Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Kings 20
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
1 Kings 20
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
1 Kings 20
"And Ben-hadad 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 fought against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king; I am thine, and all that I have." — 1 Kings 20:1-4 (ASV)
And Benhadad 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. And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine, thy 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.
This was a king of Israel, servilely crouching before the idolatrous king of Syria. Not in this manner would David have spoken, or any of those kings who followed the Lord of hosts; but when men forsake God, they soon become cowards. What kingdom or nation will prosper that casts off the yoke of the Most High?
"And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy 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." — 1 Kings 20:5-6 (ASV)
That is always the way with such people: give them an inch, and they take a mile. Ahab had agreed to all that the Syrian king claimed, so now Benhadad pushes his advantage.
If you ever yield to Satan, you will find him to be a hard taskmaster. You can never yield enough to satisfy him. And if you yield to any sin, whatever it may be, you will find it to be a cruel tyrant to you. If you allow it once to have power over your soul, it will push its advantage further and further and make your yoke exceedingly heavy.
"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. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken thou not, neither consent. Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, 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." — 1 Kings 20:7-9 (ASV)
Driven to extremity, Ahab showed that he had a little courage left, and when he was supported by his people, and, possibly, urged on by them, he put his foot down, and would not altogether submit to Benhadad. Oh, that men had the moral courage to revolt against sin! Would that, when they felt its cruel bondage, they would resist it! God grant them grace to do so, and strengthen them in their resistance!
"And Ben-hadad 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." — 1 Kings 20:10 (ASV)
That is to say, "I will bring so many against you that all the dust of the city would not be enough to provide a handful each."
"And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on [his armor] boast himself as he that putteth it off." — 1 Kings 20:11 (ASV)
That was a sharp, shrewd check to the boasting of the Syrian king.
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