1 Kings 20
Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture Reading: Romans 8:35-39
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:35-39
1 Kings 20
1 Kings 20
The Past Few Weeks have Been Focused on the Prophet Elijah
The Mount Carmel Showdown…
Led to Elijah Fleeing from Jezebel…
Which Led to God Giving Elijah a New Mission:
To Anoint a New King Over Aram (Later Known as Syria)
To Anoint a New King Over Israel
To Anoint a New Prophet as His Replacement
Last Week, We Saw Elijah Throw His Coat Over Elisha…
Signifying that He’s Been Chosen to Serve & Eventually Replace Elijah
Now, We’d Probably Expect the Text to Show Us…
Elijah Anointing the 2 Kings as God had Said
But that’s Not What We See
Instead, the Camera Focuses on the Current King of Aram, Ben-Hadad
The Last Time We Saw Him…
Was When Asa, King of Judah, Made an Alliance with Him…
To Help Judah Fight Against Israel
Now, Ben-Hadad has Decided to Abuse His Power Over Israel
1 Kings 20:1 (NASB95)
1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.
Ben-Hadad, King of Aram, Along with 32 Allied Rulers & Their Armies…
Decide to Travel from His Capital City of Damascus…
To the Israelite Capital City of Samaria in Order to Besiege the City
1 Kings 20:2–3 (NASB95)
2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad, 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’ ”
Wow!
That’s Just about All I Know to Say about that
But King Ahab’s Response Makes it Even Worse
1 Kings 20:4 (NIV)
4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.”
He Just Says, “Okay!”
“Take My Silver, Gold, Wives, and Children!”
“They’re All Yours!”
Because of His Lack of a Backbone to Stand Up Against Ben-Hadad…
Things are Only Going to Get Worse
1 Kings 20:5–6 (NIV)
5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’ ”
Ben-Hadad Says:
“Hmmm, Nevermind What I Just Said”
“I’m Not Just Going to Take Your Gold, Silver, Wives, and Children…”
“I’m Going to Take Away Everything You Value”
King Ahab is No Saint…
But Man, Ben-Hadad Sure Makes Him Look like One By Comparison
So, King Ahab Meets with the Elders of Israel & Asks for Advice
They Essentially Tell Him to Tell Ben-Hadad:
To “Keep Dreaming”
“It Ain’t Gonna Happen”
So, King Ahab Says to Ben-Hadad:
“Listen, You can have My Gold, Silver, Wives, & Children…”
“But You Can’t have Anything Else”
1 Kings 20:10 (NIV)
10 Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”
Essentially, “There Won’t Anything Left of Samaria When I’m Done with it”
He Plans on Leveling the Place Entirely
But, Finally, Ahab has a Good Response to Ben-Hadad
1 Kings 20:11 (NIV)
11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’ ”
Essentially, “Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch”
Don’t Brag about a Victory Until You’ve Actually Won
Ben-Hadad was Busy Getting Drunk When He Received that Message
He’s So Unconcerned with this Battle with Israel…
That He Throws Drinking Parties in His Tent with His Buddies
1 Kings 20:13 (NIV)
13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
God is Going to Show Out…
And Bring Glory to Himself so that Ahab will Turn to Him
So Ahab Follows the Prophets Instructions from God
He Amasses an Army of a Little Over 7,000…
Being Led By 232 Young Sons of the Rulers of the Provinces
A Small Army Led By Young, Inexperienced Men
They’re Nothing Compared to the Massive Aramean Army
Ben-Hadad & His Ally Rulers are Still Getting Drunk…
Whenever the 232 Young Men Arrive Outside the Aramean Tents
Ben-Hadad Hears about Their Arrival & Says:
1 Kings 20:18 (NIV)
18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
Ben-Hadad is Still so Drunk & Unafraid of the Israelites…
That He Doesn’t Care if They’ve Come to Fight or Not
“Just Capture Them & Bring Them in Alive”
“That shouldn’t Be Too Much Trouble”
But, to His Surprise…
These 232 Young Leaders & Their Army of 7,000 Soldiers…
Start Bulldozing the Aramean Army
Ben-Hadad & the Remainder of His Army Fled from Israel
But, the Prophet Tells King Ahab:
“Prepare Yourself for Another Battle”
“In the Spring of Next Year, Ben-Hadad will Be Back”
1 Kings 20:23 (NIV)
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.
“That’s Why We Lost…”
“Israel’s Gods are Gods of the Mountains/Hills”
“If We Fight Them in the Plains, Their Gods Can’t Help Them”
So, in the Spring of the Next Year…
Ben-Hadad Replenished His Army…
And Went to Aphek to Fight Against Israel
1 Kings 20:27 (NIV)
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.
The Israelites were Still VASTLY Outnumbered
But, God Still has Some Showing Out to Do
1 Kings 20:28 (NIV)
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.’ ”
“They Think I’m Just a God of the Hills”
“Well They’re about to Find Out…
“That I’m the God of the Plains/Valleys as Well”
“And You will Know that I am the LORD/Yahweh/I Am”
“You” is Plural this Time
This isn’t Just to Show Ahab Who He is
This is for All of Israel
When the Battle Began…
Israel Killed 100,000 Aramean Soldiers
The Rest of the Aramean Army Fled to the City of Aphek…
Where the Wall Fell Down & Killed the Remaining 27,000
Ben-Hadad Hid in an Inner Chamber Within the City
1 Kings 20:31 (LSB)
31 Then his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of lovingkindness, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will preserve your life.”
“Oh King, We’ve Heard Good Things about the Kings of Israel”
“They’re Said to Be Very Kind/Merciful/Loving”
“If We Show Signs of Our Repentance & Submission to Him…”
“Maybe He’ll Spare Your Life?”
1 Kings 20:32–34 (NIV)
32 Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around 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 had him come 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.
Well, Simple as that
All Ben-Hadad had to Do was…
Pretend that He was Real Sorry for All He’d Just Attempted to Do to Israel…
And Throw Some Benefits Ahab’s Way…
And There He was, On His Way Back Home, Safe & Sound
Now, this Next Part is Going to Sound Pretty Out of Place…
But, Just Wait, You’ll See that it’s All Part of the Story
There was a Prophet Who Told Another Prophet to Hit Him
The 2nd Prophet Refused to Hit the 1st…
So God Sent a Lion to Kill the 2nd Prophet
Then the 1st Prophet Asked Another Man to Hit Him…
And He Did, Wounding His Eye
So He Put a Bandage Over His Eye
Then He Stood By the Road & Waited for King Ahab’s Chariot
1 Kings 20:39–42 (NLT)
39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!’ 40 But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!” “Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.” 41 Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.”
Just Like Nathan Convinced David of His Own Sin…
By Making Up a Story about a Man & His One Little Lamb…
This Prophet Fooled Ahab…
Into Bringing His Own Judgment Against Himself
Ahab was Supposed to Bring God’s Judgment Against Ben-Hadad…
But He Failed to Do that
So Now God’s Judgment is Coming for Ahab
1 Kings 20:43 (LSB)
43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and enraged, and came to Samaria.
He Goes Home Pouting
Why?
Because He Refused to Obey God…
And Now He’s Going to have to Pay for His Disobedience
Application
Application
Our God is a God of Mountains & Valleys
In Our Text, that’s Meant in a Literal Sense
But it Doesn’t Take Much Mental Effort…
To See a Figurative Meaning in that, Does it?
He’s Not Just Our God When We’re on the Peak of the Mountain
He’s Also Our God When We’re in the Deep, Dark Valley
He’s with Us When Everything is Going Our Way
And He’s with Us When Nothing is
He Cares for Us in Our Times of Joy & Happiness
And He Cares for Us in Our Times Sadness & Sorrow
He Loves Us When We’re Obedient, Righteous, and Holy
And He Loves Us When We’re Disobedient, Unrighteous, and Unholy
There aren’t Highs that are Too High for Him
And There aren’t Lows that are Too Low for Him
He’s Deserving of Our Love/Trust/Faithfulness…
In Every Circumstance that Life Throws at Us
Love/Trust Him in the Really Good Days
Love/Trust Him in the Really Bad Days
He’s Always There
He Always Cares
He Always Loves You
On the Mountain Above
And in the Valley Below
One More Quick Application to Take from this Chapter:
Don’t Misuse/Abuse/Take Advantage of God’s Grace
Ben-Hadad had Heard that the Kings of Israel were Gracious…
So He Tried Taking Advantage of that…
While Not Truly Seeking to Change His Behavior
Ahab was a Fool
But God Isn’t
He Doesn’t Fall for Fake or Half-Hearted Repentance
If We Hope to have Forgiveness…
Our Repentance, Confession of Sin, and Submission…
Must Be Sincere & Straight from the Heart