Ahab sent a message to Ben-Hadad that he would not surrender to his demands. Ben-Hadad and his army were drunkenly carousing and celebrating what they thought would be an easy victory. Upon hearing that Ahab would not give in, Ben-Hadad ordered his men to be ready to attack Samaria to take the city and everyone and everything in it by force.
"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.'" (1 Kings 20:13) The Lord isn't going to give victory because King Ahab is a good man; King Ahab isn't a good man. The Lord isn't going to give victory because the people have forsaken idolatry and turned back to Him; most of the people haven't repented of idolatry and given their allegiance to the Lord. The Lord is going to give victory as a testimony of His existence, as a display of His awesome power, and as proof of His love. The Lord is going to show mercy to King Ahab and the citizens of the nation. He's going to provide them with a wonderful opportunity to turn from darkness back to the light.
The Lord is merciful to all of us in the same way! How many times did you hear the word of the Lord before you gave Him your heart? I couldn't possibly begin to count how many opportunities the Lord gave me between the day of my birth and the day I gave Him my heart when I was twenty-two years old. Time and time again He made sure I heard the truth. Time and time again He displayed His love for me. The Lord has been doing the same things for King Ahab and for the people of ancient Israel. Some may have repented when He sent fire down from heaven on Mount Carmel but King Ahab certainly didn't and neither did countless others. Yet the Lord is still proving Himself to them. Since He knows all things, He knows who will and who will not give Him their heart, but no one can ever accuse Him of not trying. In the judgment, those who rejected Him over and over all their lives long will have to admit that He gave them many opportunities to repent.
We don't know the identity of the prophet who assures Ahab of victory but he must be someone who is recognized as giving accurate predictions because Ahab doesn't ignore his message. He does have a question for him though. "'But who will do this?' asked Ahab. The prophet replied, 'This is what the Lord says: The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.'" (1 Kings 20:14a) The author of 1 Kings told us at the beginning of the chapter that Ben-Hadad mustered "his entire army" to come against the capital city. Israel's army is desperately outnumbered, for we will learn that Ahab is able to muster only 7,000 troops (not including the junior officers) but later in the chapter this week we'll find out that Ben-Hadad has approximately 130,000 troops. This enormous disparity causes Ahab to ask the prophet, "Who will do this? Who will be able to stand against so many men?" The prophet's answer is surprising. The junior officers are to lead the battle. Battle-hardened generals aren't going to be at the forefront. Israel is going to win the battle with inexperienced commanders and with very few men so the credit will go to the Lord, where it belongs. The intention is for everyone in Israel to have to conclude that victory was given by the Lord and not that it was gained by their own strength.
Now Ahab knows who is going to take the men into battle. But who is going to announce that Israel is at war with Syria? Who is going to make the first move in this war? Who is going to order the army to charge forward? "'And who will start the battle?' he asked. The prophet answered, 'You will.'" (1 Kings 20:14b) If the king himself had not started the battle, I'm not sure anyone would have been willing to go. But just as we found Ahab finally displaying evidence of a backbone in yesterday's study, he displays courage again today by doing what the prophet tells him to do. "So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all." (1 Kings 20:15)
These things have been going on while Ben-Hadad and his men are prematurely and foolishly celebrating a victory that has not yet come to pass. The Syrian army won't be in tip-top fighting shape when it's time to face Ahab's troops. They've been made aware that King Ahab is refusing to surrender and they've been ordered to prepare to attack Samaria but they're all still drinking and under the influence while Ahab prepares to go on the offensive. "They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk." (1 Kings 20:16)
Ben-Hadad probably has an approximate idea of how many troops Israel can muster against him. He probably thinks that even if Ahab doesn't surrender, he will have no problem defeating Israel's army. And that would have been true if the Lord didn't plan to fight on Israel's side. Ben-Hadad has severely underestimated his opponent, for his opponent is not Israel alone---his opponent is the living God.
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