Ahab called a meeting with the elders of Israel, who said, "Don't listen to him." So Ahab sent messengers back to Benhadad saying, "You have got all you are going to get from me."
Benhadad was angered and said, "My forces are bigger than yours. You don't really want to fight, do you?"
Ahab then said, "Don't boast too proudly."
Benhadad and his men were in the bars, drinking. When he got this message, he said, "Okay, he wants a fight, we'll give him one. Get your men ready!"
A prophet came to Ahab and said, "God said that you will win this fight so all will know He is God!"
Ahab said, "Yeah. Right. And, who is going to lead the battles?"
"The princes of the tribes of Israel." The prophet answered.
"And, who, pray tell, is going to lead them?"
"You are."
Ahab gathered his army together while Benhadad and his men were still getting drunk in the bars. Then he sent them to Benhadad. Benhadad heard that some young men were coming from Samaria, and ordered his men to take them alive. This gave the princes the opportunity to kill Benhadad's men. The Syrians fled and Benhadad escaped.
The prophet came back and told Ahab, "Mark my word, they will be back by next year so get prepared."
In the meanwhile, the Syrians claimed that the reason they were defeated was because the Israel God was God of the hills and not God of the plains, and had they fought in the plains, they would have defeated Israel. So Benhadad regrouped and drafted more men to replace the ones who were killed, and went to the plains of the city of Aphek to fight against Israel. There were so many Syrians that Israel looked like two little flocks of goats in the midst of them.
Then a man of God came to Ahab and said, "God wants to show these Syrians that He is the God of the plains as well as the God of the hills. You will defeat them today."
They camped for seven days, then they fought. Israel killed a hundred thousand Syrians in one day, and the twenty-seven thousand that were left fled into the city and were killed when a wall fell on them. Benhadad was still alive because he fled into the middle of the city.
His servants told him that Israelite kings were known for their good heart and mercy, and if he was apologetic and humbled, Ahab might let him live. So they went to talk to Ahab for him. Ahab said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother..."
They played on this and said, "Yes. You shouldn't kill your brother."
So, Ahab invited Benhadad to join him in his chariot to talk. Benhadad agreed to give Ahab back all the land that his father took from Ahab's father, so Ahab let him go.
A prophet went up to his neighbor and said, "Hit me!" When the man refused, the prophet said, "You will be killed by a lion because you didn't obey God." A lion killed him. Then he went to another man and said, "Hit me!" So the man hit him.
Then the prophet disguised himself to look like a man who had just come from battle and waited for Ahab to come by. When Ahab came by, the prophet said, "I was in the middle of the battle when an enemy POW was brought to me. I was told that if he got away, it would either be my life or a talent of silver. I was busy fighting and not paying attention and he got away."
Ahab said, "Then you have to pay."
The prophet undisguised himself and said, "God has said the same of you. You had Benhadad and you should have destroyed him, but you let him go. God wanted him destroyed. Now you will pay."
Ahab was not happy as he returned to Samaria.
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When God gives you the means to accomplish a goal, and you leave business unfinished, it will destroy you. He gives you friends, talents, abilities, and opens doors that will put you where you can best serve His purpose. If you refuse to use all that He has given you to the best of your ability, He will make you pay for what He has given you.
Don't let your dreams go to waste. Show Him you can be trusted with all He has given you. He wants the glory.
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