1 Kings 20

Don’t be fooled

Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” ~ 1 Kings 20:13

Have you ever looked at a situation and thought, “There is absolutely no way I can handle this”? Maybe the problem in front of you seems too big, the resources you have seem too small, and if you’re being completely honest, you’d really like God to send someone else to deal with it. Sometimes life can feel a little like standing in front of a mountain with a butter knife and being told, “Go ahead!” Today’s scripture reading reminds us that God doesn’t need our circumstances to look manageable before He can give us victory.

In this chapter, Israel faced a powerful enemy, and King Ahab was confronted with a situation that looked impossible. Ben Hadad and his large army threatened Israel, and from a human perspective, Israel didn’t seem to have much of a chance. But God stepped into the situation and made something very clear. The battle wasn’t going to be won because Israel had the greatest army, the best strategy, or the most impressive leader. God wanted His people to know that He is Lord.

Here are three truths that can encourage us when we’re facing circumstances that seem bigger than we are.

1. God can work through what looks insufficient

The first thing we see in this chapter is that God can use what seems small or insufficient to accomplish something much greater. In verse 13, God told Ahab that He would deliver the enormous army into his hand. Then, in verse 14, Ahab asked who would do it, and the answer is unbelievable. It would be accomplished through the young leaders of the provinces.

That probably wasn’t the answer anyone expected. If you’re facing a massive problem, you don’t usually look around and say, “You know what this situation needs? A group of young leaders with limited experience and resources.” But God often works through people and resources that don’t look impressive by human standards.

We can easily do the same thing in our own lives. We look at what we have and think, “I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough money. I don’t know enough. I don’t have the influence. I don’t have the experience.” But God isn’t limited by what we don’t have.

Maybe you’re leading something right now and you’re wondering how you’re going to accomplish everything that’s been placed in front of you. Maybe you have a ministry responsibility, a family situation, a financial need, or a relationship that feels beyond your ability to fix. Instead of focusing only on what you’re missing, ask God what He wants you to do with what you already have.

A small act of obedience can become significant when it’s placed in God’s hands. A phone call, an encouraging word, a prayer, an invitation, a few hours of your time, or simply saying yes when God asks you to step forward can become part of something much bigger than you realize.

You may not have everything you think you need, but that doesn’t mean God can’t work through what you do have.

2. Don’t let yesterday’s victory make you careless today

Israel experienced victory over Ben Hadad, but the enemy wasn’t finished. Ben Hadad’s servants eventually convinced him that Israel’s God was a God of the hills, so they decided to fight Israel in the plains. They thought changing the location would change the outcome.

God wanted to make sure His people understood something important. He wasn’t only God of the hills. He was God of the valleys, the plains, and everywhere in between.

This is so awesome because it reminds us that God is with us  in our highs and in our lows.  He is the God of the mountain top and the valley.  We can sometimes put God into categories based on our past experiences. We may think, “God helped me in that situation, so surely He’ll do the exact same thing this time.” But God isn’t a formula. He is our heavenly Father and our God in every circumstance, and He may lead us differently from one situation to another because He leads through relationship.

Sometimes we also become comfortable after experiencing a victory. We get through the difficult season, breathe a sigh of relief, and think, “Okay, that’s over.” Then another challenge appears, and suddenly we’re surprised that we need God’s help again.

Life doesn’t work that way. We never grow out of needing God.

Maybe you’ve recently experienced an answer to prayer, a breakthrough, or a season where God clearly provided for you. Be thankful for it, but don’t stop seeking Him. Yesterday’s provision doesn’t mean you don’t need today’s direction. Before making that decision, pray. Before responding to that difficult person, pray. Before committing to something, pray. Before assuming you know what God is doing, pray.

We don’t need to live in fear of the next battle. We simply need to remember who is with us when it comes and keep our shield of faith high.

3. Victory doesn’t mean we can ignore obedience

One of the more sobering parts of 1 Kings 20 comes toward the end of the chapter. God gave Ahab victory, but Ahab made a decision afterward that God did not approve of. Instead of fully following God’s instructions concerning Ben Hadad, Ahab made his own agreement with him and allowed him to go free.

This reminds us that experiencing God’s blessing in one area doesn’t give us permission to disregard His direction in another.

That’s an important point because sometimes we can assume that if God is blessing us, everything we’re doing must be okay. But God’s faithfulness doesn’t mean we can stop listening.

We might see this in everyday life when we know what Scripture says, but we start making exceptions because obedience is inconvenient. Maybe God is prompting you to forgive someone, but you want to hold onto the offense because they really did hurt you. Maybe you’re being asked to have a difficult conversation, but avoiding it seems much easier. Maybe you’ve been sensing that something needs to change, but you’re hoping that if you ignore it long enough, it will magically disappear.

Unfortunately, problems rarely disappear because we give them the silent treatment. If that worked, we’d all be experts at it. Obedience isn’t about earning God’s love. It’s about responding to the God who already loves us. We don’t obey because we have everything figured out. We obey because we trust the One who does and follow the plan already designed for success.

This chapter reminds us that God is able to meet us in battles that look completely beyond our ability. But it also reminds us that victory isn’t the end of our responsibility. We still need to listen, follow, and remain sensitive to His direction.

Today I want to encourage you to remember that the size of your battle doesn’t determine the size of your God. You may be looking at something today that feels overwhelming, but God isn’t overwhelmed. You may feel like you don’t have enough, but God has never needed you to have everything before He can use you. You may be standing in a valley after previously experiencing a victory on the mountaintop, but God is still God there too.

Don’t allow fear to convince you that you can’t move forward. Don’t allow yesterday’s victory to make you careless about today’s obedience. And don’t allow the size of the challenge to make you forget who is standing with you.

God is still Lord in the places that feel impossible. He’s still Lord when the resources seem small. He’s still Lord when the answer doesn’t come the way you expected. And He’s still asking His people to trust Him, listen to Him, and take the next step of obedience. You don’t have to figure out the whole battle today. Ask God what your next step is and then be willing to take it.

Today’s scripture reading: 1 Kings 20

1 Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. 

2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: 

3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’ ”

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.”

5 Then the messengers came back and said, “Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘Indeed I have sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children”; 

6 but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.’ ”

7 So the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Notice, please, and see how this man seeks trouble, for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold; and I did not deny him.”

8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”

9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’ ”

And the messengers departed and brought back word to him.

10 Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

11 So the king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.’ ”

12 And it happened when Ben-Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were drinking at the command post, that he said to his servants, “Get ready.” And they got ready to attack the city.

13 Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

14 So Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’ ” Then he said, “Who will set the battle in order?”And he answered, “You.”

15 Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel—seven thousand.

16 So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk at the command post. 

17 The young leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-Hadad sent out a patrol, and they told him, saying, “Men are coming out of Samaria!” 

18 So he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive.”

19 Then these young leaders of the provinces went out of the city with the army which followed them. 

20 And each one killed his man; so the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the cavalry. 

21 Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.

22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, for in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.”

The Syrians Again Defeated

23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. 

24 So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their places; 

25 and you shall muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.”

And he listened to their voice and did so.

26 So it was, in the spring of the year, that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 

27 And the children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went against them. Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside.

28 Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” 

29 And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. 

30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left. And Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner chamber.

31 Then his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.” 

32 So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

33 Now the men were watching closely to see whether any sign of mercy would come from him; and they quickly grasped at this word and said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad.”

So he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.

34 So Ben-Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus.” Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this treaty.” So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” And the man refused to strike him. 

36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, surely, as soon as you depart from me, a lion shall kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

37 And he found another man, and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. 

38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 

39 Now as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 

40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.”

Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”

41 And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 

42 Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’”

43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.

Journal:

• What situation in my life currently feels bigger than my ability to handle it?
• What do I already have in my hands that God may be asking me to use?
• Have I allowed a past victory or answer to prayer to make me less dependent on God today?
• Is there an area where I know God is asking me to obey, but I’ve been hesitating?
• What is one practical step of faith and obedience I can take today?