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1 Kings 20 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
There are some incredible spiritual metaphors we can glean from these passages which build on the disobedience of Ahab in 1 Kings 19.
Right off the bat, there is the threat of warfare. Ben-hadad decides he wants to conquer Israel, so he sends his troops along with 32 other rulers into Samaria. This was a formidable army against man but toy soldiers to the Living God. Rather than pray or consult a reputable prophet, Ahab surrenders to the enemy.
Selfishness = Compromise
This is a microcosm of Ahab’s entire life. He surrendered to Jezebel. He surrendered to the prophets of Baal. He surrendered, ultimately, to Satan. These were easy compromises. He did not, however, surrender to God because he would have been forced to change his lifestyle. Ahab was weak because he was selfish. As long as he could maintain his luxurious style of living, he didn’t care what kind of compromises needed to be made. Ahab had no spiritual depth.
Today, in the church, there are many who know Jesus’ commands but do not know the person of Jesus. Ahab seemed to be fine with the prophets of God as long as they didn’t disrupt his comfortable life. He would accept truth if it supported his agenda but deny its power when it disrupted his comfy culture. Knowing truth is not enough. Reading the Bible is not enough. If we do not know the character of Jesus and surrender to the Holy Spirit, we will never see the teaching of Christ in the way God intended!
The Grace of God
With the help of his advisors, Ahab grows a spine and eventually decides to stand up to Ben-hadad. This certainly had less to do with the wisdom of Ahab’s advisors and much more to do with the provision of God answering the prayers of faithful men like Elijah and Elisha. We know this is true because a man of God comes to Ahab and promises victory. God even gives Ahab the exact plan to follow in order to win the battle. Why would He do such a thing? Because God’s love far exceeds ours. When we have reached our breaking point, God has already pulled strings that will glorify His Name above all other names.
Selfishness = Compromise Part II
Israel routs the Syrians but the prophet warns they will be back in the spring. God delivers Israel from their enemies a second time and this is the moment where Ahab once again shows his true character.
So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their necks, went to Ahab and said, “Your servant Benhadad pleads with you for his life.” Ahab answered, “Is he still alive? Good! He’s like a brother to me!”
1 Kings 20:32 GNB
A prophet of God goes on to illustrate Ahab’s blunder using himself as a metaphor. What did he do? Ahab welcomed the enemy back into his presence just as he had done time and time again in his own spiritual life.
Ahab followed God when he was in danger but went right back to making compromises once things were comfortable again.
Does this not describe so many who claim to follow Jesus today? Yes. It describes me and maybe it describes you too? The depth of this story is found in the spiritual metaphor.
God, in His scandalous grace, delivered Ahab from his enemies even though he never asked for help. Ahab agreed to follow God when it benefitted him. When the stress hit, he pulled God out like an old credit card. He didn’t want to die! But as soon as he was out of the woods, he filled his bathtub full of selfish compromise and dove right back in there!
This is not how it was supposed to be. If we do not know the character of God, we will never get beyond our shallow living. God’s Word will always be translated as benefiting us in a selfish and compromised way. His unexplainable ways will be scrutinized when we suffer under His sovereign trials.
Holy Spirit, reveal the ways that I am retreating to compromise in the shadow of your grace!