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1KINGS
CHAPTER 20

1 And Ben-ha'dad 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 Ben-ha'dad, 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.

Ben-hadad, king of Syrai, did a lot of conquering. He forced allegiance to him by many other smaller kingdoms. Then he used them in wars. Finally, he came to Israel. He sent a message to Ahab that everything in the king's house would be confiscated.
Ahab was willing to comply. This is perhapse the ONLY mark of goodness in Ahab. He was willing to sacrifice his OWN things for his people.

5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-ha'dad, 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 Ben-ha'dad, 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.

Ahab's decision gave Ben-hadad confidence and he decided to go for MORE. He sent another ambassador demanding the authority to take ANYTHING in the whole kingdom - including the people's houses.
Ahab didn't think he could live with that. He called the elders and asked their opinion, and they said "no." SO he sent a message to Benhadad to that effect.

10 And Ben-ha'dad 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. 12 And it came to pass, when Ben-ha'dad 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.

Ben-hadad sent back a very bragging message. He said he had so many soldiers, that if they only took a handful of the dust of Samaria, the whole city would be leveled to the ground (verse 10).
But Ahab sent back a message and said, "Just because you START to plow doesn't mean you've FINISHED!"
So, in a drunken stupor, Ben-hadad ordered Samaria surrounded.

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 Ben-ha'dad 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 Ben-ha'dad 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 Ben-ha'dad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

God spoke to Ahab through a prophet and said He would save Israel. WHY? God had just got through telling Elijah about a plan to destroy them because of their idolatry. Why save them now?
God is giving them one more chance to repent. Notice He told Ahab, "..thou shalt KNOW that I am the Lord." (verse 13).
All Ahab was interested in was HOW was this going to take place. So God told him the plan.
Two hundred and thirt-two fo the young "princes" were to go out first. Then Ahab was to follow with the army that he had available (which, by the way, only numbered 7,000).
This worked, because God planned it. When the 232 men went out, Benhadad was so confident that he demanded they be taken ALIVE. But these 232 fought ferociously and killed those who came to capture them. That put fear in the whole army of Ben-hadad, and everyone began RETREATING!
Well, what's a king to do when his whole army runs? He ran too!

21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 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.

Then Ahab came out with the army and chased them down and killed many. But the same prophet came and told Ahab that next year Ben-hadad would return.

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 Ben-ha'dad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

When Ben-hadad returned home, he received some advice. The advisors reasoned that Jehovah was "god of the hills," and if they met Israel on the plains, they could defeat them. They didn't realize that God is omnipresent and omnipotent. Also, they suggested replacing "kings" with "captains." In other words, "Don't take those fraidy-cat little mama's babies out there, take SEASONED soldiers who won't run at the first sight of blood."
Well, that all sounded good to a drunken king, so he put the plan in motion.

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 an 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 Ben-ha'dad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

God always has a BETTER plan! Even though Israel was severely outnumbered, God gave them the victory.
The same prophet came to Ahab again and said, "The Syrians think they can REASON away God; but today you will KNOW that I am GOD!" (verse 28)
After seven days of "facing each other," they began to war; and Israel defeated them soundly.
Again, Ben-hadad had no alternative but to retreat.

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 Ben-ha'dad 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 Ben-ha'dad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-ha'dad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-ha'dad 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.

Ben-hadad stood the chance of being captured and killed. But his advisors told him Israel had men of "mercy," and it would be best to SURRENDER.
So he did tat - and demonstrated true repentance (at least from war).
Ahab treated him kindly - too kindly. He made a treaty with Ben-hadad. The land and cities which Ben-hadad had previously taken would be returned, and they would war nor more.
Ben-hadad went home happy. In his eyes, he had really LOST nothing except a few warriors. The land he gave to Israel was really theirs in the first place. He had taken it from them, so he really lost nothing but his effort and his men.

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.

God sent another word to Ahab by a prophet. Notice the story about how the prophet told his "neighbor" about God's Word and asked for the neighbor to "smite" him. The neighbor didn't BELIEVE the story, and the neighbor was killed by a lion.
Those who do not believe the Word of God shall be destroyed by the LION.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."(1Peter 5:8)