".........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.And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, 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 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.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 not unto him, nor consent.Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, 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 20:1-9........" Lesson: Just a quick recap of chapter 19......God through Elijah made an open mockery of all the prophets and idols of Baal, he also prayed again and heavy rain came down after three years of drought, afterwards Jezebel threatened Elijah with death and he fled for his life.....he was fed by the angels for two days and went on fasting forty days after which he received a vision and commission to anoint three men to execute judgement over Israel...... Chapter 20......Benhadad king of Syria gathered thirty-two kings with him to fight Ahab king of Israel.......Benhadad request from Ahab was seen has been covetous and overburden......Ahab consulted the elders of the land and he was given an advice not to consent to the request of Benhadad....... Pr 11:14……..Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.......... his demand was life choking.......Ahab did not disclose the counsel of the elders to the messengers of Benhadad........he dispersed them to go with a soft and sweet message back that he would give the very first part of Benhadad request........in verse 3.....Benhadad decided to claim the wealth of Israel for himself.......he has forgotten that it is God that giveth wealth........ Hag 2:8……..The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.......Deut 8:18……. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day............ in fear Ahab responded yes to Benhadad before consulting the elders.......while this might have been wise to calm down the wrath of Benhadad...... Prayer: O Lord turn the counsel of the enemy against me to nothingness.......in Jesus name....Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 07:50:07 +0000