And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,
The verse stands in the history of the kings after Israel and Judah divided. That history covers the two separate kingdoms for about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to the death of Jehoshaphat, comprising the reigns of several kings of both Judah and Israel. It is a record that shows a general moral decline in Judah and Israel, interrupted by periods of revival. When the people sought God He worked for and through them, and kings and priests bore great responsibility because their faithfulness or failure strongly influenced the people.
The verse belongs to the account of Ahab king of Israel, whose life and reign are recorded for the instruction of later generations. Ahab was a capable and prosperous ruler, but he wickedly gave himself to worshiping heathen gods and later imposed that worship on his people. It belongs also to the account of Ben-hadad king of Syria and his defeat, in which God was making another effort to win the weak Ahab.
The verse shows Ben-hadad king of Syria coming up with thirty-two kings to besiege Samaria and sending messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city with his demand. The attack was defeated when two hundred and thirty-two princes of the provinces led a sortie out of Samaria, the Syrians fled, and Ben-hadad escaped on a horse. The next year Ben-hadad came again, the children of Israel pitched before the Syrians like two little flocks of kids while the Syrians filled the country, 100,000 Syrian footmen fell in battle, and Ben-hadad fled to Aphek and then surrendered to the king of Israel. Ben-hadad sent the messengers as part of an attack with a mighty army and boasted against Israel's God. A prophet warned Ahab, and God gave him victory so that he would know the victory came from Jehovah.
The verse stands in the history of the kings after Israel and Judah divided. That history covers the two separate kingdoms for about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to the death of Jehoshaphat, comprising the reigns of several kings of both Judah and Israel. It is a record that shows a general moral decline in Judah and Israel, interrupted by periods of revival. When the people sought God He worked for and through them, and kings and priests bore great responsibility because their faithfulness or failure strongly influenced the people.
The verse belongs to the account of Ahab king of Israel, whose life and reign are recorded for the instruction of later generations. Ahab was a capable and prosperous ruler, but he wickedly gave himself to worshiping heathen gods and later imposed that worship on his people. It belongs also to the account of Ben-hadad king of Syria and his defeat, in which God was making another effort to win the weak Ahab.
The verse shows Ben-hadad king of Syria coming up with thirty-two kings to besiege Samaria and sending messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city with his demand. The attack was defeated when two hundred and thirty-two princes of the provinces led a sortie out of Samaria, the Syrians fled, and Ben-hadad escaped on a horse. The next year Ben-hadad came again, the children of Israel pitched before the Syrians like two little flocks of kids while the Syrians filled the country, 100,000 Syrian footmen fell in battle, and Ben-hadad fled to Aphek and then surrendered to the king of Israel. Ben-hadad sent the messengers as part of an attack with a mighty army and boasted against Israel's God. A prophet warned Ahab, and God gave him victory so that he would know the victory came from Jehovah.