggesting that you should murder your enemies, but I am saying that if you foolishly allow sinful influences to remain in your life rather than disposing of them, it is likely that they will eventually bring you down. Beloved, the broad road leads to destruction, so if you see an exit ramp, get off. And by the way, the exit ramp is named Jesus…