1 Kings 20:1-43

War With Benhadad King Of Aram (1 Kings 20:1).

There is no indication at what point in Ahab's reign these events occurred, but a situation is indicated where the power of the Aramaeans had now grown so great that they had made Ahab into a vassal king who paid tribute to Aram (Syria). This must have been some time into the reign of Ahab, for it is unlikely that it was true of the great Omri (except possibly in the early stages of civil war), but the history has all been ignored by the prophetic author as irrelevant simply because no prophets were involved. In his view Ahab at that stage was simply suffering the consequences of his disobedience and his trust in Baal, and as far as the author was concerned that had been brought out more effectively in the passage about the great drought. But at some stage Benhadad the king of Aram then sought to publicly humiliate Ahab, which resulted in determined resistance, and resulted in his own defeat. And this was seen as important because it was patently YHWH Who had fought for Israel in accordance with the word of a prophet (1 Kings 20:13).

On returning a second time in order to gain his revenge Benhadad would once again be utterly defeated, and once again we are informed that it was because YHWH fought for Israel at the word of a ‘man of God' (1 Kings 20:28). The consequence was that a new treaty was made with Benhadad as the vassal. This treaty was, however, criticised by a prophet because the purpose of YHWH had been that Benhadad be put to death because of his sinfulness, and Ahab was finally informed that by his failure to do that he had forfeited his future security.

The passage thus splits up into three subsections, namely:

The initial war with Benhadad, where the promise is given, ‘Have you seen all this great host? Behold I will deliver it into your hand this day, and you will know that I am YHWH' (1 Kings 20:1).

The second war with Benhadad where the promise is given, ‘I will deliver all this great host into your hand, and you will know that I am YHWH' (1 Kings 20:22).

The condemnation of Ahab by the prophet of YHWH, where he declares, ‘Thus says YHWH, because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will go for his life, and your people for his people' (1 Kings 20:35).

It will be noted that the main purpose in all this was so that Ahab might be brought to know that YHWH was truly YHWH, ‘the One Who will be what He will be'. It may well therefore have occurred after the incident on Mount Carmel as God sought to reinforce the impact that that had had on Ahab.