ESCAPED CAPTIVE

‘To whom much is given’: a son of the prophets, v. 35; a king, v. 13, both privileged in upbringing and position; promises, vv. 13, 14, 20; victory, vv. 27, 29, 30. ‘Much is required’: respon­sibility, v. 22; obedience, v. 36; good stewardship, v. 39.

A ‘companion’ JND margin, of one of the sons of the proph­ets disobeys the Lord and is killed, vv. 35, 36. The failure to smite parallels with what Ahab, king of Israel, ‘refused’ to do; so Ahab also is ‘sentenced’ to death for disobedience, v. 42.

Ahab spares the life of the Syrian king. The Lord instructs one of his prophets to speak to Ahab. In order to gain the ear of the king and make an impression upon him, the prophet imper­sonates a soldier; he asks a companion to wound him, vv. 35-37, and disguises himself ‘with a bandage over his eyes’, v. 38 NKJV. As Ahab approaches, he shouts out his ‘story’, vv. 39, 40. It is in effect a simple, succinct, parabolic illustration: the soldier was entrusted with a captive upon pain of death or a severe fine and the captive escapes; Ahab responds saying he must suffer the consequences and thus he condemns himself. He was entrusted with Benhadad and has let him go. He was ‘busy here and there’; in other words he was not clear minded and focused. He neither sought guidance from a prophet nor heeded scriptural prece­dents, such as the incident when Saul spared Agag and came under God’s judgement, 1 Sam. 15. 17-19. Indeed, he appears quite unprepared, despite the prophet’s message, v. 22. He acts as someone who appears to think he can do what he likes and perhaps sees himself as the victor, v. 28. In this he is similar to Saul who raised up a monument to himself after ‘his’ victory, 1 Sam. 15. 12 JND.

Ahab refers ‘magnanimously’ to Benhadad as ‘my brother’, vv. 32, 33. What foolish and irresponsible vanity! This is the man who had invaded Israel, intent upon humiliating the king and his people, and taking as booty the wives and children, vv. 1-6; who later instructs his army to make Ahab their prime target, 22. 31. Yet he refers to Elijah, God’s servant, as the ‘troubler of Israel’, 18. 17 NKJV, and ‘mine enemy’, 21. 20! God is not mocked, ‘Thy life shall go for his life’, v. 42.