History of the Old Testament Volume 7, Part 9
AHAB, and BENHADAD.
THere is nothing more dangerous for any ſtate, than to call in forraigne powers, for the ſuppreſſion of an home-bred enemie; the remedy hath oft in this caſe, proued worſe than the diſeaſe. Aſa King of Iudah implores the aid of Benhadad, the Syrian, againſt Baaſha King of Iſrael. That ſtranger hath good colour to ſet his foot in ſome out-skirttownes of Iſrael; and now theſe ſerue him but for the handſell of more; Such ſweetneſſe doth that Edomite finde in the ſoile of Iſrael, that his ambition will not take vp with leſſe than all; Hee that entred as a Friend, will proceed as a Conqueror; and now aimes at no leſſe than Samaria it ſelfe, the heart, the head of the ten Tribes: There was no cauſe to hope for better ſucceſſe of ſo perfidious a League with an Infidell: Who can looke for other than warre when hee ſees Ahab and Iezebel in the throne, Iſrael in the groues and temples of Baalim? The ambition of Benhadad was not ſo much guilty of this warre, as the Idolatry of that wicked nation; How can they expect peace from earth, who doe wilfully fight againſt heauen? Rather will the God of Hoſts arme the brute, the ſenſeleſſe creatures againſt an Iſrael, than he will ſuffer their defiance vnreuenged. Ahab and Benhadad are well matched; an idolatrous Iſraelite, with a paganiſh Idumaean; well may God plague each with other, who meanes vengeance to them both. Ahab findes himſelfe hard preſſed with the ſiege; and therefore is glad to enter into treaties of peace; Benhadad knowes his owne ſtrength; and offers inſolent conditions, Thy ſiluer and thy gold is mine, thy wiues alſo and thy children, euen the goodlieſt are mine. It is a fearefull thing to be in the mercy of an enemy; In caſe of hoſtility might will carue for it ſelfe: Ahab now after the diuiſion of Iudah, was but halfe a King; Benhadad had two and thirty Kings to attend him; What equality was in this oppoſition? Wiſely doth Ahab therefore, as a reed in a tem…ſt, ſtoope to this violent charge of ſo potent an enemy: My Lord, O King, according to thy ſaying, I am thine, and all that I hauehave: It is not for the ouer-powred to capitulate; Weakneſſe may not argue, but yeeld. Tyranny is but drawne on by ſubmiſſion; and where it finds feare, and deiection, inſulteth. Benhadad not content with the ſoueraignty of Ahabs goods, calls for the poſſeſſion; Ahab had offered the Dominion, with reſeruation of his ſubordinate intereſt: hee will be a tributary, ſo he may bee an owner: Benhadad imperiouſly beſides the command, calls for the propriety; and ſuffers not the King of Iſrael to enioy thoſe things at all, which he would in…oy but vnderunder the fauour of that predominancie. Ouer-ſtrained ſubiection turnes deſperate; if conditions be impoſed worſe than death, there needs no long diſputation of the remedy; The Elders of Iſrael (whoſe ſhare was proportionably in this danger) harten Ahab to a deniall: which yet comes out ſo fearefully, as that it appeares rather exto…ted by the peremptory indignation of the people, than proceeding out of any generoſity of his Spirit: Neither doth he ſay, I will not, but, I may not. The proud Syrian (who would hauehave taken it in foule ſcorne to be denied, though hee had ſent for all the heads of Iſrael) ſnuffes vp the wind like a wilde Aſſe in the Wilderneſſe, and brags, and threats, and ſweares; The gods doe ſo to me, and more alſo, if the duſt of Samaria ſhall ſuffice for handfulls for all the people that follow mee: Not the men, not the goods, onelyonly of Samaria ſhall be carried away captiue, but the very earth whereon it ſtands; and this, with how much eaſe? No Souldier ſhall need to be charged with more than an handfull, to make a valley where the mother City of Iſrael once ſtood: Oh vaine boaſter! in whom I know not whether pride or folly be more eminent: Victorie is to bee atchieued, not to be ſworne; future euents are no matter of an oath; Thy gods (if they had beene) might hauehave beene called as witneſſes of thy intentions, not of that ſucceſſe, whereof thou wouldſt be the Author without them: Thy gods can doe nothing to thee, nothing for thee, nothing for themſelues; all thine Aramites ſhall not carry away one corne of ſand out of Iſrael, except it be vponupon the ſoles of their feet, in their ſhamefull flight; It is well, if they can carry backe thoſe skins, that they brought thither: Let not him that girdeth on his harneſſe boaſt himſelfe as hee that putteth it off: There is no cauſe to feare that man that truſts in himſelfe: Man may caſt the dice of warre, but the diſpoſition of them is of the Lord.
Ahab was lewd, but Benhadad was inſolent; If therefore Ahab ſhall be ſcourged with the rod of Benhadads feare; Benhadad ſhall be ſmitten with the ſword of Ahabs reuenge; Of all things God will not endure a preſumptuous, and ſelfe-confident vaunter; after Elijahs flight and complaint, yet a Prophet is addreſſed to Ahab; Thus ſaith the Lord, Hoſt thou ſeene all this great multitude? behold I will deliuer it into thine hand, this day, and thou ſhalt know that I am the Lord: Who can wonder enough at this vnweariable mercy of God? After the fire and raine fetcht miraculouſly from Heauen, Ahab had promiſed much, performed nothing, yet againe will God bleſſe and ſolicit him with victory; One of thoſe Prophets whom he perſecuted to death, ſhall comfort his deiection with the newes of deliuerance and triumph: Had this great work beene wrought without premonition; either chance, or Baal, or the golden calues had carried away the thankes: Before hand therefore ſhall Ahab know both the Author and the meanes of his victory; God for the Author, the two hundred thirty two young men of the Princes for the means; What are theſe for the Vant-gard, and ſeuen thouſand Iſraelites for the maine battell, againſt the troups of three and thirty Kings, and as many centuries of Syrians, as Iſrael had ſingle ſouldiers? An equality of number had taken away the wonder of the euent; bu… now, the God of hoſts will be confeſſed in this iſſue, not the valour of men; How indifferent it is with thee, O Lord, to ſaue by many, or by few; to deſtroy many, or few? A world is no more to thee than a man; How eaſie is it for thee to enable vsus to be more than Conquerours ouer Principalities and Powers: to ſubdue ſpirituall wickedneſſes to fleſh and bloud? Through thee we can doe great things, yea wee can doe all things through thee that ſtrengthneſt vsus; Let not vsus want faith, we are ſure there can bee no want in thy power or mercy.
There was nothing in Benhadads pauilions but drinke, and ſurfet, and iollity; as if wine ſhould make way for bloud; Security is the certaine vſher of deſtruction: We neuer hauehave ſo much cauſe to feare as when wee feare nothing. This handfull of Iſrael dares looke out (vponupon the Prophets aſſurance) to the vaſt hoſt of Benhadad: It is enough for that proud Pagan to ſit ſtill, and command amongſt his cups: To defile their fingers with the bloud of ſo few, ſeemed no maſtery; that act would be inglorious on the part of the Victors: More eaſily might they bring in three heads of dead enemies than one aliue: Imperiouſly enough therefore doth this boaſter out of his chaire of ſtate, and eaſe, command, Whether they be come out for peace, take them aliue; or whether they be come out for warre, take them aliue; There needs no more, but, Take them; this field is wonne with a word; Oh the vaine and ignorant preſumptions of wretched men that will bee reckoning without, againſt their Maker.
EueryEvery Iſraelite kils his man; the Syrians flee, and cannot runne away from death: Benhadad and his Kings are more beholden to their horſes than to their gods, or themſelues for life and ſafety; elſe they had beene either taken, or ſlaine, by thoſe whom they commanded to be taken.
How eaſie is it for him that made the heart, to fill it with terrour, and conſternation, euen where no feare is? Thoſe whom God hath deſtin'd to ſlaughter, he will ſmite; neither needs hee any other enemy or executioner, than what he findes in their owne boſome: We are not the maſters of our owne courage, or feares; both are put into vsus by that ouerruling power that created vsus: Stay now, O ſtay, thou great King of Syria, and take with thee thoſe forgotten handfuls of the duſt of Iſrael; Thy gods will doe ſo to thee, and more alſo, if thy followers returne without their vowed burden; Learne now of the deſpiſed King of Iſrael, from henceforth not to ſound the triumph before the battell, not to boaſt thy ſelfe in the girding on of thine harneſſe, as in the putting off.
I heare not of either the publike thankſgiuing, or amendment of Ahab. Neither danger nor victory can change him from himſelfe: Benhadad and he, though enemies, agree in vnrepentance; the one is no more moued with mercy, than the other with iudgement: Neither is God any changeling in his proceedings towards both; his iudgement ſhall ſtill follow the Syrian, his mercy Iſrael: Mercy both in fore-warning, and re-deliuering Ahab; Iudgement in ouerthrowing Benhadad. The Prophet of God comes againe, and both foretels the intended re-encounter of the Syrian, and aduiſes the care, and preparation of Iſrael: Goe, ſtrengthen thy ſelfe, and marke, and ſee what thou doeſt; for, at the returne of the yeere, the King of Syria will come vp againſt thee: God purpoſeth the deliuerance of Iſrael, yet may not they neglect their fortifications; The mercifull intentions of God towards them may not make them careles; The induſtry and courage of the Iſraelites fall within the decree of their victory; Security is the bane of good ſucceſſe; It is no contemning of a foiled enemy; the ſhame of a former diſgrace and miſcarriage, whets his valour, and ſharpens it to reuenge: No power is ſo dreadfull, as that which is recollected from an ouerthrow.
The hoſtility againſt the Iſrael of God may ſleepe, but wil hardly die. If the Aramites ſit ſtill, it is but till they be fully ready for an aſſault; Time will ſhew that their ceſſation was onelyonly for their aduantage; neither is it otherwiſe with our ſpirituall aduerſaries, ſometimes their onſets are intermitted; they tempt not alwaies, they alwaies hate vsus: their forbearance is not out of fauour, but attendance of opportunity; happy are we, if out of a ſuſpicion of their ſilence, wee can as buſily prepare for their reſiſtance, as they doe for our impugnation.
As it is a ſhame to be beaten, ſo yet the ſhame is leſſe, by how much the victor is greater; to mitigate the griefe, and indignation of Benhadads foile, his paraſites aſcribe it to gods, not to men; an humane power could no more hauehave vanquiſh't him than a diuine power could by him be reſiſted; Their gods are gods of the hills; Ignorant Syrians, that name gods, and confine them; varying their deities according to ſituations; They ſaw that Samaria (whence they were repelled) ſtood vponupon the hill of Shemer: They ſaw the temple of Ieruſalem ſtood vponupon mount Sion; they knew it vſuall with the Iſraelites to ſacrifice in their high places, & perhaps they had heard of Eliahs altar, vponupon mount Carmel; and now they ſottiſhly meaſure the effects of the power, by the place of the worſhip; as if hee that was omnipotent on the hill, were impotent in the Vally; What doltiſh conceits doth blinde Paganiſme frame to it ſelfe of a God-head? As they hauehave many gods, ſo finite; eueryevery region, eueryevery hill, eueryevery dale, eueryevery ſtreame hath their ſeuerall gods, and each ſo knowes his owne bounds, that he dares not offer to incroach vponupon the other; or, if he doe, abuyes it with loſſe: Who would thinke that ſo groſſe blockiſhneſſe ſhould finde harbour in a reaſonable ſoule? A man doth not alter with his ſtation; Hee that wreſtled ſtrongly vponupon the hill, loſeth not his force in the plaine; all places finde him alike actiue, alike valorous; yet theſe barbarous Aramites ſhame not to imagine that of God, which they would bluſh to affirme of their owne champions. Superſtition infatuates the heart out of meaſure; neither is there any fancie ſo abſurd or monſtrous, which credulous infidelity is not ready to intertaine with applauſe.
In how high ſcorne doth God take it to be thus baſely vnderunder-valued by rude heathen? This very miſ-opinion concerning the God of Iſrael ſhall coſt the Syrians a ſhamefull, and perfect deſtruction; They may call a Counſell of warre, and lay their heads together, and change their Kings into Captaines, and their hills into valleys, but they ſhall finde more graues in the plaines, than in the mountaines; This very meſ-priſon of God ſhall make Ahab (though hee were more lewd) victorious; An hundred thouſand Syrians ſhall fall in one day, by thoſe few hands of Iſrael; And a dead wall in Aphek (to whoſe ſhelter they fled) ſhall reuenge God vponupon the reſt that remained; The ſtones in the wall ſhall rather turne executioners, than a blaſphemous Aramite ſhall eſcape vnreuenged. So much doth the iealous God hate to bee robb'd of his glory, euen by ignorant Pagans, whoſe tongue might ſeeme no ſlander. That proud head of Benhadad, that ſpoke ſuch big words of the duſt of Iſrael, and ſwore by his gods, that he would kill and conquer, is now glad to hide it ſelfe in a blinde hole of Aphek; and now in ſtead of queſtioning the power of the God of Iſrael, is glad to heare of the mercy of the Kings of Iſrael; Behold, now, we hauehave heard that the Kings of the houſe of Iſrael are mercifull Kings; Let vsus, I pray thee, put ſackcloth on our loines, and ropes on our heads, and goe out to the King of Iſrael, peraduenture he will ſaue thy life.
There can be no more powerfull attractiue of humble ſubmiſſion, than the intimation and conceit of mercy; We doe at once feare, and hate the inexorable; This is it, O Lord, that allures vsus to thy throne of grace, the knowledge of the grace of that throne; with thee is mercy and plenteous redemption; thine hand is open before our mouthes, before our hearts; If we did not ſee thee ſmile vponupon ſuiters, we durſt not preſſe to thy footſtoole; Behold now we know that the King of heauen, the God of Iſrael, is a mercifull God; Let vsus put ſackcloth vponupon our loynes, and ſtrew aſhes vponupon our heads, and goe meet the Lord God of Iſrael, that he may ſaue our ſoules.
How well doth this habit become inſolent, and blaſphemous Benhadad and his followers? a rope, and ſackcloth? A rope for a crowne, ſackcloth for a robe; Neither is there leſſe change in the tongue, Thy ſeruant Benhadad ſaith, I pray thee let me liue; Euen now the King of Iſrael ſaid to Benhadad, My Lord, ô King, I am thine; Tell my Lord the King, all that thou didſt ſend for to thy ſeruant, I will doe: Now, Benhadad ſends to the King of Iſrael, Thy ſeruant Benhadad ſaith, I pray thee let me liue: Hee that was erewhile a Lord and King, is now a ſeruant; and hee that was a ſeruant to the King of Syria, is now his Lord: he that would blow away all Iſrael in duſt, is now glad to beg for his owne life at the doore of a deſpiſed enemie; No courage is ſo haughty, which the God of hoaſts cannot eaſily bring vnderunder; What are men or Deuils in thoſe almighty hands?
The greater the deiection was, the ſtronger was the motiue of commiſeration; That halter pleaded for life; and that plea for but a life, ſtirred the bowels, for fauour; How readily did Ahab ſee in Benhadads ſudden miſery the image of the inſtability of all humane things? and relents at the view of ſo deepe and paſſionate a ſubmiſſion. Had not Benhadad ſaid, Thy ſeruant, Ahab had neuer ſaid, My brother; ſeldome euer was there loſſe in humility; How much leſſe can we feare diſparagement, in the annihilating of our ſelues, before that infinite Maieſtie?
The drowning man ſnatches at eueryevery twig; It is no maruell if the meſſengers of Benhadad catch haſtily at that ſtile of grace, and hold it faſt, Thy brother Benhadad; Fauours are wont to draw on each other; Kindneſſes breed on themſelues; neither need we any other perſwaſion to beneficence, than from our owne acts. Ahab cals for the King of Syria; ſets him in his owne charet; treats with him of an eaſie (yet firme) league, giues him both his life, and his Kingdome. Neither is the crowne of Syria ſooner loſt, than recouered; OnelyOnly he that came a free Prince, returnes tributarie: OnelyOnly his traine is clip't too ſhort for his wings; an hundred twentie ſeuen thouſand Syrians are abated of his Guard, homeward. Blaſphemy hath eſcaped too well, Ahab hath at once peace with Benhadad, warre with God; God proclaimes it by his Herald, one of the ſonnes of the Prophets; not yet in his owne forme, but diſguiſed, both in faſhion and complaint; It was a ſtrange ſuit of a Prophet, Smite me I pray thee; Many a Prophet was ſmitten, and would not; neuer any but this wiſhed to be ſmitten; The reſt of his fellowes were glad to ſay, Saue me; this onelyonly ſaies, Smite me; His honeſt neighbour, out of louelove and reuerence, forbeares to ſtrike; There are too many (thinkes hee) that ſmite the Prophets, though I refraine; What wrong haſt thou done that I ſhould repay with blowes? Hadſt thou ſued for a fauour, I could not hauehave denied thee; now thou ſueſt for thine hurt, the deniall is a fauour; Thus hee thought; but Charitie cannot excuſe diſobedience; Had the man of God called for blowes, (vponupon his owne head) the refuſall had beene iuſt and thanke-worthy; but now that he ſayes, In the word of the Lord, Smite me, this kindneſſe is deadly: Becauſe thou haſt not obeyed the voyce of the Lord, behold, aſſoone as thou art departed from me a Lyon ſhall ſlay thee; It is not for vsus to examine the charges of the Almighty; Be they neuer ſo harſh, or improbable, (if they be once knowne for his) there is no way but obedience, or death. Not to ſmite a Prophet, when God commands, is no leſſe ſinne, than to ſmite a Prophet, when God forbids; It is the diuine precept or prohibition, that either makes or aggrauates an euill; And if the Iſraelite bee thus reuenged, that ſmote not a Prophet, what ſhall become of Ahab that ſmote not Benhadad? EueryEvery man is not thus indulgent; an eaſie requeſt wil gaine blowes to a Prophet from the next hand; yea, and a wound in ſmiting. I know not whether it were an harder taske for the Prophet to require a wound, than for a well-meaning Iſraelite to giuegive it; Both muſt be done; The Prophet hath what he would, what he muſt will, a ſight of his owne bloud; and now diſguiſed herewith, and with aſhes vponupon his face, he waylayes the King of Iſrael, and ſadly complaines of himſelfe in a reall parable, for diſmiſſing a Syrian priſoner deliuered to his hands, vponupon no leſſe charge than his life; and ſoone receiues ſentence of death, from his owne mouth; Well was that wound beſtowed that ſtruck Ahabs ſoule through the fleſh of the Prophet; The diſguiſe is remoued; The King ſees not a Souldier, but a Seer; and now finds that he hath vnawares paſſed ſentence vponupon himſelfe. There needs no other doome than from the lips of the offender: Thus ſaith the Lord, Becauſe thou haſt let goe out of thy hand, a man whom I appointed to vtter deſtruction, therefore thy life ſhall goe for his life, and thy people for his people: Had not Ahab knowne the will of God concerning Benhadad, that had been mercy to an enemy, which was now crueltie to himſelfe, to Iſrael: His cares had heard of the blaſphemies of that wicked tongue: His eies had ſeene God goe before him, in the example of that reuenge, No Prince can ſtrike ſo deepe into his ſtate, as in not ſtriking; In priuate fauour there may be publike vnmercifulneſſe.