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Texts -- 1 Kings 20:22-34 (NET)

Context
The Lord Gives Israel Another Victory
20:22 The prophet visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go , fortify your defenses. Determine what you must do , for in the spring the king of Syria will attack you.” 20:23 Now the advisers of the king of Syria said to him : “Their God is a god of the mountains . That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains , we will certainly overpower them . 20:24 So do this : Dismiss the kings from their command , and replace them with military commanders . 20:25 Muster an army like the one you lost , with the same number of horses and chariots . Then we will fight them in the plains ; we will certainly overpower them .” He approved their plan and did as they advised . 20:26 In the spring Ben Hadad mustered the Syrian army and marched to Aphek to fight Israel . 20:27 When the Israelites had mustered and had received their supplies , they marched out to face them in battle . When the Israelites deployed opposite them, they were like two small flocks of goats , but the Syrians filled the land . 20:28 The prophet visited the king of Israel and said , “This is what the Lord says : ‘Because the Syrians said , “The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys ,” I will hand over to you this entire huge army . Then you will know that I am the Lord .’” 20:29 The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days . On the seventh day the battle began , and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day . 20:30 The remaining 27,000 ran to Aphek and went into the city , but the wall fell on them . Now Ben Hadad ran into the city and hid in an inner room . 20:31 His advisers said to him, “Look , we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind . Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and surrender to the king of Israel . Maybe he will spare our lives .” 20:32 So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel . They said , “Your servant Ben Hadad says , ‘Please let me live !’” Ahab replied , “Is he still alive ? He is my brother .” 20:33 The men took this as a good omen and quickly accepted his offer, saying , “Ben Hadad is your brother .” Ahab then said , “Go , get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up into his chariot . 20:34 Ben Hadad said , “I will return the cities my father took from your father . You may set up markets in Damascus , just as my father did in Samaria .” Ahab then said, “I want to make a treaty with you before I dismiss you.” So he made a treaty with him and then dismissed him.

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The writer referred to Canaan as "the land of the sons of Israel"first here in Scripture (v. 22). The Anakim were the mighty warriors that the 10 spies had feared (Num. 13:28). Israel destroyed most of these."The hardening of...
  • The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national ...
  • I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:121. David's declining health 1:1-42. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-533. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-94. David's death 2:10-12B. ...
  • Hadad hated Solomon because of Joab's severe treatment of the Edomites. He may have been a relation of Solomon's by marriage. Pharaoh Siamun apparently gave his daughter to Solomon in marriage and his sister-in-law to Hadad (...
  • God dealt gently (cf. 19:12) with the Northern Kingdom to continue to move His people back to Himself. This pericope records the first of three battles the writer recorded in 1 Kings between Ahab and the kings of Aram, Israel...
  • The battle of Aphek (873 B.C.) took place on the tableland east of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee), the modern Golan Heights. The Arameans greatly outnumbered Israel (v. 27), but God promised Ahab victory so he and all Israel...
  • This section is similar to the one that recorded Saul's failure to follow Yahweh's command that also resulted in God cutting him off as His vice-regent (1 Sam. 13:13-14). The parallels between Saul and Ahab are remarkable thr...
  • Another significant battle occurred between the battle of Ramoth-gilead that the writer recorded in chapter 22 (853 B.C.) and the battles he recorded in chapter 20. Ahab and his Aramean ally Ben-Hadad II (860-841 B.C.) defeat...
  • Hazael was the governor of Damascus.50The Gentile King of Aram had more interest in inquiring of Yahweh than Jehoram's predecessor did (v. 8; cf. 1:2). It was customary in the Near East to make a great show of giving gifts. I...
  • Jehoash (Joash) had respect and affection for Elisha. He anticipated the loss that the death of God's spiritual warrior would be to Israel (v. 14). He recognized that Israel's real defense lay in Yahweh's angelic army and in ...
  • The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
  • 6:13 Because of these sins the Lord promised to make His people sick, downtrodden, and desolate.6:14 They would continue to eat, but their food would not bring them satisfaction (cf. Lev. 26:26). Their excessive accumulation ...
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