Take your Bibles with me and turn to...Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Kings 20. 1 Kings 20. We are going to be going through this whole chapter tonight.

For a few weeks we've been talking about Elijah. Last week, we ended with Elijah picking his successor - Elisha. But Elijah isn't going anywhere for awhile. He was around a bit.

But in 1 Kings 20, the focus shifts away from Elijah and onto Ahab. Remember, this is the book of 1st "Kings" not 1st "prophets." More is said about King Ahab than any other king in this book besides Solomon. Really, you could argue that the whole book is setup to contrast two kings: Solomon and Ahab. Solomon was the good (though imperfect) king and Ahab was the wicked king.

Now what has happened to Ahab in our story so far?

• We know he married Jezebel and went along with her wicked ways and persecuted the prophets and introduced Baal.
• We know he was confronted by Elijah and saw 3 and a half years of famine.
• We know that Elijah stood up to him at Mt. Carmel and he saw the hand of God at work.
• Then the rain came, just as Elijah said it would.

It would sure seem like God was trying to get Ahab's attention.

And that is what we are going to see in this chapter tonight. There is not talk about Elijah or Elisha. It is just God working on King Ahab.

As we work through this chapter, I'm going to give you four principles tonight. Each of them is an actionable principle you can put into practice in your life, and each starts with a "don't."

Let's start by reading verses 1-8

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:1-8 - KJV

1. And Ben-hadad 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.
2. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,
3. Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
4. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.
5. And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

The first principle I want you to write down tonight is...

1. Don't put your priorities in the wrong place.

So in verse 1, we are introduced to the problem that prompts this chapter. He is a king of Syria named Ben-hedad.

Now, that's actually not true. Ben-hedad is a title. Egypt had Pharoahs and Syria had Ben-hedads. There are at least three different men called that in the Bible. This is the second one.

Syria, if you do not know, is to the north and east of Israel. You have Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Israel was always surrounded by enemies. To the north: Lebenon and Syria. To the south: Egypt. The the west: the Philistines and to the east (eventually) the Assyrians and then the Babylonians and Persians.

Syria was the powerful man at this point, they were the bully, and they decided to flex their muscle against Israel, the northern kingdom.

So Ben-hedad makes a demand on King Ahab and says "Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine."

I want all your money and I want your family.

And do you know what King Ahab said? He said "Ok. If you say so. Here you go." He folded like a fellowship hall chair.

You want my family - here you go. What kind of man does that? What kind of man just gives up on his family, on his own children like that? He was a coward who seems to only care about protecting himself and his position.

But do you know what? That wasn't enough for Ben-hedad. Ben-hedad was like "That was too easy, well, here is what else I want, I want to send in someone and anything you like, he is going to take that too."

(You cannot appease a bully. If you give a bully what they ask for, they will just ask for more. )

So now Ahab is upset. Apparently taking all his family and his money wasn't that big of a deal, but taking his personal toys - that was going too far.

Ahab was a man with some warped personal priorities. He wouldn't fight for his faith or his country or his family, but he'd stand up when they tried to take away his chochkies and toys.

Ahab was a person who constantly put his heart in the wrong place. He always put his comfort over his calling. He ordered his loves in the absolute wrong order.

How many of you, maybe in a Sunday School class or a sermon has heard someone use the acrostic JOY - Jesus, Others and You. That is the right way to order our loves.

But Ahab's priorities were You, you, then you. He always put himself first.

Listen, there is a reason why the very first of the Ten Commandments is:

[!bible] Exodus 20:3 - KJV 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God wants to be first. He wants first place in our life. He wants to be our priority over everything.

What we tend to do as sinners is put all kinds of things - and they may even be good things - in God's place. In that number 1 spot.

Maybe it's your job. Maybe it's your health. Maybe it's your kids. Maybe it's getting stuff. Maybe it's your comfort and familiarity. Maybe it's politics.

You don't have to worship Baal to be an idol worshiper, you can be guilty of putting other things where only God belongs.

How do you know what your real priority is? Look at your calendar and your bank account. Look at what you'll sacrifice for and what you won't. Look at what makes you anxious when it's threatened. Ahab would give up his family without a fight but went to war over his stuff - what would you fight about if it was threatened?

Ahab is an absolute mess in this chapter - and we are meant to see that and learn from him - but do you know what stands out to me even more in this chapter? The grace of God.

Let's keep reading because this is amazing:

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:9-13 - KJV 9. Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, 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. 10. And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 12. And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. 13. And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

Now this is amazing. Ahab and his council suddenly grow a spine and they stand up to Ben-hedad.

Ahab actually has a great line there in verse 11. "Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast as he that putteth it off." Apparently, even a dead clock is right twice a day.

Basically he says to the king of Syria "Don't celebrate before the game even starts buddy" or as a famous american printer once said "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

This made Ben-hedad mad. He was drinking with his leaders in the middle of the day when he heard this, and he just got really angry and decided to surround the city.

Now, here is where our second principle comes in: God sent a prophet (not Elijah or Elisha, some other unknown guy) - God sent a prophet to speak to Ahab. Why? God wanted him to know He was going to deliver Israel so that Israel (and Ahab) would know that He was the Lord.

Now that is where this chapter really shocks me. It sure seemed like God was still trying to get through to Ahab. Ahab!?!? Don't you think he got enough miracles and enough warnings??

Don't you think he was someone who deserved what was coming to him??

But God was going to give him what he didn't deserve and not give him what he did deserve - by the way, that is the definition of grace and mercy. Getting what you don't deserve is grace. Not getting what you have coming to you is mercy.

And so here is the second principle I want you to think about tonight:

2. Don't underestimate the grace and mercy of God.

God is just giving chance after chance to Ahab. That's grace. That's mercy.

You know, we like it when we get grace and mercy, but we have a hard time when other people are shown grace and mercy.

But God is a God of grace and mercy.

Listen to how God described Himself to Moses:

[!bible] Exodus 34:6 - KJV 6. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

God is longsuffering. God is merciful. God is gracious. Those are three of His greatest characteristics.

How gracious and merciful and longsuffering? Well, He was still after Ahab.

You might be tempted to think "God would never forgive me." Are you as bad as Ahab? Have you killed hundreds of God's' prophets? Have you worshiped demons?

Maybe you think "God's given me too many chances." As many as Ahab? Have you seen fire come from heaven? How many miracles have you watched and then turned your back on God.

God is gracious and longsuffering and He will be to you too. Don't underestimate God's mercy and grace.

We are going to see God rescue Israel from Syria twice in this chapter, and both times God told us why He did it - so Ahab would know that God is the Lord.

God wasn't just trying to save Israel from Syria. He was trying to save Ahab from Ahab. Every miracle, every chance, every act of grace was God saying 'I am the LORD - turn back to Me.' That's what grace does - it pursues us even when we're running the wrong direction

Don't underestimate the grace and mercy of God.

Let's keep reading:

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:14-22 - KJV 14. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15. Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 16. And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. 17. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. 18. And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. 19. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22. And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

So this prophet tells Ahab he needs to lead the men into battle, and that he needs to use the young men of the princes as his leaders.

These weren't warriors. They were diplomats. They were palace people. And they were leading a tiny army compared to Syria and his group of kings. But do you know what? It didn't matter - because God was with them.

Now Ben-hadad did something very bad here that God used to bring this victory. Ben-hedad thought he had this in the bag and him and his leaders were in the tent getting drunk.

Twice in this chapter it points out that Ben-hedad was drinking. In his stupor, Ben-hedad makes a blunder. He tells his men not to fight to kill, but to try to take the Isrealites captives, whether they are fighting or not.

So Israel just comes in to kill and the Syrians have their phasers set to stun - and Israel just overwhelms them with violence and God delivers a victory. Ben-hedad and his leaders have to run away on horses, because they got whooped.

And that leads me to a third "don't tonight." Don't put your priorities in the wrong place, don't underestimate God's grace and...

3. Don't be fooled by alcohol

The Bible here makes an obvious point to show us that God used Ben-hedad's drinking to spoil his advantage.

Drunkenness is a great spoiler. It spoils our talents. It spoils our time. It spoils our testimony. It spoils our treasure.

[!bible] Proverbs 20:1 - KJV

1. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Some of you have known personally how much drugs and alcohol can take away. You've seen it suck the life out of your parents (or worse, your children.) Maybe you've had the misfortune of not having food in the pantry but having booze in the fridge.

I have great compassion for the drunks and for the drug addicts. No one ever wakes up and says "you know what I want to do in five years? I want to be trying to sell my own kids so I can get a hit. I want to be so addicted to alcohol that I'll go to CVS and drink listerine."

No one sets out for that - but it happens to people every day.

Christians should be people who champion sobriety.

[!bible] Ephesians 5:18 - KJV 18. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

God wants us to not be under the control of alcohol - but under the control of the Spirit.

Don't give away your strength to alcohol. Don't even try the stuff.

Now, to get to our next point, I'm going to skip ahead a bit. We are going to skip down to verse 30. And between verse 22 and verse 30 let me tell you what happens.

Ben-hadad goes back to Syria, he licks his wounds, he regroups, he comes back with an even bigger army and he is determined to whip Israel.

And again they were outnumbered. So badly they looked like a little flock. And again, God sent a prophet and again that prophet said "I'm going to give you the victory so that you can know that the Lord is God." And again, God miraculously gives Israel the victory.

And here is where I want to pick up reading in verse 30.

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:30-34 - KJV 30. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. 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. 32. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

Did you catch what was happening there? God gives the victory to Ahab and Israel, Ben-hedad and his leaders come groveling and begging for mercy and do you know what Ahab does? He asks him to come up in his chariot, he calls him his brother, he gives him a treaty!

This man tried to wipe you out twice! This man came into your country and demanded all your money and your wives and it is only by God's grace you are alive and you want to hug the guy and call him brother???

And so God sends a prophet in verses 35-36. This is one of the most interesting stories in the whole bible. Look at this...

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:35-36 - KJV 35. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. 36. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

The prophet tells his neighbor - "God said to hit me" and the neighbor said "no way." And so God sent a lion to eat the neighbor.

(This is a Bible story.)

But what was the point of that little story? When God tells you to smite someone - you do it.

Do you know that God had told Israel exactly what they should have done in this situation back in the law. They were to wipe them out. These were wicked, godless men who did things like buy their own children alive in the foundations of their cities and who worshiped devils and were into every sin on earth. They were supposed to wipe them out.

But Ahab made treaty. Ahab called them brother. And God sent that prophet to Ahab (after he found someone else to punch him) to tell him this:

[!bible] 1 Kings 20:42-43 - KJV 42. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 43. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

I've given you three don'ts so far:

• Don't put your priorities in the wrong place
• Don't underestimate the grace of God
• Don't be fooled by alcohol

One more and we are done...

4. Don't make friends with what God has told you to destroy.

Now, you aren't Israel. You aren't kings. You aren't fighting Ben-hedad and Syria.

But you do have things that God has told you to destroy. The New Testament says:

[!bible] Colossians 3:5 - KJV 5. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Mortify means "put to death." There are just some things that you as a Christian need to kill. They should have no part in your life. You can't be friends with these things or they will destroy you.

You can't be friends with sexual sin. You can't even play around with that. Not in action, not in your mind, not at all. Don't even play with it. If you have to live like a luddite and have no computer - so beit. If you have to get rid of your phone and get a flip phone - sobeit. If you have to have an accountability partner check in every day.

You do whatever you have to do to kill that sin - but you in no way make friends with it.

The same with covetousness. If you live to get. Kill that. Don't play around with it. Lay it on the altar and kill it.

Ephesians adds some more things to this list:

[!bible] Ephesians 5:3-4 - KJV 3. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Filthiness, foolish talking, jesting. There are things the world does, things your coworkers do - you can't dabble in. You don't let it into your chariot. You make no treaty with it.

Let it not once be named among you.

CONCLUSION:

Let's review these four principles one more time:

Don't put your priorities in the wrong place. God deserves first place - not your comfort, not your stuff, not your reputation. Look at your calendar, look at your bank account, look at what you'll fight for - is God really number one?

Don't underestimate the grace and mercy of God. If God was still pursuing Ahab after everything he'd done, then no one is beyond His reach. Not you, not your prodigal child, not that coworker you think is too far gone. God's grace pursues us even when we're running the wrong direction.

Don't be fooled by alcohol. It promises confidence and control but delivers poor judgment and bondage. Be filled with the Spirit, not controlled by substances.

Don't make friends with what God has told you to destroy. Sexual sin, covetousness, filthy talk - these aren't things to manage or control. They're things to kill. No treaty. No compromise. No friendship.

Now here's the thing about this chapter - Ahab had every opportunity to get it right. God gave him miracle after miracle. Victory after victory. Chance after chance.

But Ahab never changed. He kept putting himself first. He kept compromising. He kept making friends with what God wanted him to destroy.

And the next chapter - 1 Kings 21 - we're going to see Ahab murder a man named Naboth just to steal his vegetable garden. All those miracles, all that grace, all those opportunities - and Ahab just got worse.

Don't be an Ahab.

Tonight, God is giving you the same opportunities He gave Ahab. He's showing you where your priorities are wrong. He's extending His grace and mercy to you one more time. He's warning you about the things that cloud your judgment. He's telling you what needs to die in your life.

The question is: what are you going to do about it?

Let's pray