I Kings 20:1-15
“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.
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.” (I Kings 20:1-4)
Benhadad was the leader in chief of an alliance of thirty two city states. Asa had paid him to break their treaty with Israel and attack them several years before, and the Syrians had taken a lot of their land. Israel had been unable to regain possession, and he was emboldened to take more. This time he led an invasion alkl the way south to the capitol city of Samaria.
With the capitol surrounded, he demanded that Ahab give him anything he wanted, including his personal wealth and his wives and children if he didn’t want to be destroyed. Ahab complied with his demands, hoping he would be satisfied and leave them alone.
“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; 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.” (I Kings 20:5-6)
Like most bullies, Benhadad took Ahab’s efforts to accommodate him as a sign of fear or weakness, and pushed harder to see how much he could get by with, sure he could defeat them if necessary. He demanded to be allowed to go through Ahab’s property and take whatever he wanted. In fact he demanded that Ahab give him everything he valued. A bully, whether physical or emotional, will not stop until they meet opposition that they are afraid of. Each time their demands are met, they are effectively encouraged to try more.
“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.
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
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.” (I Kings 20:7-9)
Ahab realized that Benhadad wasn’t just looking to take the property but was looking for an excuse to destroy Israel. He decided to involve other leaders in his decision. He described what had happened before and what the new demands were. The people advised him not to give in to the intimidation, and Ahab informed Benhadad that he could not or would not meet his latest demand.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 20:10-11)
Like anyone who is used to getting his way by intimidation and blackmail, Benhadad upped the threat level by delivering an ultimatum, warning that the entire land of Israel wouldn’t supply a handful of for every soldier he had. If Ahab didn’t give what he demanded, they’d just kill him. He had no clue how frustrated Ahab was.
Ahab responded by calling his bluff, warning him that threatening wasn’t the same thing as doing it.
“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.” (I Kings 20:12)
Benhadad didn’t necessarily want to fight Israel, he just wanted them to be afraid to say no, He ordered the army to get into position to fight thinking Israel would still be afraid to fight back and would capitulate when they saw the forces arrayed against them. He had no clue how unbearable people found his demands.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 20:13-14)
Though Ahab was a wicked king and deliberately going against God, God wanted him to know for sure who God was. He promised Ahab would win the victory against Syria when Ahab was convinced there was no way they could win. In fact, God promised that the victory would be attained by just the young men who lived in the capitol under Ahab’s leadership,
“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.” (I Kings 20:15)
Ahab was only able to reach seven thousand troops and two hundred thirty two leaders. They were so outnumbered the idea of victory seemed ludicrous, but they really had nothing left to lose.
Throughout history, governments, gangs, employers, husbands or wives, and siblings have used intimidation and blackmail to get their way. Inevitably, there comes a point where people feel they have nothing more to lose and revolt. Sooner or later the revolt always succeeds. The bullies never seem to catch on.
“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.
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.” (I Kings 20:1-4)
Benhadad was the leader in chief of an alliance of thirty two city states. Asa had paid him to break their treaty with Israel and attack them several years before, and the Syrians had taken a lot of their land. Israel had been unable to regain possession, and he was emboldened to take more. This time he led an invasion alkl the way south to the capitol city of Samaria.
With the capitol surrounded, he demanded that Ahab give him anything he wanted, including his personal wealth and his wives and children if he didn’t want to be destroyed. Ahab complied with his demands, hoping he would be satisfied and leave them alone.
“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; 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.” (I Kings 20:5-6)
Like most bullies, Benhadad took Ahab’s efforts to accommodate him as a sign of fear or weakness, and pushed harder to see how much he could get by with, sure he could defeat them if necessary. He demanded to be allowed to go through Ahab’s property and take whatever he wanted. In fact he demanded that Ahab give him everything he valued. A bully, whether physical or emotional, will not stop until they meet opposition that they are afraid of. Each time their demands are met, they are effectively encouraged to try more.
“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.
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
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.” (I Kings 20:7-9)
Ahab realized that Benhadad wasn’t just looking to take the property but was looking for an excuse to destroy Israel. He decided to involve other leaders in his decision. He described what had happened before and what the new demands were. The people advised him not to give in to the intimidation, and Ahab informed Benhadad that he could not or would not meet his latest demand.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 20:10-11)
Like anyone who is used to getting his way by intimidation and blackmail, Benhadad upped the threat level by delivering an ultimatum, warning that the entire land of Israel wouldn’t supply a handful of for every soldier he had. If Ahab didn’t give what he demanded, they’d just kill him. He had no clue how frustrated Ahab was.
Ahab responded by calling his bluff, warning him that threatening wasn’t the same thing as doing it.
“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.” (I Kings 20:12)
Benhadad didn’t necessarily want to fight Israel, he just wanted them to be afraid to say no, He ordered the army to get into position to fight thinking Israel would still be afraid to fight back and would capitulate when they saw the forces arrayed against them. He had no clue how unbearable people found his demands.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 20:13-14)
Though Ahab was a wicked king and deliberately going against God, God wanted him to know for sure who God was. He promised Ahab would win the victory against Syria when Ahab was convinced there was no way they could win. In fact, God promised that the victory would be attained by just the young men who lived in the capitol under Ahab’s leadership,
“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.” (I Kings 20:15)
Ahab was only able to reach seven thousand troops and two hundred thirty two leaders. They were so outnumbered the idea of victory seemed ludicrous, but they really had nothing left to lose.
Throughout history, governments, gangs, employers, husbands or wives, and siblings have used intimidation and blackmail to get their way. Inevitably, there comes a point where people feel they have nothing more to lose and revolt. Sooner or later the revolt always succeeds. The bullies never seem to catch on.
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