Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, "Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel." Now the king of AramThe "king of Aram" refers to Ben-Hadad II, the ruler of the Aramean kingdom, which was located in present-day Syria. Historically, Aram was a significant power in the region, often in conflict with Israel. The Hebrew root for Aram is "אֲרָם" (Aram), which is associated with the highlands or elevated places, reflecting the geographical terrain of the region. This highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the strategic importance of alliances and enmities in the ancient Near East. had ordered
The phrase "had ordered" indicates a command or directive given with authority. In Hebrew, the root word is "צָוָה" (tsavah), meaning to command or charge. This reflects the hierarchical structure of ancient military operations, where the king's word was law, and obedience was expected without question. It underscores the king's strategic intent and the seriousness of the military campaign. his thirty-two chariot commanders
The "thirty-two chariot commanders" signifies a substantial military force, as chariots were the elite units of ancient armies, akin to modern-day tanks. The number thirty-two suggests a well-organized and formidable force. Historically, chariots were a symbol of power and technological advancement in warfare, indicating the king's commitment to achieving his objectives through superior military might. Do not fight with anyone, small or great
This directive to avoid engaging with anyone "small or great" reveals a focused military strategy. The Hebrew words "קָטֹן" (qaton) and "גָּדוֹל" (gadol) mean small and great, respectively, emphasizing the exclusivity of the target. This strategy reflects the king's intent to minimize unnecessary conflict and concentrate efforts on a singular, high-value target, demonstrating a calculated approach to warfare. except the king of Israel
The phrase "except the king of Israel" identifies Ahab, the king of Israel, as the primary target. This focus on Ahab highlights the personal and political animosity between the two kingdoms. Historically, Ahab was known for his alliances and conflicts with surrounding nations, and this directive underscores the Aramean king's desire to eliminate a key adversary. Theologically, it reflects the divine orchestration of events, as Ahab's fate was intertwined with God's judgment on his reign. Persons / Places / Events 1. King of AramThe ruler of Aram (Syria), who is in conflict with Israel. His strategic focus is on targeting the king of Israel. 2. Thirty-two Chariot CommandersMilitary leaders under the king of Aram, tasked with a specific mission to target the king of Israel. 3. King of IsraelAt this time, Ahab is the king of Israel, known for his idolatry and opposition to the prophets of God. 4. Battle of Ramoth-gileadThe location of the conflict between the allied forces of Israel and Judah against Aram. 5. JehoshaphatThe king of Judah, who allied with Ahab in this battle, demonstrating a political and military alliance. Teaching Points The Futility of Human PlansDespite the king of Aram's strategic focus, God's sovereignty ultimately determines the outcome. Human plans are subject to God's will. The Danger of Misplaced AlliancesJehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab serves as a cautionary tale about forming partnerships that compromise one's values and faith. The Importance of Heeding God's WarningsAhab's disregard for Micaiah's prophecy highlights the peril of ignoring divine warnings. Believers should seek and heed God's guidance. God's Sovereignty in WarfareThe account underscores that God is in control of all events, including battles. Trust in God should supersede reliance on military strength. The Role of Obedience and FaithfulnessThe account encourages believers to remain faithful and obedient to God, even when facing opposition or when God's plans seem unclear. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the king of Aram's strategy reflect human attempts to control outcomes, and what does this teach us about the limits of human power? 2. In what ways can forming alliances with those who do not share our faith values lead to spiritual compromise, as seen in Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab? 3. How can we better discern and respond to God's warnings in our lives, similar to the prophetic warning given to Ahab? 4. What does this passage teach us about God's sovereignty in the face of human conflict and plans? 5. How can we apply the lessons of obedience and faithfulness from this passage to our daily walk with God, especially when facing challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Chronicles 18This chapter provides a parallel account of the events in 1 Kings 22, offering additional details about the alliance between Ahab and Jehoshaphat and the prophetic warnings given by Micaiah. 1 Kings 20Earlier conflicts between Ahab and the king of Aram set the stage for the ongoing hostilities and the strategic focus on Ahab. Proverbs 21:30-31These verses highlight the futility of human plans against the will of God, relevant to the outcome of the battle despite the king of Aram's strategy. Psalm 33:16-17Emphasizes that victory does not come from military might alone, but from the Lord, which is a key theme in the account of 1 Kings 22. People Ahab, Ahaziah, Amon, Aram, Asa, Azubah, Chenaanah, David, Geber, Imlah, Jehoram, Jehoshaphat, Jeroboam, Joash, Micah, Micaiah, Nebat, Ophir, Shilhi, Sodomites, Syrians, Tarshish, Tharshish, ZedekiahPlaces Edom, Ezion-geber, Jerusalem, Ophir, Ramoth-gilead, Samaria, Syria, TarshishTopics Alone, Anyone, Aram, Attack, Captains, Chariot, Charioteers, Chariots, Commanded, Commanders, Except, Fight, Heads, Ordered, Orders, Rule, Save, Saying, Syria, Thirty, Thirty-two, War-carriagesDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Kings 22:31 4847 smallness 1 Kings 22:1-38 8131 guidance, results 1 Kings 22:17-38 6708 predestination 1 Kings 22:29-32 5920 pretence 1 Kings 22:29-37 5837 disguise Library Unpossessed Possessions
'And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?'--1 KINGS xxii. 3. This city of Ramoth in Gilead was an important fortified place on the eastern side of the Jordan, and had, many years before the date of our text, been captured by its northern neighbours in the kingdom of Syria. A treaty had subsequently been concluded and broken a war followed thereafter, in which Ben-hadad, King of Syria, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureAhab and Micaiah
'And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him? 8. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.'--1 KINGS xxii. 7,8. An ill-omened alliance had been struck up between Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah. The latter, who would have been much better in Jerusalem, had come down to Samaria …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Prophet Micah.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Micah signifies: "Who is like Jehovah;" and by this name, the prophet is consecrated to the incomparable God, just as Hosea was to the helping God, and Nahum to the comforting God. He prophesied, according to the inscription, under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. We are not, however, entitled, on this account, to dissever his prophecies, and to assign particular discourses to the reign of each of these kings. On the contrary, the entire collection forms only one whole. At …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible The Assyrian Revival and the Struggle for Syria
Assur-nazir-pal (885-860) and Shalmaneser III. (860-825)--The kingdom of Urartu and its conquering princes: Menuas and Argistis. Assyria was the first to reappear on the scene of action. Less hampered by an ancient past than Egypt and Chaldaea, she was the sooner able to recover her strength after any disastrous crisis, and to assume again the offensive along the whole of her frontier line. Image Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief at Koyunjik of the time of Sennacherib. The initial cut, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7 Use to be Made of the Doctrine of Providence.
Sections. 1. Summary of the doctrine of Divine Providence. 1. It embraces the future and the past. 2. It works by means, without means, and against means. 3. Mankind, and particularly the Church, the object of special care. 4. The mode of administration usually secret, but always just. This last point more fully considered. 2. The profane denial that the world is governed by the secret counsel of God, refuted by passages of Scripture. Salutary counsel. 3. This doctrine, as to the secret counsel of …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Shepherd of Our Souls.
"I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep."--John x. 11. Our Lord here appropriates to Himself the title under which He had been foretold by the Prophets. "David My servant shall be king over them," says Almighty God by the mouth of Ezekiel: "and they all shall have one Shepherd." And in the book of Zechariah, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts; smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII Of Councils and their Authority.
1. The true nature of Councils. 2. Whence the authority of Councils is derived. What meant by assembling in the name of Christ. 3. Objection, that no truth remains in the Church if it be not in Pastors and Councils. Answer, showing by passages from the Old Testament that Pastors were often devoid of the spirit of knowledge and truth. 4. Passages from the New Testament showing that our times were to be subject to the same evil. This confirmed by the example of almost all ages. 5. All not Pastors who …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party, According as is Contained in the Public Resolutions, is Sinful and Unlawful.
That The Employing Of, And Associating With The Malignant Party, According As Is Contained In The Public Resolutions, Is Sinful And Unlawful. If there be in the land a malignant party of power and policy, and the exceptions contained in the Act of Levy do comprehend but few of that party, then there need be no more difficulty to prove, that the present public resolutions and proceedings do import an association and conjunction with a malignant party, than to gather a conclusion from clear premises. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Of Passages from the Holy Scriptures, and from the Apocrypha, which are Quoted, or Incidentally Illustrated, in the Institutes.
TO THE AUTHORS QUOTED IN THE INSTITUTES PREFATORY ADDRESS TO HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY, THE MOST MIGHTY AND ILLUSTRIOUS MONARCH, FRANCIS, KING OF THE FRENCH, HIS SOVEREIGN; [1] JOHN CALVIN PRAYS PEACE AND SALVATION IN CHRIST. [2] Sire,--When I first engaged in this work, nothing was farther from my thoughts than to write what should afterwards be presented to your Majesty. My intention was only to furnish a kind of rudiments, by which those who feel some interest in religion might be trained to …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Sovereignty of God in Administration
"The LORD hath prepared His Throne In the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all" (Psa. 103:19). First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world. Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws (which men term "the laws of Nature"), and that He then withdrew, leaving the world to its fortune and the out-working of these laws. In such a case, we should have a world over which there was no intelligent, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times General Principles of Interpretation. 1 Since the Bible Addresses Men in Human Language...
CHAPTER XXXIV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION. 1. Since the Bible addresses men in human language, and according to human modes of thinking and speaking, the interpreter's first work is to ascertain the meaning of the terms employed. Here he must proceed as in the case of other writings, seeking by the aid of grammars, lexicons, cognate languages, ancient versions, ancient interpreters, and whatever other outward helps are available, to gain a thorough knowledge of the language employed by …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Commerce
The remarkable change which we have noticed in the views of Jewish authorities, from contempt to almost affectation of manual labour, could certainly not have been arbitrary. But as we fail to discover here any religious motive, we can only account for it on the score of altered political and social circumstances. So long as the people were, at least nominally, independent, and in possession of their own land, constant engagement in a trade would probably mark an inferior social stage, and imply …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life The Figurative Language of Scripture.
1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa. 84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Instruction for the Ignorant:
BEING A SALVE TO CURE THAT GREAT WANT OF KNOWLEDGE, WHICH SO MUCH REIGNS BOTH IN YOUNG AND OLD. PREPARED AND PRESENTED TO THEM IN A PLAIN AND EASY DIALOGUE, FITTED TO THE CAPACITY OF THE WEAKEST. 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'--Hosea 4:6 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This little catechism is upon a plan perfectly new and unique. It was first published as a pocket volume in 1675, and has been republished in every collection of the author's works; and recently in a separate tract. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 1 Kings 22:31 NIV1 Kings 22:31 NLT1 Kings 22:31 ESV1 Kings 22:31 NASB1 Kings 22:31 KJV
1 Kings 22:31 Commentaries
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