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Benhadad's Second Defeat, Capture, and Release
v. 22. And the prophet, the same one who had prophesied the defeat of the Syrians, came to the king of Israel and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, namely, by enlarging and equipping his army, and mark and see what thou doest, he was to be on his guard; for at the return of the year, at the close of the winter rains, when campaigns were usually commenced, the king of Syria will come up against thee.
v. 23. And the servants of the king of Syria, in an effort to find an explanation of their defeat, said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills, they believed that the God of Israel had power only in the mountainous region of Ephraim; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they, for they had the idea that the god of the mountains would have no power in the lowlands. But they had also a second suggestion.
v. 24. And do this thing, Take the kings away, the tributary vassals, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms, upon whose loyalty one might rely with greater assurance;
v. 25. and number thee an army, mustering a force as large as the first, like the army that thou hast lost, for the removal of the tributary kings meant the loss of their troops as well, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they; they felt sure that the victory must be theirs if these suggestions were carried out. And he hearkened unto their voice and did so.
v. 26. And it came to pass at the return of the year, as the prophet had foretold, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Aphek, in the Plain of Jezreel, the great battlefield of Palestine, to fight against Israel.
v. 27. And the children of Israel were numbered, mustered for the campaign, and were all present, fully equipped and prepared, and went against them; and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids, like two insignificant bands separated from the main herd; but the Syrians filled the country.
v. 28. And there came a man of God, the same prophet once more, 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, this being an insult to His majesty, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, again the reminder of the singular position of Jehovah.
v. 29. And they pitched one over against the other seven days, each army waiting for an opening. And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined, the troops clashing upon each other; and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day, a slaughter made possible only by the help of God.
v. 30. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there, by the miraculous interposition of God, 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, literally, "from room to room," seeking a place where he might safely hide.
v. 31. And his servants said unto him, Behold, now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, unlike the murderous tyrants of the heathen; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, as a sign of deep sorrow, and ropes upon our heads, as a token of complete subjection, and go out to the king of Israel, placing themselves absolutely into his power; peradventure he will save thy life.
v. 32. So they, trying out this one last scheme to save their lives, 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. It was an unconditional surrender and a prayer for mercy. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother. The king's vanity had so been flattered by the submission of Benhadad that he made this declaration.
v. 33. Now, the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, whether he would give a favorable answer, and did hastily catch it; and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. By repeating Ahab's statement, they held him to his word. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. So far from treating him as a captive, who should have been put to death, he gave him all the honor of a king of equal rank, just as if Benhadad were not guilty of an unprovoked attack on Israel.
v. 34. And Benhadad said unto him, taking advantage of Ahab's gracious mood, The cities which my father took from thy father, in a war of which we have no record,I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, sections of the city where he might open bazaars and carry on business unhindered, unrestricted free trade thus being offered. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away. His manner of acting, in permitting a murderous, cruel tyrant to go scot-free, was due to weakness and vanity, and was not at all in accord with God's will.
v. 35. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets, the association which is mentioned so often during this period of Israel's history, said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord, by Jehovah's order, Smite me, I pray thee, the purpose being to inflict a wound upon him. And the man refused to smite him.
v. 36. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, for so the matter had undoubtedly been explained to him, 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, as a punishment for his disobedience.
v. 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.
v. 38. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, for he wanted his message to reach him in public and before he returned home, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face, the heavy head-bandages concealed his features.
v. 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 lifer or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver, the prisoner thus being represented as a person of importance.
v. 40. And as thy servant was busy here and there, engaged with minor matters, which caused him to forget his trust, he was gone. The end of the parable, namely, as to whether he could be held responsible for the escape of the prisoner entrusted to him, is purposely omitted. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it, he would have to pay the penalty.
v. 41. And he, the prophet, hasted and took the ashes, the bandage, away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets, he recognized his face.
v. 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; Ahab would be held responsible, he would have to pay the penalty. By letting the archenemy escape, he had practically denied the might, the goodness, and the justice of Jehovah, and both he and Israel would pay.
v. 43. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, in a peevish and stubborn mood, and came to Samaria. Where God's Word has spoken, all other considerations, including even that of human sympathy and expediency, must be set aside. He who blesses a sinner and condones a transgression plainly condemned by God's holy will, draws down God's curse upon his own soul.