Biblical Prophets - Bible Study OnlineLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we learned that Elijah had finally located Elisha, the person that the Lord had foretold to Elijah earlier, back when the prophet was doubting his ministry at the "Mountain of God." :
"The Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. "Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet." - 1 Kings 19:15-16 Now it's at this point that the Sacred Record would reveal that Elijah would find Elisha working in his family fields. And it would be at this time that Elijah would somewhat present Elisha with an offer to become his apprentice. Know that Elisha would soon after - accept Elijah's proposal, and because of this, the acquired prophet apprentice would have himself a going away party with his family and friends. And it would be after this party, Elisha would head off with his teacher and begin his training. In the meantime the Sacred Record takes us back to Samaria - and this is where, we now discover that God had just started "phase two" of His overall judgment plan against Israel. This judgment plan dealt with Israel for their continued sinning. Know that this second phase would begin with Ben-Hadad the king of Aram bringing along with him, what I like to call his "Thirty-two Kings of Mass Destruction." Now we're not told the background, or the specifics of who these thirty-two kings were. For we can only assume, that they were probably kingdoms that had surrender, and became vassals to Ben-Hadad from his past wars. We also learned that Ben-Hadad is using the same war methods that have been so successful for him in the past, to wage war against Ahab and the Israel nation. Now the Sacred Record isn't exactly clear on why Ben-Hadad decided to attack Samaria in the first place - being that there wasn't no known record of conflict between Ben-Hadad and Ahab to begin with. Now one can only assume that all of this that was now happening against Ahab - was part of God's overall plan when it came to him and his idolatrous and wicked household. Now after Ben-Hadad positions himself and his army, he sends his demands to the Israel king Ahab - informing him that the sliver and gold that he now possesses - belongs to him. Ben-Hadad also makes clear that the best of Ahab's wives and children are now his as well. Understand that with an army that consisted of thirty-three kingdoms in total, Ahab seems to realize that the odds are against him in a very big way. So he responds back to Ben-Hadad by agreeing to his demands. And after hearing this, Ben-Hadad takes it a step farther by demanding more from Ahab: "I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything of value and carry it away." Now after Ahab had heard Ben-Hadad's new demands, he decides to summon all the elders of the land. And next, the Israel king starts to express his frustration by explaining to the elders that Ben-Hadad has become very unreasonable: "See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my sliver and my gold, I did not refuse him." After hearing this, the elders responded back to Ahab by saying: "Don't listen to him or agree to his demands." So after hearing the advice from his elders, Ahab sent word back to Ben-Hadad informing him that he will do all that he had asked when it came to his first set of demands the first time -- but this second set of demands he cannot meet. Ahab's partial refusal gets back to Ben-Hadad and he seems irritated by the message that Ahab had just sent. So he sends a message back to Ahab: "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful." Now Ahab seems offended behind Ben-Hadad's arrogance and greed and responds by saying: "One who puts on his armor should not boast like the one who takes it off." When Ben-Hadad had heard Ahab's response, he was sitting around the pavilions along with the other thirty-two kings and they were all getting drunk. So he shouted out to them: "Prepare to attack!" Now meanwhile back at Ahab's palace - we find that the king has been blessed with the counsel from one of the Lords prophets? One must ask themselves: "Could that be right, Ahab receiving counsel from a prophet of God?" I mean after all, why would God help the wicked king Ahab? Now if one were to be honest, one can't help but to think, that this would seem like a puzzling change of events. But we must keep in mind that when it comes to God, things must happen within a particular order. Okay, do you remember the Scripture near the top of this page? Remember that God had given prophet Elijah a set of instructions which consisted of three phases. First: He was to anoint Hazael to be king over Aram. Know that this has not and can not be done yet - being that Ben-Hadad is still king over Aram. Second: He was to anoint Jehu to be king over Israel. Well the problem with that, deals with the fact that Ahab is still king over Israel so this can't happen yet. Third: He was to find Elisha and make him his successor. Remember that Prophet Elijah has indeed, found Elisha - and now, Elijah must train him so he can become his successor. So you see, other things must be taken care of, before the end goal can take place. So in the meantime, God will use this situation to try to remove Ben-Hadad from his throne, and punish king Ahab later on, after the three phases have been completed. Will Ben-Hadad and his "Thirty-Two Kings of Mass Destruction" be too much for God to handle? Will Ahab eventually give in to Ben-Had's demands?
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLICAL PROPHETS SERIES WOULD BE HERE** 02) Obadiah and the Caves of Refuge 03) The Fire Contest Between God & Baal 04) The Gift of Rain That Came From The Heavens 05) Elisha The Prophet Apprentice 06) <-CURRENT BIBLICAL PROPHETS PAGE-> 07) Ben-Hadad The Drunken King 09) The Prophets of the Groves 10) Micaiah The One True Prophet 13) Elijah and the Chariot of Fire 14) Elisha the Miracle Prophet  |
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