The Defeat of Syria: God is above everyone and everything

Go ahead and take your Bibles tonight, turn over to 1 Kings chapter 20, 1 Kings chapter 20,

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention 1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

as we get a few handouts here this evening on that.

We can get some help with that as we turn to 1 Kings chapter 20.

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

Thank you, John. Appreciate that.

You know, we've been looking through here at the kings of Israel and of Judah,

as we've been looking here at the divided kingdom there,

as we've gone through the different kings.

We've come to Ahab, and we've been looking at Ahab in Judah.

Right now is Jehoshaphat, and we'll come back to Jehoshaphat here.

I think, Lord willing, next week we'll come back as these two tie together once again.

But we looked last week here in 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

at the spiritual battle that had taken place on Mount Carmel.

And once again it revealed to Israel that the same Lord that brought them out of Egypt

is the same God that came down with fire from heaven

and consumed the sacrifice from the prophet Elijah.

And the victory really brought about a clear picture of who they had to choose,

whether they were going to serve Baal or whether they were going to serve God.

And we saw that Elijah the prophet and the others that were with him there

killed the prophets of Baal.

And the winner was declared, but Ahab, as we're going to see here,

still had to go back and tell Jezebel, you know,

and tell her what had happened.

And Baal and his prophets had been decisively crushed up on Mount Carmel.

And we know here that this brought about a price on the head of Elijah

that he fled to Beersheba and currently possessed by Judah.

Beersheba had been taken there.

But Israel had been facing a drought, if you remember.

And after the conflict up on the Mount and the sacrifice that the rains had came,

but Elijah went in the power of the Lord through that.

But also after that, we know that Elijah went

and we find that he hid down at Beersheba because of Jezebel's threat to kill him.

And we're going to see here that God already had a plan for that

because as we're going to look here tonight,

Elijah once again kind of disappears from the scene for a while.

And we're not going to dig into Elijah since we're focusing on the kings,

but I want you to see here just to know that what happens here,

God takes and uses even to protect Elijah

because it distracts or takes away from the focus they had

wanting to get back at Elijah for what happened out up on Mount Carmel.

It also brings about a different direction that they had to take

because the Syrians come and invade Israel.

And sometimes we need to look at, we're going to see here tonight,

that God is above everyone and everything as he works through the defeat of Syria.

Because even though God is using an enemy that comes in,

we're going to see that God also used it to protect.

And in the same time, God's also working in the heart of Ahab and in the children of Israel.

You know, and the wonderful thing is I was thinking through this

and preparing the one thing that came to mind,

you know, I'm glad we have a God that can chew gum and walk at the same time.

Amen.

I mean, he can do multiple things all simultaneously.

You know, he can take care, provide, he can protect,

he can do all these things above and beyond what we could even comprehend.

And so I'm thankful that, you know, we don't serve a God that's limited in time or space or means.

We serve a God that supersedes all those things.

All those things, or he supersedes them.

And we're going to see here that as Elijah passes from the scene here for a few years once again,

we're going to see the focus becomes upon Ahab and his posterity.

And we're going to look at that here in a little bit.

But there's a lot of things happening here in the interim.

We find Ben-Hadad, along with 32 other kings, arrive with Syria in his sight.

So let's pick up here in 1 Kings chapter 20.

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

As we're going to look here tonight in verse 1, it says,

And Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his hosts together.

And there were thirty and two kings with him, and the 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 Ben-Hadad, and thy silver and thy gold is mine, the 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.

And the messengers came again and said,

Thus speaketh Ben-Hadad, 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 tomorrow 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,

thou shalt put it in their hand and take it away.

And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said,

Mark, I pray you, then 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 the people said unto him,

Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-Hadad,

Tell my lord the king,

All that thou didst send forth 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.

And Ben-Hadad said unto him and said to the gods,

So do unto me, and more so,

If the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls of 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.

And it came to pass,

And Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking,

He and the kings in the pavilions.

And he said unto his servants,

Let's set yourselves in array and set themselves,

And they set themselves in array against the city.

So let's pray.

Heavenly fathers, we come before you tonight, Lord.

We just thank you for your word.

We're thankful for the pictures and the things that we can understand

and even apply to our lives, Lord,

practical realities of who you are,

what you've done, Lord.

the importance even tonight of turning to you

and trusting you in even the difficulties of life,

not to turn our back upon who you are.

Lord, help us to learn as we walk through the life of Ahab

and the things and the children of Israel,

here that we might see you not only there,

but, Lord, see you working even in our own lives in these areas.

And, Lord, we just ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

You know, as we see here,

the Lord had just revealed himself to Ahab

through Elijah the Tishbite up on Mount Carmel.

And now we see that the Lord puts Ahab to the test.

Because, remember, Ahab had seen,

and they had to make a choice.

Remember, Elijah's message was pretty simple.

One that he made a very declarative

that you have to decide who are you going to serve.

You know, why halt you between two opinions?

You know, how long are you going to try to serve Baal and to serve God?

You know, you have to make a choice.

And we saw that and put to the test

and how God here, we're going to see,

protects Elijah from the fury of Jezebel.

And so we're going to see how God quickly redirects the enemy

on the doorstep Syria

and uses this series of confrontations

between Ahab and Benedad

to draw God's attention even more

to Ahab and to his relationship with him.

Because we saw last week

that God always extends mercy and grace

as much as possible.

You know, it's amazing to see how God,

even Ahab, the most wicked king to date,

we saw God still extend

out to him an opportunity to turn to him.

You know, the wonderful thing is,

no matter where somebody is in life,

we learn one very clear factor

that no matter what's happened

or where people are,

no matter what they've done,

while you're still drawing breath,

somebody has an opportunity to repent

and come to God.

Nothing limits us

from being able to turn to him

in this life except our own selves.

You know, our sin is separated,

but Jesus took care of everything, didn't he?

There's nothing else needed

but the blood of Christ

to cover any sin

to be able to be right with God.

And so we're going to look here tonight,

the confrontation of the kings.

You know, the confrontation of kings here

is Ben-Hadad and his colleagues invade Israel

and besiege the city of Samaria

as we just read here.

And, you know, he sends forth

the first negotiation

as he has 32 kings with him.

In other words, I want you to understand

that the number of people

that came with the king of Syria

was like an insurmountable number of people.

I mean, it was just a massive army

that had gathered and besieged Samaria.

And he sends in the first negotiation

and he says,

Hey, Ahab, the first thing you're going to do

is you're going to surrender all your silver.

You're going to surrender all your gold.

You're along with your wives and your children.

All those things I'm going to take.

And, you know, we see here

that really Ahab

really surrenders this out pretty quickly.

You know, the Bible doesn't tell us why,

but look in verse 4.

Look at his first initial response

to what's happening.

Here it says,

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 mean, he capitulates very quickly

to this demand.

I mean, it's like he just very quickly turns

and says,

Hey, you can have my wives.

You can have my children.

You can have my gold.

You can have my silver.

You just need to depart.

You know, he gives them

and tells them they can have all these things.

You know, we don't know.

All the Bible doesn't give us

an insight into the back.

Thinking of Ahab here, you know,

I imagine that he might have been

feeling outnumbered.

He might have been feeling hopeless

and helpless in the midst of things.

Because remember,

Israel had just suffered a great famine.

The land was devastated.

There was a lot of problems

associated with that.

We're going to see,

even as God works through

this moment in the life of Ahab

and the children of Israel,

you know,

but we find here that Ahab

would send forth these things

to Benadad

and he would take what was requested

and depart.

But Benadad instead

makes an additional demand.

I think it's one of those things

that, you know,

hey, this was too easy.

Let's see what else we can get.

You know,

one of those things

where if I can get,

if he'll give us this,

this easily,

what else can we get from him?

And so he sends forth the next

seeking to ransack the palace

and the houses of the people there,

the officials,

and for everything

that they thought would be of value.

You know,

he raised the stakes

just from what Ahab had

to what everybody had.

Because I want you to see here,

what did he tell them?

Whatsoever,

look in verse 6,

whatsoever is pleasant to thine eye.

I mean,

you think about that.

You imagine somebody

being able to walk through your house

and say,

that looks what I want to take

and they can just take it.

I mean,

you think about

whatever looks good to them,

you know,

it's like,

that's a pretty open door.

You know,

that's a broad spectrum of stuff

and broad spectrum of things

that they could take

and we see this coming about

because the eye is something

that's never satisfied.

You know,

you think about the door

that you open,

you know,

think about what Solomon says

in Ecclesiastes chapter 1

Ecclesiastes 1 · chapter mention

and verse 8.

It says,

all things are full of labor,

man cannot utter it.

The eye is not satisfied

with seeing

nor the ear filled with hearing.

In other words,

you know,

you can never quit looking at things.

I mean,

as long as you have sight,

you're always consuming.

Your eye is an all-consuming thing

that draws in.

I mean,

it's continually there

and the desire that is there.

You know,

how many times do you get something,

want something

because you see it first?

You know,

our sight is something

that draws us in.

You know,

and we see here

that this,

whatever their eye

was pleasant to them

and this sparks,

for some reason,

we find it gets a little backbone

in Ahab

because now he calls

for a meeting

of the officials

and the elders in the land,

you know.

And so we find here

that Ahab is meeting

with the elders of the land

and the response

is they responded

by encouraging Ahab

not to listen

to the threat

nor consent

to the increased demands.

I mean,

look here at verse 8

as we read earlier

and it says,

and all the elders

and all the people

said unto him,

hearken not unto him

nor consent.

In other words,

hey,

what are you thinking?

You know,

what are you doing?

Don't just concede

everything that he wants

and to give that to him.

So the message

is returned

to Benadad

who is drinking

and relaxing

in his pavilion.

I mean,

you think about

Benadad here,

he's so confident

that he's just

hanging out.

He's like,

I'm so overwhelming

number of these guys

that I'm not even concerned

with what's going on.

I am so powerful,

so mighty,

so comfortable

in all those

that I've conquered

that I'm just

basically chilling out

in his pavilion.

He's sitting in the shade

just relaxing

and we find

that they're drinking

and in the pavilion,

you know,

they're getting drunk,

they're just having

a good time,

they're not taking it

seriously,

you might say,

in this.

And so we find here

the return message

that he comes

and the messengers

come back from Ahab

and we find

that he was shocked

at what was said.

Notice in verse 10

what he tells him here

in reply.

And Ben-Hadad

sent unto him

and said,

The gods do so unto me

and more so

if the dust of Samaria

shall suffice

for handfuls

of all the people

that follow me.

Now,

I want you to see

the picture here

for a moment.

What he's saying is,

he says,

you can go round up

and sweep the dust

off the streets

and if that were soldiers

wouldn't be enough

to defeat us.

Think about the arrogance

in the statement.

He basically says,

you can sweep up

the dust of the streets

and if every piece of dust

was a soldier,

you still wouldn't

stand a chance.

He's pretty arrogant

in his statement.

And we're going to see here

as Ahab,

a reply is pretty classic.

Notice what he tells him here.

He says,

Let not him that girdeth

on his harness

boast himself

as he putteth it off,

Now,

you know,

to us,

that phrase doesn't mean much

but it really simply

is this,

you know,

don't mark your victory

before you've actually

fought the battle.

You know,

don't say,

I'm one

before you even

got on the field.

You know,

we might phrase it

a different way today.

Don't count your chickens

before they hatch.

You know,

if you've ever raised

chickens and had eggs,

an egg can look good

but it doesn't mean

it's going to have anything.

You know,

I want you to understand

that that's the reply

that he's sending back

to him.

But he's replying back

and saying,

don't be taking off

your uniform

and your weapon

before the battle

even begins

thinking it's going

to be so easy.

You know,

he tells him here

and you know,

it's important

because we see

the arrogance

that's somewhat

being exchanged here.

You know,

we see a lot of people

today exchange

that same idea

of arrogance,

don't they?

And a lot of pride

that's brought in.

You know,

look over to Proverbs

Proverbs 27 · chapter mention

chapter 27

for a moment.

Proverbs chapter 27

Proverbs 27 · chapter mention

because as we see

Ahab here

and God dealing

with him,

pride

is a core issue

in the life of Ahab.

You know,

the reality is

pride can be

a core issue

in our life.

Pride can hinder

us a lot.

Pride gets a hold

of us

because notice here

in Proverbs 27

Proverbs 27:1

verse 1

he says,

Boast not thyself

of tomorrow

for thou knowest

not what the day

may bring forth.

You know,

I want you to understand

you don't always

have a guarantee

of tomorrow.

You know,

you might have

a lot today

and you'd have

nothing tomorrow.

You know,

the Bible makes

that very clear.

If you read through

and you look

at the book of Job,

Job was wealthy

among

men

one day

and by the end

of the following day

he had no

animals,

he had no workers,

he had no family.

Everything he had

of value was gone.

You know,

those things

come and go

but we need

to remember here

that Benadad

was in the midst

of the other kings

and he was drinking

and boasting

of the victory.

You know,

I can just imagine

this scenario

because if you can

look at people

and think about

people today,

imagine people

hanging out

and he makes

a threat

to Ahab

and all the other

32 kings

are sitting there.

He makes a threat

to Ahab

and says,

this is what

you're going to do,

this is what

you're going to

give me.

And Ahab

comes back out

and says,

okay,

well now I want

more.

The king's here

that he wants

more.

Now Ahab

comes out

and says,

no.

I don't know

about you

but the reality

is what's going

to happen there?

What's going

to be the reaction?

Bandad's going

to have a lot

of pride

because his pride

is on the line

now.

You know,

how dare you

come out

because it's

almost like

embarrassing him

in front of

all the other

kings that he's

conquered.

I mean,

I want you to

see the picture

here because,

you know,

oftentimes we can

react the same

way.

When something

doesn't go

or we get a

response the way

we don't,

we can rear up

our pride

and get ahead

of ourselves.

You know,

his reply

was getting

ahead of himself

in that

because we're

going to see

here that he

was just trying

to save faith

so he responds

by readying

the army

to conquer

the city.

I mean,

everybody's

hanging out

and all of a

sudden he

says,

hey guys,

get in place.

I'm upset.

You know,

Ahab has just

mocked me

in front of

everybody.

But we're

going to see

here that God

takes a

confrontation

and God's

going to turn

it into a

crushing defeat.

You know,

a crushing

defeat.

Look here at

verse 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.

Now we know

why God

allowed this.

You know,

we have a

picture of why

God allowed it.

Why?

So Ahab and

the children of

Israel could see

once again.

Remember,

he already

showed him

he was God

up on the

mount with

Elijah.

Now he's

back here

facing the

Syrians and

the others

with him.

And God

says,

I'm allowing

this and I'm

going to give

you victory

to show you,

to reveal

fully to you

that I am

the Lord

God of

Israel.

I am the

one.

And it was

not just

Ahab that

heard that

prideful

reply

of

Anad

but the

Lord

did also.

I want you

to see

here,

we're going

to look

here,

the Lord

deals

with the

king of

Syria

and his

pride too.

God's

going to

deal with

it in a

very crushing

way,

but the

Lord is

going to

do that.

You know,

we need

to understand

that the

Lord is,

pride is

something that

keeps us

from God.

Pride is one

of the things

that keeps

people from

salvation.

Pride keeps

people from

repentance.

You say,

how does

pride work?

Well,

they're more

worried about

what somebody

else thinks

than what

God thinks.

And I

want you to

see here,

people try to

exalt themselves

in that.

Look to,

in the Old

Testament,

turn to

Obadiah,

look down

at verse

four.

Here,

Obadiah is

writing about

a similar

situation of

pride.

Notice what

he says in

Obadiah

chapter one,

verse four.

If you have

chapter two in

Obadiah,

you need a

different Bible.

Not a very

big book,

but notice what

he says there.

He says,

though thou

exalt thyself

as the eagle,

and though thou

set thy nest

among the stars,

hence I will

bring thee down,

sayeth the Lord.

Now,

I want you to

understand,

God has a way

of humbling an

individual,

to realize that

you are not

more powerful

or greater

than God.

You know,

we live in a

generation that

thinks they

exceed God.

God.

You're in

trouble when

you think you

are more

powerful than

God.

God will

humble people

who declare

that.

Bible tells us

one day every

knee will bow.

People may

think they're

going to get

away with it

for a while,

but one day

accountability is

coming.

They will face

accountability,

accountability.

And while we

don't know who

this mystery

prophet is,

we know it's

not Elijah,

because where's

Elijah?

He's down in

Beersheba,

and we know

God's dealing

with him and

some of the

things going on

in his life.

We see a whole

different perspective

of things happening

down there,

and these things

even still interlace

with one another

as we're going to

see here.

We don't know

who this prophet

was, but he came

with authority.

Look at verse 13.

Notice the authority

he came with.

He says this,

saying, what?

Thus said the

Lord.

You know, there

are some things

in life we need

to understand that

God just says,

thus saith the

Lord.

It's just the way

it is.

It's not open

for discussion.

It's not debatable.

It's not, how do

I feel about it?

It's, no, God

says, thus saith

the Lord.

There are things

that are unchangeable.

It has nothing to

do with what we

think about it.

You know, as God

is working through

this authority,

he's telling Ahab,

he says, you've

seen the multitude.

You've seen Syrians

taking positions

around you,

getting ready to

crush you.

And that's what it

looks like.

I mean, the numbers

were astronomical.

And what does God

tell him?

Look at the end

of verse 13.

He says, thus saith

the Lord, I will

deliver you, deliver

it into thine

hand this day, and

thou shalt know

that I am the

Lord.

You know, here's a

prophet of God

comes to Ahab and

says, Ahab, let me

tell you something.

If you listen to the

prophet, I'm going

to deliver them into

your hand in a

mighty way.

And we're going to

see God do that very

clearly here in just a

little bit.

So Ahab, remember,

just witnessed fire

come down from

heaven, and now God

sends another prophet

and tells him, hey,

I'm going to show

you, once again, I'm

God, even in this

situation.

That I'm above all

the pride, I'm above

all the arrogance, I'm

above everything that

people think, that

they have all the

power and might, and

God says, I'm above

all that.

Because notice, as we

look down through here,

what takes place.

I love the next

phrase there in verse

14.

Ahab looks at the

prophet, and by

whom?

You know, here's a

guy that's very

prideful and wants to

make decisions, and

suddenly God says, hey,

I'm going to send you

out to do that, and he

looks at him and says,

who, me?

You know, there's a lot

we could cover there.

Because even as

Christians, as

believers today,

sometimes God says,

hey, I'm going to give

something great, and we

look at him and say,

who, me?

By whom?

You know, God looks at

him and says, by you.

Notice what he tells him

here.

He says that even by the

young men of the princes of

the providence, then he

said, who shall order the

battle?

And he answered, thou.

You know, he says, hey,

I've got an army for you,

and you're going to lead

them.

You're going to be in

charge of this.

Now, I want you to see

here, because as we read

through this, verses 14 and

15, revealed here that he

numbered the young men of

the princes of the

providence, and they were

232.

So how many people do we

have so far in his army?

232.

You know?

I can just imagine Ahab.

You got the, talk about the

dust of the street.

If you gathered them up, you

wouldn't have enough

soldiers.

And he says, 232 people.

You know?

But I want you to see

something else here, because

notice who else that he

brings forth.

And he says, and after them,

he numbered all the people,

all the children of Israel,

being 7,000.

Now, 7,000 is an interesting

number here.

Because I want you to see

something here.

Here's Israel, who had large

armies, but now he's down to

232 princes.

churches and leaders of

people and 7,000 people.

You say, well, what's so

interesting about 7,000?

Turn back over to chapter

19 for a moment.

Now, the Bible doesn't make

this direct connection, but I

think it's interesting God's

reply in chapter 19.

Because notice, who's willing

to trust God to go out?

You know?

I don't think they found a

whole lot of volunteers except

for 7,000.

Who are these 7,000?

Look in verse 18.

It says, yet have I left me

7,000 in Israel, all the knees

which have not bowed unto Baal,

and every mouth which hath not

kissed him.

In other words, he says, I got

7,000 guys that are willing to

go out to battle because they

trust me.

Ahab is down.

He can't find all his friends he

did have.

But when the prophet comes, he's

got 7,000 that trust the Lord, and

the Lord said, hey, we're supposed

to follow Ahab into battle.

Ahab into battle.

And they said, hey, if God said it's

going to give us victory, we're going

to trust God.

It looked insurmountable.

You know, all the things that they

do.

You know, we always need to remember

that God doesn't look at numbers to

accomplish his things.

You know, look back a little

earlier.

Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 14.

1 Samuel 14 · chapter mention

We find another man here earlier by

the name of Jonathan.

If you ever want a good study of

character, study the life of

Jonathan.

Because Jonathan was a humble

individual, but yet a bold

individual.

He did not run scared of anything,

but yet never looked at himself as

above where God put him.

But notice what he says here.

Here's Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14

1 Samuel 14:6

verse 6.

And Jonathan said to the young man

that bear his armor.

So here's Jonathan and his armor

bearer.

And he says, come, let us go over

into the garrison of these

uncircumcised.

He's talking about the Philistines.

Now notice what Jonathan says.

It may be that the Lord will work

for us, for there is no restraint

to the Lord to save by many or by

few.

You know, he wasn't being prideful to

say, I'm so great.

He says, let's go see what God's

going to do.

Because I want you to understand,

you can read through a little later

there in 1 Samuel, you'll see God

gave him a great victory.

Even though it looked hopeless.

Even here it looked hopeless.

Ahab would have to trust the Lord

for the victory.

Now, it's interesting here too

in strategy because they leave

the city at noon.

That was not the time of day

for an army to come out of the city.

You know?

I want you to understand,

they had a lot of things that they

practiced very meticulously

in ancient warfare.

And it was that way for a reason.

You know?

You didn't get into a battle

in the late afternoon.

That wasn't a good time

to get into the battle, you know?

The heat of the day.

Because remember,

where was the Syrian king

and all his friends?

They're sitting in the pavilion

in the shade,

hanging out.

They're drunk.

They're making fun of Ahab.

And here Ahab comes out

and Benadad says,

hey, he hears news,

hey, there's some men

come out of the city.

He's figuring that this is the people

that surrendered to him.

So he sends his troops in

and says, hey,

capture these guys alive.

Whether they come out

with ill will or good will,

no matter what,

I want you to bring them back alive.

Now, I want you to understand,

Benadad put his guys

in a bad situation

because his rules of engagement

got him in trouble.

You know?

Because he says,

hey, you're not supposed to kill him.

You know what?

The 7,232 that came,

they had one thing in mind.

We're going to get rid of you.

That's not good rules of engagement

for first contact.

You know?

Try to capture them

to somebody who wants to kill you.

That's not a good combination,

just let me tell you.

But we're going to find here

that they slew

those that came

to confront them.

Look down at verse 20.

It says this,

and they slew

every one his man

and the Syrians fled

and the Israel pursued them

and Benadad,

the king of Syria,

escaped on a horse

with the horsemen.

And the king of Israel

went out

and smote the horses

and chariots

and slew the Syrians

with a great slaughter.

You know,

the results

were a great defeat.

They conquered them.

But we're going to see here next

the conquest

that takes place.

Look here at verse 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 the return of the year

the king of Syria

will come up against thee.

Now I want you to see

what's happening here

because God had given

a great victory.

He had chased them away,

destroying the chariots

and all the ground forces

of the Syrians.

But it wasn't long

before the prophet

shows up again

and tells Ahab,

Hey, don't rest

on your laurels.

Don't sit back.

You know,

the one thing I can tell you there,

sometimes we'll get a victory

for the Lord

and we get in trouble

because we sit back.

Instead of holding

and continuing,

we step back.

Sometimes in conflict

you have to push forward

even when you're victorious.

Spiritually

it's true the same.

sometimes you get

a great spiritual victory.

It's not time

to sit back and relax.

It's still time

to be focused

and you have to

be prepared

because he's telling them,

Hey, he's going to be back

in the spring

and God continues here

to reveal himself

to Ahab

a desire

that he and Israel

would turn

from their evil ways

and return

to worshiping

God alone.

You know,

all throughout Ahab,

even though he's marked

as one of the most

wicked kings,

isn't it amazing

that you see God

still

extending out there

Ahab,

repent and come to me.

You know,

God's a merciful God.

He wants people

to have an opportunity.

He gives such grace

to us

and mercy.

You know,

the warning alone

should have caused

Ahab to repent

when you think about it.

Hey, God says,

Hey, I gave you

a great victory

that you know I'm Lord.

Now they're going

to return in the spring

and you need

to be prepared.

God sends the prophet

to him

and tells him

what's going to happen.

You know,

he says to prepare

for that spring offensive

and this new conquest

into Israel

would bring a massive army

that would fill

the country.

You know,

Benadad had returned

to crush Ahab

and Israel.

He was set.

He wasn't going

to be defeated.

Matter of fact,

he had cheered

his people up.

He made an excuse

for the loss.

Now,

take a look here

and this is

in verse 23.

And the servants

of the king of Syria

said unto him,

Their gods

are the god

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.

And do this thing,

take the kings away

and every man

out of his place

and put captains

in their rooms

and number thee

an army

like the army

that thou hast lost

horse for horse,

chariot for chariot

and we will fight

against them

in the plain

and surely

we will be stronger

than they.

And he hearkened

unto their voice

and did so.

Now,

you need to understand

a little something

about geography

and battle

to understand

what's happening here

because in the hills

and valleys

in the sharp hills

and valleys

a chariot

becomes less effective.

Chariots are effective

warfare out on open plains.

You know?

Because the area is open

and they become

more maneuverable

and effective

in what they do.

So what did the Syrians say?

We got defeated

because we were in the hills

around Samaria

so we're going to get them

out into the plains

and we're going to crush them

because our god

is the god of the plains.

Theirs is the god of the hills

because they had victory there.

We're going to get them out

where our god can get victory.

Now they're going to find out

that that doesn't matter

but that's the way people think.

So he puts together

a great army

and he comes down

to Apek

there

which is on the plains

in northern Israel

and it was this declaration

that the Lord used

to reveal his power

was not restrained

to the hills

or the valleys.

God says

I can

my ability

is not limited

by geographic location.

I want you to see here

what happens here.

It says in verse 27

the children of Israel

were numbered

and they 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

you know

and the man of God

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's not God

of the valleys

there where I deliver

all this great multitude

into thy hand

and ye shall know

that I am the Lord.

Here's God once again

saying

guys trust me

I'm going to show you

who I am.

They've mocked me

and I'm going to show them

what that results in.

Because remember here

this had nothing to do

directly with Israel

God said

I'm going to judge

Syria for their pride.

I'm going to judge them

and hold them to account

you know

to understand

who God is

it was for them

and also

those

in us

that came

with the Syrians.

You know

the arrogance

of the Syrians

they came with

crushing force.

You notice here

as we read

what Israel

looked like

two little flocks

of sheep

gathered on the hillside

compared to the Syrians

that consumed

all the valley

and the area around.

They looked like

two little flocks

of sheep

among them.

You know

but I want you

to understand

God had told Israel

before

turn back to

Deuteronomy chapter 4

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

for a moment

Deuteronomy chapter 4

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

look here in verse 39

because God wanted

to reveal who he is

not who they thought

he was

you know

that's one of the

other problems

that we see today

is people like

to make a God

to their own image

of who they think.

What were the Syrians

doing?

They made a God

to say hey

he's the God

of the hills

but we have a God

of a valley

that's more powerful.

I want you to understand

God looks at him

and says

I'm not constrained

by either.

Notice what it says

here in verse 39

he says

know therefore

this day

and consider

where

in thine heart

that the Lord

he is God

in heaven above

and upon the earth

beneath

and there is

none else.

You know

one of the things

to always keep in mind

is to realize

we serve a God

that's above

everything else.

We walk on

his creation.

We walk on

what he holds together.

You know

the psalmist

in Psalm 47

Psalms 47:2

verse 2

says

for the Lord

most high

is terrible

he is a great

king over

all

the earth.

You know

I want you to understand

we serve a God

that's greater

than any location.

God says

that I am God

of all of it.

Not just some of it

but all.

And so

the prophet here

reveals to Ahab

that the Lord

is not doing this

for him

instead he's

presenting a great

truth that everyone

that he

is the Lord.

Notice what he says

there in verse 28

he says

that ye may know

that I

am

the Lord.

That you might know

not have to question

to clear it up

in your mind

remember

up on the mount

what was Elijah's

challenge?

Why halt you

between two opinions?

Let's put it

a different way.

Elijah looks at him

and says

why are you

acting confused?

Why are you

confused who God is?

God says

I have revealed

myself

I have shown you

I have shown myself

more powerful

than anything else

and you need

to trust me

Israel's out

on the

camping

out there

with their troops

that look like

two little flocks

of kids

they're out

there for seven days

waiting for the battle

to begin

and we're going to

see what takes

place here

look at the

verse 28

excuse me

verse 29

and they pitched

one over against

the other seven days

and so it was

on the seventh day

the battle was joined

and the children

of Israel

slew the Syrians

a hundred thousand

footmen

in one day

but the rest

to Affleck

into the city

and their wall

fell upon

twenty seven thousand

of the men

that were left

and Benedad

fled and came

into the city

into the inner chamber

you know

talk about a crushing

defeat

here they are

they look like

two little burps

of people

amongst all the others

God says

he wipe out

a hundred thousand

you know

and then to add

injury to insult

you're on the run

you get inside

the city walls

and the Bible

says God

knocked the wall

over and killed

twenty seven thousand

more

that's more

demoralizing

than you think

the wall

was their defense

the very thing

that they were

looking for

for defense

fell over

and killed them

opened the city

up

to Israel

Benedad's hiding

here with the

inner parts

of the city

but we're going

to see here

that Ahab

let pride

get in the way

again

and missed

the very thing

God was trying

to show him

remember

God said

I want you

to know

that I am

Lord

that I am

the one

that you ought

to be

heeding

and paying

attention to

but we're

going to

see that

instead

Ahab

takes his

pride

and makes

compromise

his compromise

with evil

look here

at verse

thirty one

and the

servants

said unto

him

behold

now

we have

heard

that the

king

of Israel

are the

kings

of the

house

of Israel

are merciful

kings

let us

I pray

thee

put on

sackcloth

on our

loins

and ropes

upon our

heads

and go

out to

the king

of Israel

per

adventure

he will

save thy

life

and so

they

girded

sackcloth

on their

loins

and put

ropes

on their

heads

and came

to the

king

of Israel

and said

thy

servant

!

Now that's

an interesting

statement

because he's

making

connection

with him

and what

this

connection

of brotherhood

is is

one king

to another

one person

in authority

to another

person in

authority

the Syrian

officials

come out

and Ahab

says hey

it'll be okay

you know

as they secure

and they come

out humbly

you know

are you

going to

let

Mahadad

live

and you

know

Ahab

quickly forgot

that it was

the Lord

that had

given the

victory

you know

pride gets

in the way

when we

have victory

sometimes

I mean

it's how

fast do

you get

your eyes

off what

happens

I mean

you think

about the

deliverance

God gave

to him

and right

away

he turns

away

our hearts

can be

and pride

can really

reveals the

wickedness

that lies

within

how we

can focus

on ourselves

you know

we see here

instead

pridefully

accepts

the

terms

of

surrender

you know

Ben-Hadad

had offered

to return

all the

cities

that had

been

captured

by his

father

years

earlier

we found

that along

with

providing

markets

in Damascus

I mean

you think

about that

hey you

can come

trade in

Damascus

and we'll

give you

all your

cities

back

if you

just

let me

live

he never

considered

something

very

important

the Bible

says

as a matter