His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.”
So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, “Your brother Ben Hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv31, 33, 34 In sign of submission, and that we have deserved…
In sign of submission, and that we have deserved death, if he will punish us with rigor.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv31–34 1Ki 20:31 And his servants said unto him, Behold…
1Ki 20:31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel [are] merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
Ver. 31. We have heard that the kings, &c.] Merciful to those that they have beaten in battle. Julius Caesar had got such a name; {a} and our Queen Elizabeth, who for her merciful returning home certain Italians taken here in the 1588 invasion, was termed St Elizabeth by some at Venice.
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Let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins.] Let us address ourselves to king Ahab, Lugubri sontium habitu misericordiam implorantium, in the most submissive manner, begging mercy. Thus the Britons, in the time of Valentinian III, being oppressed by their northern enemies, sent their ambassadors in torn garments, with sand on their heads, to Aetius, the Roman Prefect of Gaul; who thereupon was moved to send them help. {b} So the inhabitants of Cremona, in Italy, sought pardon of their rebellion, with halters about their necks, at the hands of Henry VII, emperor of Germany, and got off for a great sum of money, {c} So when our King Edward III laid siege to Calais, the townsmen desired parley, and had this final sentence, that six of the chief of them should be sent to the king bareheaded, barefooted, in their shirts, with halters about their necks, the keys of the town and castle in their hands, and submit themselves to the king’s will. {d} So in King Henry VI’s days, the multitude that had followed Cade the rebel, came naked in their shirts to the king on Blackheath, humbly praying mercy, which they obtained. {e}
{a} Cic. pro Ligar, et pro M. Marcel.
{b} Daniel’s Chro.
{c} Paraei Medul.
{d} Dan, 240.
{e} Speed.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv31–34 Merciful kings; more merciful than others, because that religion…
Merciful kings; more merciful than others, because that religion which they had professed taught them humanity, and obliged them to show mercy.
Sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads; as a testimony of our sorrow for undertaking this war; and that we have justly forfeited our lives for it, which we submit to their mercy.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v31 Here is an account of what followed upon the…
Here is an account of what followed upon the victory which Israel obtained over the Syrians.
I. Ben-hadad's tame and mean submission. Even in his inner chamber he feared, and would, if he could, flee further, though none pursued. His servants, seeing him and themselves reduced to the last extremity, advised that they should surrender at discretion, and make themselves prisoners and petitioners to Ahab for their lives, Kg1 20:31. The servants will put their lives in their hands, and venture first, and their master will act according as they speed. Their inducement to take this course is the great reputation the kings of Israel had for clemency above any of their neighbours: "We have heard that they are merciful kings, not oppressive to their subjects that are under their power" (as governments then went, that of Israel was one of the most easy and gentle), "and therefore not cruel to their enemies when they lie at their mercy." Perhaps they had this notion of the kings of Israel because they had heard that the God of Israel proclaimed his name gracious and merciful, and they concluded their kings would make their God their pattern. It was an honour to the kings of Israel to be thus represented, as indeed every Israelite is then dressed as becomes him when he puts on bowels of mercies. "They are merciful kings, therefore we may hope to find mercy upon our submission." This encouragement poor sinners have to repent and humble themselves before God. "Have we not heard that the God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not found him so? Let us therefore rend our hearts and return to him." Joe 2:13. That is evangelical repentance which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ; there is forgiveness with him. Two things Ben-hadad's servants undertake to represent to Ahab: - 1. Their master a penitent; for they girded sackcloth on their loins, as mourners, and put ropes on their heads, as condemned criminals going to execution, pretending to be sorry that they had invaded his country and disturbed his repose, and owning that they deserved to be hanged for it. Here they are ready to do penance for it, and throw themselves at the feet of him whom they had injured. Many pretend to repent of their wrong-doing, when it does not succeed, who, if they had prospered in it, would have justified it and gloried in it. 2. Their master a beggar, a beggar for his life: Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, "I pray thee, let me live, Kg1 20:32. Though I live a perpetual exile from my own country, and captive in this, yet, upon any terms, let me live." What a great change is here, (1.) In his condition! How has he fallen from the height of power and prosperity to the depths of disgrace and distress, and all the miseries of poverty and slavery! See the uncertainty of human affairs; such turns are they subject to that the spoke which was uppermost may soon come to be undermost. (2.) In his temper - in the beginning of the chapter hectoring, swearing, and threatening, and none more high in his demands, but here crouching and whining and none more low in his requests! How meanly does he beg hi life at the hand of him upon whom he had there been trampling! The most haughty in prosperity are commonly most abject in adversity: an even spirit will be the same in both conditions. See how God glorified himself when he looks upon proud men and abases them, and hides them in the dust together, Job 40:11-13.
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II. Ahab's foolish acceptance of his submission, and the league he suddenly made with him upon it. He was proud to be thus courted by him whom he had feared, and enquired for him with great tenderness: Is he yet alive? He is my brother, brother-king, though not brother-Israelite: and Ahab valued himself more upon his royalty than on his religion, and others accordingly. "Is he thy brother, Ahab? Did he use thee like a brother when he sent thee that barbarous message? Kg1 20:5, Kg1 20:6. Would he have called thee brother if he had been the conqueror? Would he now have called himself thy servant if he had not been reduced to the utmost strait? Canst thou suffer thyself to be thus imposed upon by a forced and counterfeit submission?" This word brother they caught at (Kg1 20:33), and were thereby encouraged to go and fetch him to the king. He that calls him brother will let him live. Let poor penitents hear God, in his word, calling them children (Jer 31:20), catch at it, echo to it, and call him Father. Ben-hadad, upon his submission, shall not only be honourably conveyed (he took him up into the chariot), but treated with as an ally (Kg1 20:34): he made a covenant with him, not consulting God's prophets, or the elders of the land, or himself, concerning what was fit to be insisted on, but, as if Ben-hadad had been conqueror, he shall make his own terms. He might now have demanded some of Ben-hadad's cities, when all of them lay at the mercy of his victorious army; but was content with the restitution of his own. He might now have demanded the stores, and treasures, and magazines of Damascus, to augment the wealth and strength of his own kingdom, but was content with a poor liberty, at his own expense, to build streets there, a point of honour and no advantage, or no more than what the kings of Syria had had in Samaria, though they had never had so much power as he had now to support the demand of it. With this covenant he sent him away, without so much as reproving him for his blasphemous reflections upon the God of Israel, for whose honour Ahab had no concern. Note, There are those on whom success is ill bestowed; they know not how to serve God, or their generation, or even their own true interests, with their prosperity. Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness.
III. The reproof given to Ahab for his clemency to Ben-hadad and his covenant with him. It was given him by a prophet, in the name of the Lord, the Jews say by Micaiah, and not unlikely, for Ahab complains of him (Kg1 22:8) that he used to prophesy evil concerning him. This prophet designed to reprove Ahab by a parable, that he might oblige him to condemn himself, as Nathan and the woman of Tekoa did David. To make his parable the more plausible, he finds it necessary to put himself into the posture of a wounded soldier. 1. With some difficulty he gets himself wounded, for he would not wound himself with his own hands. He commanded one of his brother prophets, his neighbour, or companion (for so the word signifies), to smite him, and this in God's name (Kg1 20:35), but finds him not so willing to give the blow as he is to receive it; he refused to smite him: others, he thought, were forward enough to smite prophets, they need not smite one another. We cannot but think it was from a good principle he declined it. "If it must be done, let another do it, not I; I cannot find it in my heart to strike my friend." Good men can much more easily receive a wrongful blow than give one; yet because he disobeyed an express command of God (which was so much the worse if he was himself a prophet), like that other disobedient prophet (Kg1 13:24), he was presently slain by a lion, Kg1 20:36. This was intended, not only to show, in general, how provoking disobedience is (Col 3:6), but to intimate to Ahab (who no doubt was told the story) that if a good prophet were thus punished for sparing his friend and God's, when God said, Smite, of much sorer punishment should a wicked king be thought worthy, who spared his enemy and God's, when God said, Smite. Shall mortal man pretend to be more just than God, more pure or more compassionate than his Maker? We must be merciful as he is merciful, and not otherwise. The next he met with made no difficulty of smiting him (Volenti non fit injuria - He that asks for an injury is not wronged by it) and did it so that he wounded him, Kg1 20:37. He fetched blood with the blow, probably in his face. 2. Wounded as he was, and disguised with ashes that he might not be known to be a prophet, he made his application to the king in a story wherein he charged himself with such a crime as the king was now guilty of in sparing Ben-hadad, and waited for the king's judgment upon it. The case in short is this - A prisoner taken in the battle was committed to his custody by a man (we may suppose one that had authority over him as his superior officer) with this charge, If he be missing, thy life shall be for his life, Kg1 20:39. The prisoner has made his escape through his carelessness. Can the chancery in the king's breast relieve him against his captain, who demands his life in lieu of the prisoner's? "By no means," says the king, "thou shouldst either not have undertaken the trust or been more careful and faithful to it; there is no remedy (Currat lex - Let the law take its course), thou hast forfeited thy bond, and execution must go out upon it: So shall thy doom be, thou thyself hast decided it." Now the prophet has what he would have, puts off his disguise, and is known by Ahab himself to be a prophet (Kg1 20:41) and plainly tells him, "Thou art the man. Is it my doom? No, it is thine; thou thyself hast decided it. Out of thy own mouth art thou judged. God, thy superior and commander-in-chief, delivered into thy hands one plainly marked for destruction both by his own pride and God's providence, and thou hast not carelessly lost him, but wittingly and willingly dismissed him, and so hast been false to thy trust, and lost the end of thy victory; expect therefore no other than that thy life shall go for his life, which thou hast spared" (and so it did, Kg1 22:35), "and thy people for his people, whom likewise thou hast spared," and so they did afterwards, Kg2 10:32, Kg2 10:33. When their other sins brought them low, this came into the account. There is a time when keeping back the sword from blood is doing the work of the Lord deceitfully, Jer 48:10. Foolish pity spoils the city. 3. We are told how Ahab resented this reproof. He went to his house heavy and displeased (Kg1 20:43), not truly penitent, or seeking to undo what he had done amiss, but enraged at the prophet, exasperated against God (as if he had been too severe in the sentence passed upon him), and yet vexed at himself, every way out of humour, notwithstanding his victory. He who by his providence had mortified the pride of one king, by his word cast a damp upon the triumphs of another. Be wise therefore, O you kings! and be instructed to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, Psa 2:10, Psa 2:11.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And his servants said unto him,.... Being reduced to…
And his servants said unto him,.... Being reduced to the utmost extremity; for if he attempted to go out of the city, he would fall into the hands of the Israelites, and there was no safety in it, the wall of it being fallen down; and it could not be thought he could be concealed long in the chamber where he was, wherefore his servants advised as follows:
behold, now, we have heard that the kings of the Israel are merciful kings; not only the best of them as David and Solomon, but even the worst of them, in comparison of Heathen princes, were kind and humane to those that fell into their hands, and became their captives:
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let us, I pray thee; so said one in the name of the rest:
put sack cloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads; and so coming in such a mean and humble manner, and not with their armour on, they might the rather hope to have admittance; so, the Syracusans sent ambassadors to Athens, in filthy garments, with the hair of their heads and beards long, and all in slovenly habits, to move their pity (r);
and go out to the king of Israel: and be humble supplicants to him:
peradventure he will save thy life; upon a petition to him from him; to which the king agreed, and sent it by them.
(r) Justin e Trogo, l. 4. c. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv31–34 He will save thy life - This encouragement have…
He will save thy life - This encouragement have all poor sinners, to repent and humble themselves before God. The God of Israel is a merciful God; let us rend our hearts and return to him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv31–34 Verse 31. Put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes…
Verse 31. Put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads] Let us show ourselves humbled in the deepest manner, and let us put ropes about our necks, and go submitting to his mercy, and deprecating his wrath. The citizens of Calais are reported to have acted nearly in the same way when they surrendered their city to Edward III., king of England, in 1346. See at the end. 1Kg 20:43.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv31–34 1Ki 20:31. We have heard that the kings of…
1Ki 20:31. We have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful kings — More merciful than others, because that religion, which they professed, taught them humanity, and obliged them to show mercy. Let us put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes, &c. — As a testimony of our sorrow for undertaking this war; and that we have justly forfeited our lives for it, and shall submit to any punishment he may be pleased to inflict. This, it seems, was the habit in those times, in which supplicants presented themselves, when they petitioned for mercy. Peradventure he will save thy life — This encouragement have all poor sinners, to repent and humble themselves before God. The God of Israel is a merciful God; let us rend our hearts and return to him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And ropes upon our heads - “Ropes about our…
And ropes upon our heads - “Ropes about our necks” is probably meant. They, as it were, put their lives at Ahab’s disposal, who, if he pleased, might hang them at once.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv31, 33, 34 Heads, or necks, to indicate that hey deserved to…
Heads, or necks, to indicate that hey deserved to die. (Haydock) --- The Syrians acted thus, when they came as supplicants. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] viii. 14.) --- The son of Psammetichus, king of Egypt, was led in this manner to execution, with 2000 others. (Herodotus iii. 14.) --- Bessus was conducted to Alexander with a chain round his neck. (Curt. vii.) (Calmet) --- What a reverse of fortune do we here behold! (Salien)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 put ropes on their heads--Captives were dragged by ropes…
put ropes on their heads--Captives were dragged by ropes round their necks in companies, as is depicted on the monuments of Egypt. Their voluntary attitude and language of submission flattered the pride of Ahab, who, little concerned about the dishonor done to the God of Israel by the Syrian king, and thinking of nothing but victory, paraded his clemency, called the vanquished king "his brother," invited him to sit in the royal chariot, and dismissed him with a covenant of peace.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv31–34 31. Ropes upon our heads — Tokens of the…
31. Ropes upon our heads — Tokens of the most abject submission and humiliation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–34 31. let us, I [R.V. we] pray thee] The…
31. let us, I [R.V. we] pray thee] The change is made because the sentence is in other parts in the plural. The Hebrew נא is a mere particle employed to give emphasis to forms of entreaty, and has nothing that indicates whether one or more persons are speakers.
sackcloth on our loins] The garment of humiliation and mourning. Cp. Gen_37:34; 2Sa_3:31; 2Ki_6:30; Isa_37:1-2.
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ropes upon our heads] Probably meaning with ropes around the neck. No token of submission could be more expressive than this to indicate that Ahab might hang them if he pleased.
peradventure he will save thy life] A touch of Oriental character, which is destroyed by the LXX., which has ‘our lives’. The Eastern courtier, even at such a time, would speak of his master’s life and not his own. If the former were spared, the latter would be spared also, as a matter of course.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv31, 33, 34 (31) Ropes upon our heads—like “the ropes round the…
(31) Ropes upon our heads—like “the ropes round the necks” of the burghers of Calais, in the days of Edward III. The envoys offer themselves as naked, helpless criminals, to sue for mercy.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And his servants Possibly the very same men who…
And his servants Possibly the very same men who (ver. 23) had counselled this second expedition said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings As no doubt they were when compared with contemporary pagan sovereigns: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins in token of humiliation and contrition, qc" is identical, radically, with sakkov, saccus, and our sack, and ropes upon our heads i.e., round our necks. To show how completely they were at Ahab"s mercy. Bahr shows that this custom still exists in China hut the well-known story of the citizens of Calais, after its siege by Edward III, supplies a closer illustration, and go out Heb. go to the king of Israel It would appear from the language of ver. 33 am if Ahab"s army was now besieging the place. He himself may have kept at a safe distance from it: peradventure he will save thy life. LXX our lives, tav yucav hJmwn.
The kings of Israel are merciful kings." How true is that of the true King of Israel. He is the very fount of mercy (Exo_34:7; Num_14:18; Psa_25:10 Psa_100:5 Psa_102:17 Psa_130:7) We often picture Him as "less merciful than His image in a man." But let us do Him this dishonour no more. It is "His property always to have mercy." Is He less clement than an Ahab? Is His heart less tender to penitent rebels? "Behold now, we know that the King of Heaven, the God of Israel, is a merciful God; let us put sackcloth upon our loins, and strew ashes upon our heads, and go meet the Lord God of Israel, that he may save our souls."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v33 Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would…
1Ki_20:33
Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, and did hastily catch it.
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Observing the kings word
I. It is a pity that awakened sinners do not copy the example of these men.
1. There is far too little of diligent observance of what God says in His word.
2. The same thing ought to be done when you are heating the Gospel preached; for God has been pleased, in order that His truth may be brought home to your hearts, to choose certain of His servants to speak His word; and, so far as they speak in accordance with His mind and will, they speak for God to you.
3. Then, again, while there is too little of diligent observation of what God has said, there is also far too little of hastily catching at the word.
II. It is very strange that sinners act thus, for it is not consistent with the usual ways of mankind.
1. We have a proverb which says that drowning men catch at straws. So they do; and when a man is in peril, he will usually grasp at anything that seems to offer him a hope of escape. How is it, then, that, with a Bible full of promises, and a Gospel full of encouragements, the mass of people with troubled consciences do not at once catch at what God says? There is another proverb of ours which says that the wish is father to the thought. Sometimes, a man wishes for a thing so long that, at last, he believes it is really his; but how strange it is that, in spiritual things, men wish, and wish, and wish,--or say that they do,--and yet they do not believe that it is as they wish! The more they wish, the further they seem to be from the blessing they desire to possess.
2. This is the more strange, too, because you can continually see how sinners catch at everything else. See how they cling to their own righteousness. A thousand tons of it are not worth a farthing; it is neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill, yet they prize it as if it was a heap of diamonds. See what confidence many put in utterly worthless forms and ceremonies.
III. When we are dealing with God, there is very much to catch at. Many years ago, when I was in great distress of soul, and could not find Christ for a long while, I would have been glad if I had heard anybody speak about how much there is for a troubled soul to catch at. Perhaps I did hear something about it; but, if so, I did not catch at it, though I think I should have done so if it had really been made plain and clear to me. Until God the Holy Ghost enlightens the soul, the truth may be put very plainly, but we do not see it. I will try, now, to set it before any one here who is willing to catch at it.
1. Now, poor troubled soul, if it had been Gods purpose to destroy you,--if He never intended to hear your prayers--if He never meant to save you--let me ask you, very earnestly--Why did He give you the Bible? I want you to catch at this thought.
2. Again, why has God raised up a ministry, and given you the opportunity of listening to it? Why are you continually being warned to flee from the wrath to come? Why are you constantly being instructed in the truths of the Gospel?
3. I remind you also that you are still on praying ground.
4. See, next, if you cannot catch at this great truth--God has given Jesus Christ to die for sinners. You are a sinner, so catch at this glorious fact: He gave Himself for our sins.
5. There is another truth that I think some of you might catch at; it is this one: God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. This was the message that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself preached, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
6. Then, again, what can be the meaning of that other command, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, except that if, as a guilty sinner, I come and trust in Christ, I shall be saved? It is even so; indeed, I am saved as soon as ever I do believe in Jesus.
IV. There is much greater encouragement for you and for me, than there was for those messengers from Ben-hadad.
1. For, first, suppose Ahab did utter a hopeful word, he was very deceitful.
2. Then, again, when those men listened to Ahab, he might have uttered a friendly word without meaning it.
3. These messengers from Ben-hadad said that the Kings of Israel were merciful kings; and we know that God is much more merciful than they were, for His mercy endureth for ever.
4. Those messengers from Ben-hadad might have believed be: tar of Ahab than would have been true, but you cannot believe better of God than will be true. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Lying at the catch
Sinner, whoever thou art coming to Christ, believe it, thou wilt not injure Christ at all, if, as Ben-hadads servants served Ahab, thou shalt catch Him at His word. The men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, to wit, any word of grace, and did hastily catch it. And it happened that Ahab had called Ben-hadad his brother. The men replied, therefore, Thy brother Benhadad: catching him at his word. Sinner, coming sinner, serve Jesus Christ thus, and He will take it kindly at thy hands. When He in His argument called the Canaanitish woman dog, she catched Him at it, and said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table. I say she catched Him thus in His words, and He took it kindly, saying, O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee as thou wilt. Catch Him, coming sinner, catch Him in His words; surely He will take it kindly, and will not be offended at thee. (J. Bunyan.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v31 "Quem vult Deus perire dementat prius."
AHABS INFATUATION
1Ki_20:31-43
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"Quem vult Deus perire dementat prius."
THE courtiers of Benhadad found it easy to flatter his pride by furnishing reasons to account for such an alarming overthrow. They had attacked the Israelites on their hills, and the gods of Israel were hill-gods. Next time they would take Israel at a disadvantage by fighting only on the plain. Further, the vassal kings were only an element of dissension and weakness. They prevented the handling of the army as one strong machine worked by a single supreme will. Let Benhadad depose from command these incapable weaklings, and put in their place dependent civil officers (pachoth) who would have no thought but to obey orders. And so, with good heart, let the king collect a fresh army with horses and chariots as powerful as the last. The issue would be certain conquest and dear revenge.
Benhadad followed this advice The next year he went with his new host and encamped near Aphek. There is an Aphek (now Fik) which lay on the road between Damascus on the east of Jordan on a little plain south-east of the Sea of Galilee. This may have been the town of Issachar, in the valley of Jezreel, where Saul was defeated by the Philistines. {1Sa_29:1} Israel went out to meet them duly provisioned. The Syrian host spread over the whole country; the Israelite army looked only like two little flocks of kids.
To strengthen the misgivings of the anxious king of Israel, another nameless prophet-probably, like Elijah, a Gileadite-came to promise him the victory. Jehovah would convince the Syrians that He was something more than a mere local god of the hills as they had blasphemously said, and Israel would once more he shown that He was indeed the Lord.
For seven days the vast army and the little band of patriots gazed at each other, as the Israelites and Philistines had done in the days of Saul and Goliath. On the seventh day they joined battle. In what special way the aid of Jehovah seconded the desperate valor of His people who were fighting for their all we do not know, but the result was, once more, their stupendous victory. The army of the Syrians was not only defeated, but practically annihilated. In round numbers 100,000 Syrians fell in the slaughter of that day, and when the remnant took refuge in Aphek, which they had captured, they perished in a sudden crash-perhaps of earthquake-which buried them in the ruins of its fortifications. Rescued, we know not how, from this disaster, Benhadad fled from chamber to chamber to hide himself from the victors in some innermost recess.
But it was impossible that he should not be discovered, and therefore his servants persuaded him to throw himself on the mercy of his conqueror. "The kings of Israel," they said, "are, as we have heard, compassionate kings; let us go before the king with sackcloth on our loins, and ropes round our necks, and ask if he will save thy life." So they went, as the burghers of Calais went before Edward I; and then Ahab heard from the ambassadors of the king who had once dictated terms to him with such infinite contempt, the message: "Thy slave Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live." The incident that followed is eminently characteristic of Eastern customs. In rencontres between Orientals everything depends on the first words which are exchanged. It is believed that superior powers wield the utterances of the tongue amid the chances which are really destiny, so that the most casual expression is caught up superstitiously as a sort of Bath Kol, or "the daughter of a voice," which not only indicates but even helps to bring about the purposes of Heaven. A chance friendly greeting may become the termination of a blood feud, because something more than chance is supposed to lie behind it! Once when a group of doomed gladiators gathered themselves under the Imperial podium of the amphitheatre with their sublimely monotonous chant, "Ave Caesar, morituri te salutamus," the half-dazed emperor inadvertently answered, "Avete vos! He has bidden us, Hail!" shouted the gladiators: "the contest is remitted; we are free!" Had the Romans been Orientals the twenty thousand assembled spectators would have felt the force of the appeal. Even as it was the significance of the omen was felt to be so great that the gladiators threw down their arms, and it was only by whips and violence that they were finally driven to the combat in which they perished.
So with intense eagerness the ambassadors, in their sackcloth and their halters, awaited the Bath Kol. It came far more favorably than they had dared to hope. Surprised, and perhaps half touched with pity for so immense a reverse of misfortune, "Is he yet alive?" exclaimed the careless king: "he is my brother!"
The Syrians snatched at the expression as a decisive omen. It constituted an absolute end of the feud. It became an implicit promise of that sacred dakheel, that "protection" to which the slightest and most accidental expression constitutes a recognized claim. "Thy brother Benhadad," they earnestly and emphatically repeated. In accordance with Eastern custom and augury their whole end was gained. As far as Benhadad was concerned he was now safe; as far as Ahab was concerned, the mischief, if mischief it were, was irreparably done. Ahab could hardly have drawn back even if he wished to do so, but perhaps he was swayed by a fellow feeling for a king. This strange uxorious monarch, with his easily swayed impulses, his fits of schoolboy sullenness and swift repentance, his want of insight into existing conditions, his-if the expression may be excused-happy-go-lucky way of letting questions settle themselves, was, no doubt, a brave warrior, but he was a most incapable statesman. His conduct was perfectly infatuated. Pity is one thing, but the security of a nation has also to be considered. It would have been a worse than insensate piece of pseudo-chivalry if the Congress of Vienna had not sent Napoleon to Elba, and if England had not confined him in St. Helena. To set free a man endowed with passionate hatred, with immense ambitions, with boundless capacities for mischief-or only to bind him with the packthread of insecure promises-was the conduct of a fool. If it was compassion which induced Ahab to give Benhadad his life, it showed either gross incapacity or treachery against his own nation not to clip his wings, and hamper him from the future injuries which the burden of gratitude was little likely to prevent. The sequel shows that Benhadads resentment against his royal "brother" only became more hopelessly implacable, and in all probability it was largely mingled with contempt.
And Ahabs conduct, besides being foolish, was guilty. It showed a frivolous non-recognition of his duties as a theocratic king. It flung away the national advantages, and even the national security, which had not been vouchsafed to any power or worth of his, but only to Jehovahs direct interposition to save the destinies of his people from premature extinction.
When Benhadad came out of his hiding-place, Ahab, not content with sparing the life of this furious and merciless aggressor, took him up into his chariot, which was the highest honor he could have paid him, and accepted the excessively easy terms which Benhadad himself proposed. The Syrians were not required to pay any indemnity for the immense expenditure and unutterable misery which their wanton invasions had inflicted upon Israel! They simply proposed to restore the cities which Benhadads father had taken from Omri, and to allow the Israelites to have a protected bazaar in Damascus similar to the one which the Syrians enjoyed in Samaria. On this covenant Benhadad was sent home scatheless, and with a supineness which was not so much magnanimous as fatuous, Ahab neglected to take hostages of any kind to secure the fulfillment even of these ridiculously inadequate terms of peace.
Benhadad was not likely to throw away the chance which gave him such an easy-going and improvident adversary. It is certain that he did not keep the covenant. He probably never even intended to keep it. If he condescended to any excuse for breaking it, he would probably have affected to regard it as extorted by violence, and therefore invalid, as Francis I defended the forfeiture of his parole after the battle of Pavia. The recklessness with which Ahab had reposed in Benhadad a confidence, not only undeserved, but rendered reckless by all the antecedents of the Syrian king, cost him very dear. He had to pay the penalty of his dementation three years later in a new and disastrous war, in the loss of his life, and the overthrow of his dynasty. The fact that, after so many exertions, and so much success in war, in commerce, and in worldly policy, he and his house fell unpitied, and no one raised a finger in his defense, was doubtless due in part to the alienation of his army by a carelessness which flung away in a moment all the fruits of their hard-won victories.
There was one aspect in which Ahabs conduct assumed an aspect more supremely culpable. To whom had he owed the courage and inspiration which had rescued him from ruin, and led to the triumphs which had delivered him and his people from the depths of despair? Not in the least to himself, or to Jezebel, or to Baals priests, or to any of his captains or counselors. In both instances the heroism had been inspired and the success promised by a prophet of Jehovah. What would convince him, if this would not, that in God only was his strength? Did not the most ordinary gratitude as well as the most ordinary wisdom require that he should recognize the source of these unhoped-for blessings? There is not the least trace that he did so. We read of no word of gratitude to Jehovah, no desire to follow the guidance of the prophets to whom he was so deeply indebted, and who had proved their right to be regarded as interpreters of Gods will. Had he done this he would not have suffered the clannishness of royalty to plunge him into a step which was the chief cause of his final destruction
He might ignore guidance, but he could not escape reproof. Again an unknown monitor from the sons of the prophets was commissioned to bring home to him his error He did so by an acted parable, which gave concrete force and vividness to the lesson which he desired to convey Speaking "by the word of the Lord"-i.e., as a part of the prophetic inspiration which dictated his acts-he went to one of his fellows in the school of which the members are here first called "the sons of the prophets," and bade him to wound him. His comrade, not unnaturally, shrank from obeying so strange a command. It must be borne in mind that the mere appeal to an inspiration from Jehovah did not always authenticate itself. Over and over again in the prophetic books, and in these histories which the Jews call "the earlier prophets," we find that men could profess to act in Jehovahs name, and even perhaps to be sincere in so doing, who were mere dupes of their own wills and fancies. It was, in fact, possible for them to become false prophets, without always meaning to be so; and these chances of hallucination-of being misled by a lying spirit-led to fierce contentions in the prophetic communities. "Since you have not obeyed Jehovahs voice," said the man, "the lion shall immediately slay you." "And as soon as he was departed from him the lion found him and slew him." There is nothing impossible in the incident, for in those days lions were common in Palestine, and they multiplied when the country had been depopulated by war. But we can never feel certain how far the ethical and didactic and parabolic elements were allowed, for purposes of edification, to play a part in these ancient yet not contemporaneous Acta Prophetarum, and at any rate to dictate the interpretation of things which may have actually occurred.
The prophet then bade another comrade to smite him, and he did so effectually, inflicting a serious wound. This was a part of the intended scene in which the prophet meant for a moment to play the role of a soldier who had been wounded in the Syrian war. So he bound up his head with a bandage, and waited for the king to pass by. An Eastern king is liable at any time to be appealed to by the humblest of his subjects, and the prophet stopped Ahab and stated his imaginary case. "A captain," he said, "brought me one of his war captives, and ordered me to keep him safe. If I failed to do so, I was to pay the forfeit of my life, or to pay as a fine a silver talent. But as I was looking here and there the captive escaped." "Be it so," answered Ahab; "you are bound by your own bargain." Thus Ahab, like David, was led to condemn himself out of his own mouth. Then the prophet tore the bandage from his face, and said to Ahab: "Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah, I entrusted to thee the man under my ban (cherem), and thou hast let him escape. Thou shalt pay the forfeit. Thy life shall go for his life thy people for his people."
Anger and indignation filled the heart of the king; he went to his house "heavy and displeased." The phrase, twice applied to him and never used of another, shows that he was liable to characteristic moods of overwhelming sullenness, the result of an uneasy conscience, and of a rage which was compelled to remain impotent. It is evident that he did not dare to chastise the audacious offender, though the Jews say that the prophet was Micaiah, the son of Imlah, and that he was imprisoned for this offense. As a rule the prophets-like Samuel and Nathan, and Gad and Shemaiah, and Jehu the son of Hanani-were protected by their sacrosanct position. Now and then an Urijah, a Jeremiah, a Zechariah son of Berechiah, paid the penalty of bold denunciation, not only by hatred and persecution, but with his life. This, however, was the exception. As a rule the prophets felt themselves safe under the wing of a Divine protector. Not only Elijah in his sheepskin mantle, but even the humblest of his imitators in the prophetic schools might fearlessly stride up to a king, seize his steed by the bridle, as Athanasius did to Constantine, and compel him to listen to his rebuke or his appeal.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v31 1Ki_20:33. Men did diligently observe—Took his words as a…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1Ki_20:33. Men did diligently observe—Took his words as a good omen. Did hastily catch it—Hastened to seize or quote the words, “my brother.” Ahab found his vanity flattered by their abject suit, and, losing sense and wit, yielded to a sentimental magnanimity.
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1Ki_20:34. Make streets for thee—חִצוֹת means business thoroughfares.
1Ki_20:38. Ashes upon his face—Rather, head bandage for wounds (1Ki_20:37).
1Ki_20:42. Thou hast let go a man, &c.—It was a weakminded act, an injustice, a clear neglect of duty, and a dishonour to the God of Israel, whom the king of Israel represented. Ahab knew Benhadad was Israel’s enemy, and the fact that God had so signally defeated him showed Jehovah’s anger towards him.
1Ki_20:43. Heavy and displeased—סַר וְזָעֵף, vexed and refractory, from סרר, to be stubborn (Deu_21:18); more than gloomy and uneasy—fretful and resentful.—W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_20:31-43
THE REMORSE OF NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITIES
LIFE is but brief, yet it is full of great opportunities for usefulness. Those opportunities correspond to our position, our means, and our abilities. God expects from no man what He has not given him power to do. He who is wise to sec and prompt to act when the opportunity is presented will win success and honour. Not to do the plainly revealed duty of the moment is to entail weakness, disappointment, and suffering. We shall be punished for the good we neglect, as well as for the evil that we do.
I. That opportunities occur when we are called to do a great work for God.
1. Every opportunity brings with it corresponding responsibility (1Ki_20:31-32). Victory, a victory achieved by direct Divine interference, had placed Benhadad—the enemy of God and of Israel—in the power of Ahab. It was an opportunity not to be thrown away. The Lord had appointed this man to “utter destruction” (1Ki_20:42), and Ahab knew it. Benhadad was to be taught to know, in avenging justice, the greatness of that God he had blasphemed; and the power of the state he ruled was to be so broken as to render it incapable of giving further trouble to Israel. The purpose of God and the safety of Israel were placed in the hands of Ahab; the enemy might now be punished, and his power for ever crushed. Ahab neglected the opportunity, and he lived long enough to see and regret it. It is a grave, solemn moment when we are brought into the presence of an acknowledged evil which we have power to destroy. We have need to pray for courage and fidelity to act wisely and decisively.
2. We are not justified in indulging private sentiment at the sacrifice of public duty (1Ki_20:33-34). It was here that Ahab failed. What at first sight might seem an act of magnanimity becomes, when rightly viewed, a gross weakness; and the generosity which might entitle a man to praise if shown towards a private enemy, may become a crime in a king towards a public adversary. What would have been thought of the Regent of England, after the victory of Waterloo, if, when Napoleon, the great troubler of Europe, was brought a prisoner to our shores, he had been set free? The sense of duty was weakened in Ahab by his past disobedience and by his unlawful sympathy with idolatry. The neglect of one duty incapacitates the soul for doing another; and so when a great emergency comes upon us, we find ourselves unequal to its demands. The king must lose sight of selfish ends and feeling in a righteous anxiety to promote the public good.
II. That a time will come when we shall be made painfully conscious of opportunities neglected.
1. This may be done through the sufferings of others (1Ki_20:35-38). A son of the prophets submitted to be wounded that he might the more effectively bring home to Ahab his sin. The faithful teacher must not shrink from suffering. It is rarely we can be faithful to others without pain to ourselves. The most powerful method of preaching the truth is learned in the school of trial.
2. Will be done in a way not to be mistaken (1Ki_20:39-42).
(1). It was symbolic. This is the first example of those symbolical actions of the prophets which occur so often in the subsequent history of Israel and Judah. The man who refused to smite the son of the prophet became a representative of Ahab in his refusal to obey the word of the Lord. The prophets mentioned in 1Ki_20:13; 1Ki_20:22; 1Ki_20:28 had said enough to show Ahab that when his royal enemy fell into his power he must not covenant with him, but smite and utterly destroy him. But his making a covenant with him and sending him away (1Ki_20:34) was a refusal to smite him.
(2). It was faithful and pointed (1Ki_20:42). Here Ahab, like David on another occasion (2Sa_12:5-6), pronounces his own condemnation. As the son of the prophet was to answer by his life for letting his supposed prisoner free, so Ahab is to answer with his life for granting liberty to the doomed Syrian monarch. The sin of neglect will sooner or later be brought home to every bosom, and the guilt will be self-acknowledged.
III. That the consciousness of neglected opportunities will fill the soul with bitter remorse (1Ki_20:43). The slumbering conscience of the weak, easy-going Ahab was once more awoke, and he went to his home depressed and angry—angry with himself, and angry with the means which had been intended to bring him to repentance and disobedience. He felt the burden of a sense of Divine wrath upon him, and, instead of humbling himself and seeking for mercy, he became sulky and soured. He was still refractory and rebellious; and yet he could not shake off the gloomy, stinging remorse of neglected opportunities. His experience is a picture of the tortures which will for ever afflict the impenitent: for ever conscious of oft-repeated sin, and for ever incapable of ridding himself of its consequences!
LESSONS:—
1. Every soul will be judged according to its opportunities in life.
2. Opportunities for well-doing are offered to all.
3. To neglect opportunities for good is to condemn ourselves.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_20:31-43. When authority is compassionate out of the proper season, and neglects its office of correction, it draws upon itself the guilt of the other. God wants no mercy to be shown where He has ordered punishment.—Cramer.
1Ki_20:31-33. Praise, flattery, and subserviency are only too often the snare with which kings and great men are caught, so that under the appearance of generosity and magnanimity they may be led astray and act contrary to the will of God. They ought, indeed, to be merciful and gracious, but not forget that to do justice is their first duty, and that they do not carry the sword in vain. Ahab persecutes an Elijah in every kingdom, and threatens him with death; but he permits a robber and a plunderer to sit beside him in his chariot, and makes a covenant with him. What in the eyes of the world looks like generosity, in the eyes of God, who trieth the heart and reins, is only weakness and folly. Great injury can be done by seeming ill-timed generosity.—Lange.
1Ki_20:31. There can be no more powerful attractive of humble submission than the intimation and conceit of mercy. We do at once fear and hate the inexorable. This is it, O Lord, that allures us to thy throne of grace, the knowledge of the grace of that throne; with thee is mercy and plenteous redemption; thine hand is open before our mouths, before our hearts. If we did not see thee smile upon suitors, we durst not press to thy footstool. Behold now we know that the king of heaven, the God of Israel, is a merciful God; let us put sackcloth upon our loins and strew ashes upon our heads, and go meet the Lord God of Israel, that He may save our souls.—Bp. Hall.
1Ki_20:32 compared with 1Ki_20:10. Contrasts in the same individual life.
1. The king—the slave.
2. The proud boaster—the craven suppliant.
3. The confident leader of a great army—the defeated and dejected fugitive.
1Ki_20:32. How well doth this habit become insolent and blasphemous Benhadad and his followers! a rope and sackcloth! a rope for a crown, sackcloth for a robe! He that was erewhile a lord and king, is now a servant; and he that was servant to the king of Syria, is now his lord. He that would blow away all Israel in dust, is now glad to beg for his own life at the door of a despised enemy. No courage is so haughty which the God of hosts cannot easily bring under. What are men or devils in those Almighty hands?—Bp. Hall.
1Ki_20:34. Complicity with idolatry.
1. Unfits for the proper discharge of kingly duties.
2. Encourages a false leniency towards the greatest enemy.
3. Blinds the mind to true conceptions of public justice.
4. Sows the seeds of future troubles.
—Ahab, without “inquiring of the Lord,” who had given him so great a victory (1Ki_20:28), whether he should let Benhadad go or no, at once agrees to the terms offered; and, without even taking any security for their due observance, allows the Syrian monarah to depart and return to his own country. Considered politically, the act was one of culpable carelessness and imprudence. It let loose an enemy whose talent, ambition, and personal influence made him peculiarly formidable; and it provided no effectual security against the continuance of his aggressions. Benhadad might, or might not, regard himself as bound by the terms of a covenant made when he was a prisoner. If he took the view that he was not bound—as his after conduct shows that he did (22 1Ki_20:3)—Ahab left himself no means of enforcing the obligations incurred except by a renewal of hostilities. And if Ahab’s conduct was thus, politically speaking, wrong in him as the mere human head of a state, much more was it unjustifiable in one who held his crown under a theocracy. “Inquiry at the word of the Lord” was still possible in Israel (1 Kings 22, 1Ki_20:5; 1Ki_20:8), and would seem to have been the course that ordinary gratitude might have suggested.—Speaker’s Comm.
—This as impolitic as untheocratic proceeding of Ahab arose by no means from a “heart naturally very good,” but from weakness, indecision, and self-deluding vanity. To free a cruel and faithless enemy was not only great harshness towards his own subjects, but also an obvious striving against God, who, by granting the promised victory, had given the enemy of His people into His hand. Even though Ahab had no express command, as Saul had regarding Agag (1Sa_15:3), yet there lay upon him, if as theocratic ruler he would respect the will of the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord had given him into his hands as a despiser of His Divine Majesty, the sacred duty of securing rest for himself and his subjects by his death; as it was natural to presume that the faithless adversary, after his freedom was recovered, would not adhere to a treaty formed on compulsion, which accordingly happened (1Ki_21:1). The punishment of his striving against God is immediately announced to Ahab.—Keil.
1Ki_20:35-37. He who has his calling and service from the Word of God ought to allow no danger to detain him from making an announcement of the fact (2Ti_4:2), and must obediently submit himself to His commands, even when the fulfilment of them is joined with pain and sacrifice.
1Ki_20:35-36. Disobedience.
1. Is aggravated as committed against the revealed will of God.
2. Is not excused from a reluctance to inflict pain.
3. Is faithfully denounced.
4. Is inevitably punished.
1Ki_20:35. “Smite me, I pray thee.”
1. That hereby I may show Ahab how he hath wounded his own soul by sparing Benhadad.
2. What a wound both he and his people shall hereafter receive hereby.
3. That I may seem a wounded soldier, and so may have the easier access to Ahab.—Trapp.
1Ki_20:36. It is not for us to examine the charges of the Almighty: be they never so harsh or improbable, if they be once known for His, there is no way but obedience or death. Not to smite a prophet when God commands, is no less sin than to smite a prophet when God forbids. It is the divine precept or prohibition that either makes or aggravates an evil; and if the Israelite be thus revenged that smote not a prophet, what shall become of Ahab that smote not Benhadad!—Bp. Hall.
1Ki_20:40. Lost opportunities. I. Important interests have been committed to our care.
1. Our personal salvation.
2. The salvation of our neighbours.
3. The religious education of our children.
4. Sympathy and relief for the poor and suffering. II. God furnishes an opportunity to all.
1. He fits the opportunity to the work required.
2. He provides the means essential to success.
3. He gives efficiency and certainty to the effort. III. Opportunities lost are lost for ever.
1. We lose them unconsciously.
2. We lose them while busied here and there with minor things.
3. Lost opportunities bring loss of happiness.
4. The consequences of their loss will be eternal.—Wythe.
—The danger of much worldly business. Consider—
1. The extreme brevity of seasons of spiritual advantage. Shortness of life—illustrate by metaphors of Scripture. Life as the commencement of eternity, everything; in competition with eternity, nothing. Danger of procrastination. Importance of every opportunity of spiritual instruction. II. The difficulties and dangers against which we have to guard, if we would not sacrifice them.
1. The absorbing character of worldly business.
2. Liable to neglect chief ends of existence for inferior pursuits.
3. Much devotedness to the world disqualifies for spiritual services.
4. Positive losses of religious privilege accrue from multitude of engagements. III. The appalling losses we may sustain through a solitary act of negligence. Great business of Satan is to draw off men from the care of the soul. One act of indiscretion may, in the things of this life, involve years of repentance; but one neglect of the soul may be the cause of its everlasting ruin. “Oh, that thou hadst known at least in this thy day,” &c.
LESSONS.—
1. Cultivate a spirit of contrition over past indifference.
2. Use all diligence to make your calling and election sure.—The Preacher’s Portfolio.
1Ki_20:42-43. Ahab listened well pleased to the falsehood from the lips of the Syrian nobles, for it gave nourishment to his folly; the truth from the mouth of the prophet made him restless and angry, because it punished his folly. There is no help for the man who allows himself to be irritated by the truth instead of receiving it with meekness (Jas_1:21). There is nothing that so rouses and provokes an unconverted and unbelieving man as to have his sinful character so unveiled and set before his eyes that he can no longer justify or excuse himself.—Lange.
1Ki_20:42. The equity of punishment.
1. The Divine order.
2. Is regulated by opportunities granted.
3. Is afflicted according to nature and degree of sin.
1Ki_20:43. “Heavy and displeased.” Not with a “sorrow according to God,” but such as arose from a slavish fear. This heavy message in the midst of his triumph being worse than the whip and bell hung up usually in the chariot of the Roman triumpher, to show him what he might one day come to—namely, to be whipped as a slave, yea, to lose his head as an offender.—Trapp.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 Look now
Look now
This emphasizes what they will say. AT: "Listen" or "Pay attention to what we are about to tell you"
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put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads
This was a sign of surrender.
Is he still alive?
Ahab asks this question to express surprise. AT: "I am surprised that he is still alive!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
He is my brother
"My brother" here is a metaphor for somebody who is a good friend. AT: "He is like a brother to me" or "He is like family" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
servant
house
kingdom of Israel
mercy
sackcloth
life
brother
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 32, 34 20:31 burlap . . . ropes: Knowing the merciful…
20:31 burlap . . . ropes: Knowing the merciful mindset of the kings of Israel, Ben-hadad’s officers advised that they approach Ahab with symbols of humble repentance (Joel 1:13; Jon 3:5-9) and submission (Job 12:18; Lam 1:14). Ancient Near Eastern reliefs often depict captured enemies with ropes around their necks. Assyrian kings boasted of piercing their captives’ lips or cheeks with ropes.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.