This
chapter is the history of a war between Ben-hadad king of
Syria
and Ahab king of
Israel, in which Ahab
was, once and again, victorious. We read nothing of Elijah or Elishain all
this story; Jezebel's rage, it is probable, had abated, and the persecution
of the prophets began to cool, which gleam of peace Elijah improved. He
appeared not at court, but, being told how many thousands of good people
there were in Israel more than he thought of, employed himself, as we may
suppose, in founding religious houses, schools, or colleges of prophets, in
several parts of the country, to be nurseries of religion, that they might
help to reform the nation when the throne and court would not be reformed.
While he was thus busied, God favoured the nation with the successes we here
read of, which were the more remarkable because obtained against Ben-hadad
king of Syria, whose successor, Hazael, was ordained to be a scourge to
Israel. They must shortly suffer by the Syrians, and yet now triumphed over
them, that, if possible, they might be led to repentance by the goodness of
God. Here is,
I.
Ben-hadad's descent upon
Israel, and his insolent demand, ver. 1-11. II. The
defeat Ahab gave him, encouraged and directed by a prophet, ver. 12-21. III.
The Syrians rallying again, and the second defeat Ahab gave them, ver.
22-30. IV. The covenant of peace Ahab made with Ben-hadad, when he had him
at his mercy (ver. 31-34), for which he is reproved and threatened by a
prophet, ver. 35-43.
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Ben-hadad's
Insolent Demand.
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B.
C. 900.
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1 And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all
his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and
horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred
against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into
the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, 3 Thy silver
and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even
the goodliest, are mine. 4 And the king of Israel
answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am
thine, and all that I have. 5 And the messengers came again, and
said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee,
saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and
thy children; 6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow
about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy
servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes,
they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark,
I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto
me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold;
and I denied him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people
said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. 9
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king,
All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this
thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word
again. 10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so
unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls
for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel
answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his
harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
Here is, I. The threatening descent which Ben-hadad made upon Ahab's
kingdom, and the siege he laid to Samaria, his royal city, v. 1. What
the ground of the quarrel was we are not told; covetousness and ambition
were the principle, which would never want some pretence or other. David in
his time had quite subdued the Syrians and made them tributaries to Israel,
but Israel's apostasy from God makes them formidable again. Asa had tempted
the Syrians to invade Israel once (ch. xv. 18-20), and now they did
it of their own accord. It is dangerous bringing a foreign force into the
country: posterity may pay dearly for it. Ben-hadad had with him thirty-two
kings, who were either tributaries to him, and bound in duty to attend him,
or confederates with him, and bound in interest to assist him. How little
did the title of king look when all these poor petty governors pretended to
it!
II. The treaty between these two kings. Surely Israel's defence had departed
from them, or else the Syrians could not have marched so readily, and with
so little opposition, to Samaria, the head and heart of the country, a city
lately built, and therefore, we may suppose, not well fortified, but likely
to fall quickly into the hands of the invaders; both sides are aware of
this, and therefore,
1. Ben-hadad's proud spirit sends Ahab a very insolent demand, v. 2,
3. A parley is sounded, and a trumpeter (we may suppose) is sent into the
city, to let Ahab know that he will raise the siege upon condition that Ahab
become his vassal (Nay, his villain), and not only pay him a tribute
out of what he has, but make over his title to Ben-hadad, and hold all at
his will, even his wives and children, the godliest of them. The manner of
expression is designed to gall them; "All shall be mine, without
exception."
2. Ahab's poor spirit sends Ben-hadad a very disgraceful submission. It is
general indeed (he cannot mention particulars in his surrender with so much
pleasure as Ben-hadad did in his demand), but it is effectual: I am
thine, and all that I have, v. 4. See the effect of sin. (1.) If
he had not by sin provoked God to depart from him, Ben-hadad could not have
made such a demand. Sin brings men into such straits, by putting them out of
divine protection. If God may not rule us, our enemies shall. A rebel to God
is a slave to all besides. Ahab had prepared his silver and gold for Baal,
Hos. ii. 8. Justly therefore is it taken from him; such an alienating
amounts to a forfeiture. (2.) If he had not by sin wronged his own
conscience, and set that against him, he could not have made such a mean
surrender. Guilt dispirits men, and makes them cowards. He knew Baal could
not help, and had no reason to think that God would, and therefore was
content to buy his life upon any terms. Skin for skin, and all that is dear
to him, he will give for it; he will rather live a beggar than not die a
prince.
3. Ben-hadad's proud spirit rises upon his submission, and becomes yet more
insolent and imperious, v. 5, 6. Ahab had laid his all at his feet,
at his mercy, expecting that one king would use another generously, that
this acknowledgment of Ben-hadad's sovereignty would content him, the honour
was sufficient for the present, and he might hereafter make use of it if he
saw cause (Satis est prostrasse leoni--It suffices the lion to
have laid his victim prostrate); but this will not serve. (1.) Ben-hadad
is as covetous as he is proud, and cannot go away unless he have the
possession as well as the dominion. He thinks it not enough to call it his,
unless he have it in his hands. He will not so much as lend Ahab the use of
his own goods above a day longer. (2.) He is as spiteful as he is haughty.
Had he come himself to select what he had a mind for, it would have shown
some respect to a crowned head; but he will send his servants to insult the
prince, and hector over him, to rifle the palace, and strip it of all its
ornaments; nay, to give Ahab the more vexation, they shall be ordered, not
only to take what they please, but, if they can learn which are the persons
or things that Ahab is in a particular manner fond of, to take those: Whatsoever
is pleasant in thy eyes they shall take away. We are often crossed in
that which we most dote upon; and that proves least safe which is most dear.
(3.) He is as unreasonable as he is unjust, and will construe the surrender
Ahab made for himself as made for all his subjects too, and will have them
also to lie at his mercy: "They shall search, not only thy house, but the
houses of thy servants too, and plunder them at discretion."
Blessed be God for peace and property, and that what we have we can call our
own.
4. Ahab's poor spirit begins to rise too, upon this growing insolence; and,
if it becomes not bold, yet it becomes desperate, and he will rather hazard
his life than give up all thus. (1.) How he takes advice of his
privy-council, who encourage him to stand it out. He speaks but poorly (v.
7), appeals to them whether Ben-hadad be not an unreasonable enemy, and do
not seek mischief. What else could he expect from one who, without any
provocation given him, had invaded his country and besieged his capital
city? He owns to them how he had truckled to him before, and will have them
advise him what he should do in this strait; and they speak bravely (Hearken
not to him, nor consent, v. 8), promising no doubt to stand by
him in the refusal. (2.) Yet he expresses himself very modestly in his
denial, v. 9. He owns Ben-hadad's dominion over him: "Tell my
lord the king I have no design to affront him, nor to receded from the
surrender I have already made; what I offered at first I will stand to, but
this thing I may not do; I must not give what is none of my own."
It was a mortification to Ben-hadad that even such an abject spirit as
Ahab's durst deny him; yet it should seem, by his manner of expressing
himself, that he durst not have done it if his people had not animated him.
5. Ben-hadad proudly swears the ruin of Samaria. The threatening waves of
his wrath, meeting with this check, rage and foam, and make a noise. In his
fury, he imprecates the impotent revenge of his gods, if the dust of
Samaria serve for handfuls for his army (v. 10), so numerous, so
resolute, an army will be bring into the field against Samaria, and so
confident is he of their success; it will be done as easily as the taking up
of a handful of dust; all shall be carried away, even the ground on which
the city stands. Thus confident is his pride, thus cruel is his malice; this
prepares him to be ruined, though such a prince and such a people are
unworthy of the satisfaction of seeing him ruined.
6. Ahab sends him a decent rebuke to his assurance, dares not defy his
menaces, only reminds him of the uncertain turns of war (v. 11):
"Let not him that begins a war, and is girding on his sword, his
armour, his harness, boast of victory, or think himself sure of it, as if
he had put it off, and had come home a conqueror." This was one of
the wisest words that ever Ahab spoke, and is a good item or momento to us
all; it is folly to boast beforehand of any day, since we know not what it
may bring forth (Prov. xxvii. 1), but especially to boast of a day of
battle, which may prove as much against us as we promise ourselves it will
be for us. It is impolitic to despise an enemy, and to be too sure of
victory is the way to be beaten. Apply it to our spiritual conflicts. Peter
fell by his confidence. While we are here we are but girding on the harness,
and therefore must never boast as though we had put it off. Happy is the
man that feareth always, and is never off his watch.
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Ben-hadad's
Defeat.
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B.
C. 900.
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12 And it came to pass, when Benhadad
heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the
pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array.
And they set themselves in array against the city. 13
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus
saith the LORD,
Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into
thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD,
Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said,
Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15 Then he
numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two
hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even
all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 16 And
they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the
pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and
Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of
Samaria. 18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace,
take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city,
and the army which followed them. 20 And they slew every one his
man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of
Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of
Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians
with a great slaughter.
The treaty between the besiegers and the besieged being broken off abruptly,
we have here an account of the battle that ensued immediately.
I. The Syrians, the besiegers, had their directions from a drunken king, who
gave orders over his cups, as he was drinking (v. 12), drinking
himself drunk (v. 16) with the kings in the pavilions, and
this at noon. Drunkenness is a sin which armies and their officers have of
old been addicted to. Say not thou then that the former days were, in this
respect, better than these, though these are bad enough. Had he not been
very secure he would not have sat to drink; and, had he not been
intoxicated, he would not have been so very secure. Security and sensuality
went together in the old world, and Sodom, Luke xvii. 26, &c. Ben-hadad's
drunkenness was the forerunner of his fall, as Belshazzar's was, Dan v. How
could he prosper that preferred his pleasure before his business, and kept
his kings to drink with him when they should have been at their respective
posts to fight for him? In his drink, 1. He orders the town to be invested,
the engines fixed, and every thing got ready for the making of a general
attack (v. 12), but stirs not from his drunken club to see it done. Woe
unto thee, O land! when thy king is such a child. 2. When the
besieged made a sally (and, by that time, he was far gone) he gave orders to
take them alive (v. 18), not to kill them, which might have been done
more easily and safely, but to seize them, which gave them an opportunity of
killing the aggressors; so imprudent was he in the orders he gave, as well
as unjust, in ordering them to be taken prisoners though they came for peace
and to renew the treaty. Thus, as is usual, he drinks, and forgets the law,
both the policies and the justice of war.
II. The Israelites, the besieged, had their directions from an inspired
prophet, one of the prophets of the Lord, whom Ahab had hated and
persecuted: And behold a prophet, even one, drew near to the king of
Israel; so it may be read, v. 13.
1. Behold, and wonder, that God should send a prophet with a kind and
gracious message to so wicked a prince as Ahab was; but he did it, (1.) For
his people Israel's sake, who, though wickedly degenerated, were the seed of
Abraham his friend and Jacob his chosen, the children of the covenant, and
not yet cast off. (2.) That he might magnify his mercy, in doing good to one
so evil and unthankful, might either bring him to repentance or leave him
the more inexcusable. (3.) That he might mortify the pride of Ben-hadad and
check his insolence. Ahab's idolatry shall be punished hereafter, but Ben-hadad's
haughtiness shall be chastised now; for God resists the proud, and is
pleased to say that he fears the wrath of the enemy, Deut. xxxii. 26,
27. There was but one prophet perhaps to be had in Samaria, and he drew near
with this message, intimating that he had been forced to keep at a distance.
Ahab, in his prosperity, would not have borne the sight of him, but now he
bids him welcome, when none of the prophets of the groves can give him any
assistance. He enquired not for a prophet of the Lord, but God sent one to
him unasked, for he waits to be gracious.
2. Two things the prophet does:-- (1.) He animates Ahab with an assurance of
victory, which was more than all the elders of Israel could give him (v.
8), though they promised to stand by him. This prophet, who is not named
(for he spoke in God's name), tells him from God that this very day
the siege shall be raised, and the army of the Syrians routed, v. 13.
When the prophet said, Thus saith the Lord, we may suppose Ahab began
to tremble, expecting a message of wrath; but he is revived when it proves a
gracious one. He is informed what use he ought to make of this blessed turn
of affairs: "Thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, the sovereign
Lord of all." God's foretelling a thing that was so very unlikely
proved that it was his own doing. (2.) He instructs him what to do for the
gaining of this victory. [1.] He must not stay till the enemy attacked him,
but must sally out upon them and surprise them in their trenches. [2.] The
persons employed must be the young men of the princes of the provinces,
the pages, the footmen, who were few in number, only 232, utterly
unacquainted with war, and the unlikeliest men that could be thought of for
such a bold attempt; yet these must do it, these weak and foolish things
must be instruments of confounding the wise and strong, that, while Ben-hadad's
boasting is punished, Ahab's may be prevented and precluded, and the excellency
of the power may appear to be of God. [3.] Ahab must himself so far
testify his confidence in the word of God as to command in person, though,
in the eye of reason, he exposed himself to the utmost danger by it. But it
is fit that those who have the benefit of God's promises should enter upon
them. Yet, [4.] He is allowed to make use of what other forces he has at
hand, to follow the blow, when these young men have broken the ice. All he
had in Samaria, or within call, were but 7000 men, v. 15. It is
observable that it is the same number with theirs that he not bowed the
knee to Baal (ch. xix. 18), though, it is likely, not the same
men.
III. The issue was accordingly. The proud Syrians were beaten, and the poor
despised Israelites were more than conquerors. The young men gave an alarm
to the Syrians just at noon, at high dinner-time, supported by what little
force they had, v. 16. Ben-hadad despised them at first (v.
18), but when they had, with unparalleled bravery and dexterity, slain
every one his man, and so put the army into disorder, that proud man
durst not face them, but mounted immediately, drunk as he was, and made the
best of his way, v. 20. See how God takes away the spirit of
princes, and makes himself terrible to the kings of the earth.
Now where are the silver and gold he demanded of Ahab? Where are the
handfuls of Samaria's dust? Those that are most secure are commonly least
courageous. Ahab failed not to improve this advantage, but slew the
Syrians with a great slaughter, v. 21. Note, God oftentimes makes
one wicked man a scourge to another.
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Ahab's
Folly Reproved.
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B.
C. 900.
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22 And the prophet came to the king of
Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what
thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up
against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto
him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger
than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be
stronger than they. 24 And do this thing, Take the kings away,
every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: 25
And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse,
and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and
surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice,
and did so. 26 And it came to pass at the return of the year,
that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against
Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were
all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched
before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the
country. 28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king
of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD,
Because the Syrians have said, The LORD
is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys,
therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye
shall know that I am the LORD. 29 And they
pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in
the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of
the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30 But the
rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty
and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and
came into the city, into an inner chamber.
We have here an account of another successful campaign which Ahab, by divine
aid, made against the Syrians, in which he gave them a greater defeat than
in the former. Strange! Ahab idolatrous and yet victorious, a persecutor and
yet a conqueror! God has wise and holy ends in suffering wicked men to
prosper, and glorifies his own name thereby.
I. Ahab is admonished by a prophet to prepare for another war, v. 22.
It should seem, he was now secure, and looked but a little way before him.
Those that are careless of their souls are often as careless of their
outwards affairs; but the prophet (to whom God made known the following
counsels of the Syrians) told him they would renew their attempt at the
return of the year, hoping to retrieve the honour they had lost and be
avenged for the blow they had received. He therefore bade him strengthen
himself, put himself into a posture of defence, and be ready to give them a
warm reception. God had decreed the end, but Ahab must use the means, else
he tempts God: "Help thyself, strengthen thyself, and God will help and
strengthen thee." The enemies of God's Israel are restless in their
malice, and, though they may take some breathing-time for themselves, yet
they are still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
church. It concerns us always to expect assaults from our spiritual enemies,
and therefore to mark and see what we do.
II. Ben-hadad is advised by those about him concerning the operations of the
next campaign. 1. They advised him to change his ground, v.
23. They took it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that
beat them (so great a regard was then universally had to invisible powers);
but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah--that he was many, whereas
he is one and his name one,--that he was their God only, a local
deity, peculiar to that nation, whereas he is the Creator and ruler of all
the world,--and that he was a God of the hills only, because David
their great prophet had said, I will lift up my eyes to the hills whence
cometh my help (Ps. cxxi. 1), and that his foundation was in the holy
mountain (Ps. lxxxvii. 1; lxxviii. 54), and much was said of his holy
hill (Ps. xv. 1; xxiv. 3); supposing him altogether such a one as their
imaginary deities, they fancied he was confined to his hills, and could not
or would not come down from them, and therefore an army in the valley would
be below his cognizance and from under his protection. Thus vain were the Gentiles
in their imaginations concerning God, so wretchedly were their
foolish hearts darkened, and, professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools. 2. They advised him to change his officers (v. 24,
25), not to employ the kings, who were commanders by birth, but captains
rather, who were commanders by merit, who were inured to war, would not
affect to make a show like the kings, but would go through with business.
Let every man be employed in that which he is brought up to and used to, and
preferred to that which he is fit for. Syria, it seems, was rich and
populous, when it could furnish recruits sufficient, after so great a
defeat, horse for horse, chariot for chariot.
III. Both armies take the field. Ben-hadad, with his Syrians, encamps near
Aphek, in the tribe of Asher. It is probable that Asher was a city in his
own possession, one of those which his father had won (v. 34), and
the country about it was flat and level, and fit for his purpose, v.
26. Ahab, with his forces, posted himself at some distance over against
them, v. 27. The disproportion of numbers was very remarkable. The
children of Israel, who were cantoned in two battalions, looked like two
little flocks of kids, their numbers small, their equipage mean, and the
figure they made contemptible; but the Syrians filled the country
with their numbers, their noise, their chariots, their carriages, and their
baggage.
IV. Ahab is encouraged to fight the Syrians, notwithstanding their
advantages and confidence. A man of God is sent to him, to tell him that
this numerous army shall all be delivered into his hand (v.
28), but not for his sake; be it known to him, he is utterly unworthy for
whom God will do this. God would not do it because Ahab had praised God or
prayed to him (we do not read that he did either), but because the Syrians
had blasphemed God, and had said, He is the God of the hills and not of
the valleys; therefore God will do it in his own vindication, and to
preserve the honour of his own name. If the Syrians had said, "Ahab and
his people have forgotten their God, and so put themselves out of his
protection, and therefore we may venture to attack them," God would
probably have delivered Israel into their hands; but when they go upon a
presumption so very injurious to the divine omnipotence, and the honour of
him who is Lord of all hosts, not only in hills and valleys, but in heaven
and earth, which they are willingly ignorant of, they shall be undeceived,
at the expense of that vast army which is so much their pride and
confidence.
V. After the armies had faced one another seven days (the Syrians, it is
likely, boasting, and the Israelites trembling), they engaged, and the
Syrians were totally routed, 100,000 men slain by the sword of Israel in the
field of battle (v. 29), and 27,000 men, that thought themselves safe
under the walls of Aphek, a fortified city (from the walls of which
the shooters might annoy the enemy if they pursued them, 2 Sam. xi. 24),
found their bane where they hoped for protection: the wall fell upon them,
probably overthrown by an earthquake, and, the cities of Canaan being walled
up to heaven, it reached a great way, and they were all killed, or hurt, or
overwhelmed with dismay. Ben-hadad, who thought his city Aphek would hold
out against the conquerors, finding it thus unwalled, and the remnant of his
forces dispirited and dispersed, had nothing but secresy to rely upon for
safety, and therefore hid himself in a chamber within a chamber, lest
the pursuers should seize him. See how the greatest confidence often ends in
the greatest cowardice. "Now is the God of Israel the God of the
valleys or no?" He shall know now that he is forced into an
inner chamber to hide himself, see ch. xxii. 25.
31 And his servants said unto him, Behold
now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful
kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our
heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy
life. 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put
ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant
Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet
alive? he is my brother. 33 Now the men did diligently
observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it:
and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then
Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the
chariot. 34 And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which
my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets
for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I
will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and
sent him away. 35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets
said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee.
And the man refused to smite him. 36 Then said he unto him,
Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD,
behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as
soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man
smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. 38 So the
prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself
with ashes upon his face. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried
unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the
battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and
said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be
for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 40 And
as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel
said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of
Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. 42 And
he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD,
Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to
utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people
for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house
heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
Here is an account of what followed upon the victory which Israel obtained
over the Syrians.
I. Ben-hadad's tame and mean submission. Even in his inner chamber he
feared, and would, if he could, flee further, though none pursued. His
servants, seeing him and themselves reduced to the last extremity, advised
that they should surrender at discretion, and make themselves prisoners and
petitioners to Ahab for their lives, v. 31. The servants will put
their lives in their hands, and venture first, and their master will act
according as they speed. Their inducement to take this course is the great
reputation the kings of Israel had for clemency above any of their
neighbours: "We have heard that they are merciful kings, not oppressive
to their subjects that are under their power" (as governments then
went, that of Israel was one of the most easy and gentle), "and
therefore not cruel to their enemies when they lie at their mercy."
Perhaps they had this notion of the kings of Israel because they had heard
that the God of Israel proclaimed his name gracious and merciful, and
they concluded their kings would make their God their pattern. It was an
honour to the kings of Israel to be thus represented, as indeed every
Israelite is then dressed as becomes him when he puts on bowels of
mercies. "They are merciful kings, therefore we may hope to find
mercy upon our submission." This encouragement poor sinners have to
repent and humble themselves before God. "Have we not heard that the
God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not found him so? Let us therefore
rend our hearts and return to him." Joel ii. 13. That is evangelical
repentance which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ; there
is forgiveness with him. Two things Ben-hadad's servants undertake to
represent to Ahab:-- 1. Their master a penitent; for they girded
sackcloth on their loins, as mourners, and put ropes on their heads,
as condemned criminals going to execution, pretending to be sorry that they
had invaded his country and disturbed his repose, and owning that they
deserved to be hanged for it. Here they are ready to do penance for it, and
throw themselves at the feet of him whom they had injured. Many pretend to
repent of their wrong-doing, when it does not succeed, who, if they had
prospered in it, would have justified it and gloried in it. 2. Their master
a beggar, a beggar for his life: Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, "I
pray thee, let me live, v. 32. Though I live a perpetual exile
from my own country, and captive in this, yet, upon any terms, let me
live." What a great change is here, (1.) In his condition! How has
he fallen from the height of power and prosperity to the depths of disgrace
and distress, and all the miseries of poverty and slavery! See the
uncertainty of human affairs; such turns are they subject to that the spoke
which was uppermost may soon come to be undermost. (2.) In his temper--in
the beginning of the chapter hectoring, swearing, and threatening, and none
more high in his demands, but here crouching and whining and none more low
in his requests! How meanly does he beg hi life at the hand of him upon whom
he had there been trampling! The most haughty in prosperity are commonly
most abject in adversity: an even spirit will be the same in both
conditions. See how God glorified himself when he looks upon proud men
and abases them, and hides them in the dust together, Job xl. 11-13.
II. Ahab's foolish acceptance of his submission, and the league he suddenly
made with him upon it. He was proud to be thus courted by him whom he had
feared, and enquired for him with great tenderness: Is he yet alive? He
is my brother, brother-king, though not brother-Israelite: and Ahab
valued himself more upon his royalty than on his religion, and others
accordingly. "Is he thy brother, Ahab? Did he use thee like a
brother when he sent thee that barbarous message? v. 5, 6. Would he
have called thee brother if he had been the conqueror? Would he now have
called himself thy servant if he had not been reduced to the utmost
strait? Canst thou suffer thyself to be thus imposed upon by a forced and
counterfeit submission?" This word brother they caught at (v.
33), and were thereby encouraged to go and fetch him to the king. He that
calls him brother will let him live. Let poor penitents hear God, in
his word, calling them children (Jer. xxxi. 20), catch at it, echo to
it, and call him Father. Ben-hadad, upon his submission, shall not
only be honourably conveyed (he took him up into the chariot), but
treated with as an ally (v. 34): he made a covenant with him,
not consulting God's prophets, or the elders of the land, or himself,
concerning what was fit to be insisted on, but, as if Ben-hadad had been
conqueror, he shall make his own terms. He might now have demanded some of
Ben-hadad's cities, when all of them lay at the mercy of his victorious
army; but was content with the restitution of his own. He might now have
demanded the stores, and treasures, and magazines of Damascus, to augment
the wealth and strength of his own kingdom, but was content with a poor
liberty, at his own expense, to build streets there, a point of honour and
no advantage, or no more than what the kings of Syria had had in Samaria,
though they had never had so much power as he had now to support the demand
of it. With this covenant he sent him away, without so much as reproving him
for his blasphemous reflections upon the God of Israel, for whose honour
Ahab had no concern. Note, There are those on whom success is ill bestowed;
they know not how to serve God, or their generation, or even their own true
interests, with their prosperity. Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet
will he not learn righteousness.
III. The reproof given to Ahab for his clemency to Ben-hadad and his
covenant with him. It was given him by a prophet, in the name of the Lord,
the Jews say by Micaiah, and not unlikely, for Ahab complains of him (ch.
xxii. 8) that he used to prophesy evil concerning him. This prophet
designed to reprove Ahab by a parable, that he might oblige him to condemn
himself, as Nathan and the woman of Tekoa did David. To make his parable the
more plausible, he finds it necessary to put himself into the posture of a
wounded soldier. 1. With some difficulty he gets himself wounded, for he
would not wound himself with his own hands. He commanded one of his brother
prophets, his neighbour, or companion (for so the word
signifies), to smite him, and this in God's name (v. 35), but finds
him not so willing to give the blow as he is to receive it; he refused to
smite him: others, he thought, were forward enough to smite prophets, they
need not smite one another. We cannot but think it was from a good principle
he declined it. "If it must be done, let another do it, not I; I cannot
find it in my heart to strike my friend." Good men can much more easily
receive a wrongful blow than give one; yet because he disobeyed an express
command of God (which was so much the worse if he was himself a prophet),
like that other disobedient prophet (ch. xiii. 24), he was presently slain
by a lion, v. 36. This was intended, not only to show, in
general, how provoking disobedience is (Col. iii. 6), but to intimate to
Ahab (who no doubt was told the story) that if a good prophet were thus
punished for sparing his friend and God's, when God said, Smite, of
much sorer punishment should a wicked king be thought worthy, who spared his
enemy and God's, when God said, Smite. Shall mortal man pretend to be
more just than God, more pure or more compassionate than his Maker?
We must be merciful as he is merciful, and not otherwise. The next he met
with made no difficulty of smiting him (Volentinon fit injuria--He
that asks for an injury is not wronged by it) and did it so that he wounded
him, v. 37. He fetched blood with the blow, probably in his face.
2. Wounded as he was, and disguised with ashes that he might not be known to
be a prophet, he made his application to the king in a story wherein he
charged himself with such a crime as the king was now guilty of in sparing
Ben-hadad, and waited for the king's judgment upon it. The case in short is
this--A prisoner taken in the battle was committed to his custody by a man
(we may suppose one that had authority over him as his superior officer)
with this charge, If he be missing, thy life shall be for his life, v.
39. The prisoner has made his escape through his carelessness. Can the
chancery in the king's breast relieve him against his captain, who demands
his life in lieu of the prisoner's? "By no means," says the king,
"thou shouldst either not have undertaken the trust or been more
careful and faithful to it; there is no remedy (Currat lex--Let
the law take its course), thou hast forfeited thy bond, and execution
must go out upon it: So shall thy doom be, thou thyself hast decided it."
Now the prophet has what he would have, puts off his disguise, and is known
by Ahab himself to be a prophet (v. 41) and plainly tells him, "Thou
art the man. Is it my doom? No, it is thine; thou thyself hast
decided it. Out of thy own mouth art thou judged. God, thy superior and
commander-in-chief, delivered into thy hands one plainly marked for
destruction both by his own pride and God's providence, and thou hast not
carelessly lost him, but wittingly and willingly dismissed him, and so hast
been false to thy trust, and lost the end of thy victory; expect therefore
no other than that thy life shall go for his life, which thou hast
spared" (and so it did, ch. xxii. 35), "and thy people
for his people, whom likewise thou hast spared," and so they did
afterwards, 2 Kings x. 32, 33. When their other sins brought them low, this
came into the account. There is a time when keeping back the sword from
blood is doing the work of the Lord deceitfully, Jer. xlviii. 10.
Foolish pity spoils the city. 3. We are told how Ahab resented this reproof.
He went to his house heavy and displeased (v. 43), not truly
penitent, or seeking to undo what he had done amiss, but enraged at the
prophet, exasperated against God (as if he had been too severe in the
sentence passed upon him), and yet vexed at himself, every way out of
humour, notwithstanding his victory. He who by his providence had mortified
the pride of one king, by his word cast a damp upon the triumphs of another.
Be wise therefore, O you kings! and be instructed to serve the Lord with
fear and rejoice with trembling, Ps. ii. 10, 11.
