The Lengths God Goes To

1 Kings 20:1-43

What lengths will God go to in order to draw someone to himself? It?s not that God is needy. He isn?t lonely up there in heaven and is begging for people to fellowship with, but the Lord knows that having a relationship is what we were made for, and His love for us is so great, and not having a relationship with God so horrible, that He will go to great lengths to gather us to his side.

That?s why it?s not surprising that God performs a miracle for Ahab. Despite insurmountable odds, Israel wins two decisive battles against Syria. Despite this, Ahab does not turn to God and away from his idols (though he repents to a degree in chapter 21). But Ahab would rather trust his own intelligence, than rely on the Lord for wisdom and direction, and it gets him in deep trouble.

The geo-political situation at the time was that Assyria, to the north, was amassing troops and getting ready to invade the southern nations. Syria stood between Assyria and Israel and could end up as a buffer.

1

Israel was already weakened by famine. Ben-hadad apparently saw this as an opportunity to invade. Damascus was a perennial enemy of Israel. He got so far as to actually surround Samaria itself. He then puts a series of demands on Ahab to see how far he can push a surrender without firing a shot.

2 ? 4

Ben-hadad basically says ?give me any wife I want (and her children) and any treasures or amount of gold I identify.? Ahab (without asking God) says ?okay.? But Ben-hadad isn?t finished there.

5 ? 6

It?s like negotiating with terrorists or a bully, the more you give in the more they push. This isn?t like when Jesus said ?if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles? (Matthew 5:41). This is more like when the enemy said to Jesus about the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 4:7-8) ?If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.? In reality, if Jesus had done that, all the kingdoms of the earth would have been under Jesus and then Jesus would have been under Satan.

Syria was an enemy of God?s people that the Lord wanted to destroy. Ahab should not have given in to the first demand. When the second comes he realizes Ben-hadad is not going to stop so he finally goes to his advisors for help.

7 ? 12

I love Ahab?s retort to Ben-hadad. It?s kind of like ?don?t count your chickens before they?re hatched.? At this point, however, Ahab?s boasting is empty as he has no way of stopping Ben-hadad.

13 ? 15

We don?t know who the prophet is but notice what he says: ?realize how hopeless your situation is? and ?I?m going to do something amazing so you will know who God really is.? Apparently the slaughter of the priests of Ba?al wasn?t enough for Ahab.

16 ? 21

Apparently Ben-hadad had all confidence in his army so in the middle of a siege in the middle of the day he gets drunk. Perhaps his own weakness makes him unable to think clearly to lead the people against Israel. God works the miracle, and a force of young army officers overcome their adversaries and it prompts a full retreat.

22 ? 25

The same prophet comes back to Ahab and tells him to get ready as Ben-hadad will come back, and that?s exactly what was going on in Ben-hadad?s camp. The Syrians had no real understanding of who God was. Many of the peoples of those times thought that gods were provincial, in that they had control of only a small area. This happens in order to show Ahab, and the Syrians, that the Lord of Hosts who created the entire universe, was in Israel.

26 ? 30a

Again, the purpose of this miracle is to show Ahab ?that I am the Lord.? But here is where Ahab makes his mistake. Instead of pressing the victory, Ahab turns it into a political and diplomatic opportunity.

30b ? 34

Ahab thought that having an ally in Syria was more important than obeying God and having an ally in Him. He was thinking and acting in human terms, looking around him and assessing the situation with worldly eyes instead of asking for spiritual eyes. Getting into bed with the enemy doesn?t tame him, it only creates opportunities for closer temptation and further degrading of your relationship with God.

35 ? 43

This is another prophet who goes to a fellow prophet and orders him to strike him. It seems a bit harsh, doesn?t it, that the disobedience results in the death of the prophet? Well, for one, God is willing to sacrifice a life if it makes a strong statement, as he did with the prophet who disobeyed God in chapter 13. Secondly, this prophet should have known better?this wasn?t a light thing, just an off-handed remark by a brother, this was the word of God.

God tells Ahab that his unwillingness to follow through and destroy an enemy of God means his own life will be forfeited and that his nation will suffer loss. It turns a victory that Ahab probably thought he wrought, into a defeat. No ticker-tape parades away Ahab as he slinks back into Samaria.

Conclusions

I think the next episode we see not only reveals Ahab?s character, but I wonder that its proximity to this chapter is no accident. Ahab?s anger at his own inability to get his way with a strong God is transferred to someone he can take advantage of, the innocent Naboth. Ahab can?t win in the end against Syria, so he grabs the land of poor Naboth, an action that carries with it some extreme consequences.

What was God trying to show Ahab?

? You are at the mercy of the enemy without me (1 ? 4)

? You will never win if you try to outwit the enemy on your own (5 ? 12)

? With God by your side you will always win but the purpose is so you will know who is God (and it?s not you 13 ? 21)

? No matter the odds against you, with God at your side you will win (22 ? 30)

? The purpose is to show you, and the world, who is really God and how powerful He is (22 ? 30)

? When God begins a victory, don?t try to finish it with your own wits (31 ? 42)

? When God calls you for a mistake, repent, don?t pout (43)