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[Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. I, [said Ahab], will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

Verse Takeaways

1

A Victory Squandered

Commentators unanimously agree that Ahab's primary failure was making a treaty without consulting God. After God miraculously delivered Israel's enemy into his hands, Ahab acted on his own political judgment. Scholars emphasize that a war won by prophetic guidance should have been concluded with prophetic sanction. This serves as a powerful warning against relying on our own wisdom after experiencing God's direct intervention.

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Book Overview

1 Kings

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4

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes

On 1 Kings 20:34

18th Century

Theologian

Ben-hadad, confident his life would be spared, proposed terms of peace in exchange for his freedom. He would restore to Ahab the Israelite cities h…

Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott

On 1 Kings 20:34

19th Century

Bishop

Make streets—properly, squares, or quarters of a city. This concession implies a virtual acknowledgment of supre…

John Gill

John Gill

On 1 Kings 20:34

17th Century

Pastor

And [Benhadad] said unto him
The word Benhadad is not in the original text, and some, as Osiander and others, have t…

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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry

On 1 Kings 20:31–43

17th Century

Minister

Sinners have this encouragement to repent and humble themselves before God: Have we not heard that the God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not…