This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, July 17, 1988.

We are beginning with verse 22. This is 1 Kings 20, beginning with verse 22. Hear the word of God. Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, Go strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do. For at the turn of the year, the king of Syria will come up against you. Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, their gods are gods of the mountains.

Therefore, they were stronger than we, but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this thing, remove the kings each from his place and put captains in their place, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

So it came about at the turn of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. And the sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them. And the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the country. Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, saying, Thus says the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is a God of the mountains, but he is not a God of the valleys. Therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

So they camped one over against the other seven days, and it came about that on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the sons of Israel killed of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city. And the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And then Hadad fled and came into the city, into the inner chamber.

And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads. and go out to the king of Israel, perhaps he will save your life.” So they girded Zakla on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, your servant Ben-Hadad says, please let me live.

And he said, is he still alive? He is my brother. Now the men took this as an omen and quickly catching his word and said, your brother Ben-Hadad. Then he said, go bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. And Ben-Hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus as my father made in Samaria, Ahab said, and I will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the Lord, please strike me. But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him and killed him. Then he found another man and said, please strike me. And the man struck him, wounding him.

So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. And as the king passed by, he said to the king, he tried to the king and said, your servant went out into the midst of the battle. And behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, guard this man. If for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. And while your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.

And the king of Israel said to him, so shall your judgment be, you yourself have decided it. Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was one of the prophets. And he said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I have devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his and your people for his people. So the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria. we are delighted in your rule of your church and throughout the world where your word is honored there also we would hope that your church is ruled well we pray therefore for that office of rule to ask that your elders may stand strong in that in the strength which you give And we ask that they may have discernment, especially as they have been given responsibility to scrutinize the proclamation of the word.

We ask also that they would be mindful of that care committed to them over the flock, and that they might rule judiciously. We pray our God that it would please you to multiply effective servants throughout your church for rule, that in fact your people may be ruled well. And in every respect, may there be that demonstration of the love of Christ in their office. We pray it in Christ’s name. Amen.

There is a war between Israel and Syria, between the house of Ahab and the house of Ben-Hadad. And this war between kingdoms, between households, is a war which has retrospective significance and also prospective significance. In other words, it is a war that looks backwards and forwards. You have those two points, and you have the sermon for the siege. This war, in its retrospective character, It is a war which in its two battles, now, in its two battles recorded for us in this 20th chapter of 1 Kings, it is a war which in its two battles remind us of two eras, two periods of time in Israel’s former history.

These two battles, the one that focused at Samaria and now this one of which we’ve read tonight, the one that focuses at Aphek, these two battles remind us of eras, two periods of time from Israel’s former history. There is then that battle between Israel and Syria, the household of Ahab and Ben-Hadad, that took place at Samaria, the mountaintop capital of the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Israel.

There is that battle spoken of for us in the first 21 verses of this chapter, and in this Israel is delivered, despite the fact that she has a grossly inferior force. Remember how the force of the Syrians is described? Then Hadad comes up with 32 kings to overwhelm Israel. And what of the force of Israel? Well, we are reminded in that 21st, that 20th chapter rather, in the 15th verse, that Israel had but 7,000 to fight for her in this instance.

Israel is delivered despite grossly inferior forces, despite the fact that she has already compromised herself, by making herself a vassal state to the Syrians and to Ben-Hadad. But these facts, the victory of Israel, her grossly inferior force, the fact that she has compromised herself with the alien forces that have intruded upon her, remind us of that particular time in Israel’s history, after her entrance into the land, the time of the judges. Isn’t it true that as we review the period of the judges, we have before us the victory, or the victories, of the people of God? And that despite the fact that they are grossly outnumbered, in fact we are told that God in many instances reduces the number of the force of Israel in order that he might demonstrate his power through weakness. And these victories are in spite of the fact that Israel is compromised. Yes, religiously and politically she is compromised. The period of the judges then. The triumph of God, He perfecting His power through weakness and demonstrating His grace to a people undeserving.

That’s what we find when we read the first 21 verses of 1 Kings 20. And that battle at Samaria, in which the forces of Ben-Hadad are put to flight, remarkably, by the power of God, in a demonstration of God’s magnificent grace to His people. So we have the first battle, now we move on to the second. The second battle focuses at Aphek, we are told. Verses 22 through 43 deal with that battle, that confrontation.

Again, Israel is victorious against this villainous foe, the king Ben-Hadad. A king that is mustering once more his forces, arraying those forces against Israel, and mustering a force once more that would seemingly overwhelm Israel and destroy her. This battle at Apheb is one in which we see the victorious king, Ahab, sparing Ben-Hadad one whom we are told is designated for destruction. And in this action by Ahab, he proves himself vain and incompetent to rule.

But you recall, we are thinking of the retrospective character of this war between Israel and Syria. And if we allow ourselves, our minds, then flying back through the scriptures, think of a parallel that exists between what happens here and what happened formerly in Israel’s history. Interestingly, after the period of the judges came the period of the kingdom. And you may recall the story of 1 Samuel 15, when Saul went out to battle against the Amalekites.

The king of the Amalekites was one Ahab, and Saul was commanded to destroy all. Yet Saul spares the king. And here, you would call, no, Ahab spares than Aden. Well, this battle at Aphek then reminds us of Saul and the Amalekites, the sparing of Agag, and then the consequent rejection of Saul. Here we read of the rejection of Aden as king.

So you get the pattern, don’t you? We move from one period to the other, from victory to victory. Defeat and judgment for the enemies of God and God’s people. But as we move from that victory, that preliminary victory, to the consequent victory, there is in view a movement from a preliminary triumph over the foe to the eventual eradication of that thought. That being the pattern of the movement from the period of the judges to the period of the king.

So what was worked out over many years formally in Israel’s history is now compressed for us in the space of one chapter in 1 Kings 10 the history of Israel in this respect being recapitulated for us the expectation then for the king of Israel and moving from victory to victory is to improve upon that initial preliminary victory so that in the end, the foe that poses himself against God and against his people is completely eradicated. You remember how it was for Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness when they first met Amalek? And in that instance, God swore eternal hostility against Amalek. Never to be satisfied until the victory was complete, and Amalek was wiped off the face of the earth. From victory unto victory. From glory to glory.

Now that’s one aspect of the retrospective nature of this war between Syria and Israel. And there is another. These two battles recorded in the 20th chapter here are to remind us of recent events, of another confrontation that has just been concluded between Elijah and the forces of Baal. You see, the incursion of the Syrians into Israel’s territory under Ben-Hadad, parallels the spiritual incursion of the Phaolites into Israel’s territory under Jezebel. Now notice the geography as we progress. The first battle takes place on a mountaintop, Samaria. the opening verses of 1st Kings 20. Well, that mountaintop confrontation between Ahab and Ben-Hadad at Samaria is actually reflecting the confrontation between Elijah and the forces of Jezebel upon Mount Carmel, upon the heights in the mountain.

God is the Lord. The Lord is God. He is the God in the heights. But He is as well the God in the depths. So we have the preliminary victory. Yes, spoken of here in terms of Ahab and Ben-Hadad, but there is that preliminary victory as well of Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, both they and the prophets that are of Jezebel. But on to the depths. Note the geography. Aphek is in the plain. Aphek is in the valley.

The confrontation now between Ahab and Ben-Hadad in the valley of Aphat reflects the consequent confrontation between Ahab and his own wife in the plains of Jezreel. And interestingly, scholars tell us that Aphat may have been in the territory, in the region of Jezreel itself. So we have moved from the preliminary victory to what we would expect to be the secondary victory in which there was to be the eradication of every remnant of that hostility against God and his people. But what does Ahab do when he comes into Jezreel?

He doesn’t execute Jezebel as he should have. He should have had her drawn and quartered. Instead, he cowers in front of her, sues for terms of peace, wins his way back into her bedchamber, while she plots to execute Elijah. just as Ahab failed to move from victory to victory in the case of Jezebel now he fails to move from victory to victory in the case of Ben-Hadad and in both cases you see The lesson is the same.

The end result is fatal. Compromise with hell. Make a covenant with the counsels of Satan. And the end can only be rejection and destruction well that’s the retrospective character of the confrontation between Syria and Israel we said that there is a prospective side as well that which pertains to what is yet to be so that this is not just a recapitulation of Israel’s history this text serves as prophecy you see this war is reflective of the eternal concept This war is reflective of the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

This war and its progress is a portent of the coming, future events that pertain specifically with regard to Israel and her kingship as they are related to that eternal conflict. And in the end, you see, Israel’s lot will be no better than that which is proven here in the case of Ahab. As with the king, so with the people. The nation itself will follow after this sort of king. or has not the nation wished for itself a king like the kings of all the other nations? The demise is seemingly certain, as that nation, as if it were a nation devoted to David, set its eyes upon the things of this earth. Why do you think that Saul spared Ahab for the profit, for the promise of the things of this world. Why is it that Ahab spared Ben-Hagin? Why is it that he has spared his wife?

Because of the promise of the things of this world. And it is a nation, Ben, following such a king that makes the same kind of compromise, the same kind of covenant. It is a covenant of death. For the sake of the things of this world, for the promise of those who are seemingly mighty in this world, who have power in it. Well, is there anything who sees matters around? Is there any king whose eye is single?

Oh yes, the period of the judges gives way to the period of the kingdom. And the future of Israel is played out in the life of Saul, but beyond Saul there is one whose heart is formed and fashioned and molded by a love for God. In this one the Messianic glory will be seen. Yes, from victory unto victory. In this one, who is promised, who is coming, there is a King. His righteousness is pure and certain. His glory is as bright as the sun. and he shall move from victory to victory, and that in a way in which he does not compromise with the seduction of the Jezebels, or the Baals, or the Ben-Hadads, or the Agags of this world.

The preliminary victory Where was that victory observed? At the cross. And how is that victory improved upon with a secondary victory in which this king proves himself faithful to the uttermost? Why, when he has subdued all things to himself, and triumphs over the last enemy, death.

Now, not that you aren’t to be warned, for you see, you live between the preliminary victory and the subsequent victory. And therefore, while you live between the victories, there is that possibility, of course, that you will be derailed, distracted, and the love of the world will improve.

Did we not read about such a one this morning? 2 Timothy 4, we read about a man named Amos. who deserted Paul because he loved this present world. How are you to endure while you live between the victors? You can only endure if you persevere in the power of that One who has triumphed And understand, in the life that he supplies, that the nature of the kingdom that he has come to confer is not that of a kingdom of this world, but of one that is above.

And that is to be the focus of your affections. Set your affections upon things above, where Christ is, at the right hand of God. There you are. Now if you think that you have the power in yourself to endure while you wait for the consummation of that secondary victory from our Lord, you best think again. For you see, your standing is only by grace.

I want you to think in this regard of the fate of Elijah. Before, and in light of the failure, well, as Ahab was failing in his secondary victory, failing to eradicate Baal-ism completely from Israel, Elijah himself began to quiver, to shake, to receive, to power. His heart seemingly set upon earthly things. And I tell you, if Elijah cannot endure in his own power and strength, surely you and I can.

Only in the power of this who has proven himself faithful in the preliminary victory, and shall also subsequently prove himself victorious in the depths. Isn’t it interesting, the heights and the depths? Christ now, as it were, in the mountains. His warfare directed against principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. The final battle will be in the plain, in the valley, in the valley of the shadow of death. And thereto, as he has proved himself in the first battle, he shall prove himself in the last. First Kings 20, two battles, they have a miserable failure, as Israel, a miserable failure, as you and I, miserable failures, but Jesus Christ, the victor, the glorious King, who has not and will not fail you his conquest over death is certain will it be a conquest for you one of which you benefit that we all might love him and love his appearance with a pure heart from victory to victory from glory to glory The perfection of our Christ speaks out, cries out before the world. O Lord, may we, although in the world, hear the message and embrace it with all sincerity that these victories may in fact prove to be for us.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.