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Kings chapter 20, contrasts following God’s direction versus doing
things our own way. God does lead us through other people and by His
Holy Spirit, but we need to always consider His written Word first.
The chapter begins with Ben-Hadad king of Aram and a coalition of
thirty-two kings preparing to attack King Ahab and the nation of
Israel. We read that before attacking, they sent a messenger to
Israel, “Your
silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are
mine.”
Shockingly, the king of Israel answered, “Just
as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours“.
We get the sense that this is normal for King Ahab to allow the
enemy to have their way. In fact the emboldened coalition king then
raised the stakes. He declared they would search house to house and
“seize
everything you value and carry it away“.
That demand was so outrageous that Ahab wisely consulted with the
elders of Israel. The elders advised, “Don’t
listen to him or agree to his demands“.
Ahab had previously been advised by the false prophets, but they had
been destroyed. Proverbs 13:20 cautions us to be wary of who we
accept counsel from “He
who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will
suffer harm“.
Financial counselor Dave Ramsey says it this way, “Don’t take
financial advice from someone that is broke”.
The
enemy was very overconfident. “Ben-Hadad
heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their
tents“.
Meanwhile, God brought an unnamed prophet to King Ahab. The prophet
encouraged King Ahab with God’s word, “Do
you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then
you will know that I am the Lord“.
Note that God’s primary objective is NOT to make everyone
happy. The prophet also gave the king a plan to follow. The king
did as God commanded and we read, “The
king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and
inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans“.
We read that the following spring, the enemy planned their attack
once again. This time they were convinced they could defeat Israel.
“Their
gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us“.
How many people believe God has authority only over parts of their
life? God repeated His promise a second time, “I
will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I
am the Lord“.
And the result was decisive, “The
Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean
foot soldiers in one day… And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in
an inner room“.
The
chapter ends with the enemy king sending a message, “Please
let me live“.
Ahab failed to consult godly counsel and instead replied, “On
the basis of a treaty I will set you free.”
So he made a treaty with him, and let him go. The chapter ends with
the prophet pronouncing God’s judgment on Ahab for his
disobedience. “You
have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your
life for his life, your people for his people“.
And the typical result of living outside of God’s will: “Sullen
and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria“.
Are you tired of fighting the enemy on your own? Jesus told His
disciples, “These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the
world you will
have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”
(John 16:33). Trust His Word.