God helps Ahab’s Army against Ben-hadad

Ben-hadad, King of Aram, assembled his entire army and joined with 32 other kings to conquer Samaria (Israel). He sent messengers into the city to tell King Ahab that he was taking all his silver, god, wives, and children.

Ahab conceded easily. (Was this a sign of weakness or humility/turning the other cheek?)

But then the messengers came back and added that the following day, Ben-hadad’s servants would be searching Ahab’s house AND his servants’ homes. Literally everything would be taken.

With that, Ahab conferred with the elders and they were NOT down with that. They advised him to deny those terms. (Because now their stuff was at risk too?)

So Ahab told Ben-hadad’s messengers that he’d agreed to the first terms, but now he had to put his foot down. And the messengers went back to Ben-hadad.

Ben-hadad sent a third message, (damning himself as Jezebel had) saying “may the Gods deal with me severely if there’s even dust left of Samaria.” (Why was Ben-hadad so bent on overtaking Israel?)

Ahab retorted, chastising him for talking like the battle was already won.

Ben-hadad and his other king friends were drinking in tents when they received that message and got fired up and ready to fight.

A prophet approached Ahab and told him that he would win the battle, and with that he would know that the Lord was real. (did this take place before the drought and prophet man-hunt? Was this a prophet Obadiah saved? Did new prophets rise up after the competition on Mt Carmel?)

Ahab asked for details. Like how the battle would be won. The prophet said, ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’ And who would start the battle? Ahab himself.

So Ahab assembled his army. (Coincidentally, the Israelite troops numbered 7,000. Were these the same 7,000 as the Lord had told Elijah were still loyal to Him?)

While Ben-Hadad and the other kings were still getting drunk at noon, Ahab’s army marched out with those young junior officers going first. Ben-hadad had scouts who alerted him that men were marching out of Samaria.

Ben-hadad’s orders were to take the men alive–whether they had marched out peacefully or to fight. (Why wouldn’t he want to kill them if he was just after all the goods of Israel?–especially since he was drunk.)

Ahab’s young officers with the army behind them took out their opponents, Ben-hadad and his army fled.

Then Ahab himself marched out and finished up, attacking the enemies’ horses and chariots. Success!

Meanwhile Ben-hadad’s servants theorized and advised Ben. Saying Israel had won only because the hilly terrain gave their gods an advantage. They told Ben-hadad to get rid of his king friends and replace them with other officers; replace all the horses and chariots they’d lost, and next time take the battle to the plains. Ben-hadad approved the plan.

In the spring, Ben-hadad regrouped his army to fight against Israel–his large army covered the countryside. Ahab’s army also got ready to fight and marched out to meet them again–though their army was much smaller.

The man of god approached Ahab and told him that the Lord would allow him to win this battle too because Ben-hadad thought His power was limited to the mountains.(the same prophet as before? Does this battle take place before the drought–is this prophet/man of God Elijah???)

For 7 days, the armies just camped opposite each other, then on the 7th day, the battle begun and the Israelites took down a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day. (why were they just looking at each other for a week?)

The rest of Ben-hadad’s army fled into the city where a wall fell and killed 27,000 of them. Ben-hadad also fled and hid, but survived.

The remaining servants of Ben-hadad theorized and advised that they should surrender. They thought it would work because the Israelites were known to be merciful and fair.

So the servants went to Ahab with humility and begged on behalf of Ben-Hadad to spare his life. Ahab was surprised he was still alive and called him his brother. (why would he be happy and impressed by his enemy being alive? He seemed surprisingly merciful/lenient towards Elijah too.)

The servants of Ben-hadad were relieved by this and leaned into it. Ahab told them to go get him. So Ben-hadad came out and Ahab brought him up into his chariot to talk.

Ben-hadad proposed that he would restore the cities his father took from Ahab’s father, and Ahab could set up marketplaces in Damascus, like his father had done in Samaria. Ahab agreed, they made a treaty, and Ben-hadad got to leave. (why is that not a happy ending?)

Meanwhile, the word of the Lord (Jesus!) instructed a son of the prophets to tell his companion to strike him. But the man refused.

So as a response, the prophet said the disobedience would be punished by a deadly attack from a lion. And it did happen.

The prophet found another man and asked again. This one did it.

So the prophet disguised himself and waited on the road for King Ahab.

When Ahab passed by, he said that he’d been put in charge of a captive and told that if the captive got away then either he would die or owe a talent of silver. And the captive DID get away! Ahab thought the man was just telling on himself and said, “so it will be.”

But then the prophet removed his disguise and Ahab recognized him as one of the prophets. (WHEN DOES THIS STORY TAKE PLACE? Where are all these prophets coming from?)

And the prophet revealed that because Ahab had let Ben-hadad go, now his own life and people would be exchanged for Ben’s.

Angrily, King Ahab returned to Samaria. (is this story the reason why Jezebel started hunting down prophets? I would think this MUST be a prequel to the drought but the story begins in some translations as “now” or “about this time.” That implies that more prophets did raise up after Elijah’s success at Mt Carmel.)

After the competition

Ahab told Jezebel everything that happened, and Jezebel was pissed. She sent a messenger to Elijah, saying that what he had done to her prophets, she would do to him! But she damned herself by saying “may the gods deal with me severely if I don’t.”

Elijah was afraid and fled. He left his servant in Beersheba, then traveled a day into the wilderness. There, he sat under a tree and prayed for death. He told the Lord that he’s had enough, and that he was no better than his ancestors. (Who was Elijah’s servant–why didn’t he succeed him as prophet instead of Elisha? Why was Elijah discouraged?–so many people had seen Baal be defeated and there shouldn’t be any of those prophets left.)

Then he fell asleep. He was awoken “by an angel who touched him” and told him to eat. There was food and water left near his head, so he ate it and went back to sleep. (This sounds like a good way to spend my own time when I have money to leave water and food for sleeping homeless people.)

The second time, the “angel of the Lord” returned and touched him. Telling him to get up and eat or the journey would be too much for him.

So he got up then proceeded to walk forty days and nights until he reached Horeb (Mt Sinai?)–the mountain of God.

There at the mountain, Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. The word of the Lord (Jesus!) asked him what he was doing there.

Elijah said that he’d been very zealous in serving the Lord but the rest of Israel had forsaken the Lord and now he was the only one left and his life was on the line. (Did he forget the results of the competition? He WON and decimated the false prophets. There were witnesses!)

Then the Lord (Jesus) told Elijah to go stand on the mountain, because the Lord (God) was going to pass by. Mighty wind tore into the mountain and battered the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. But after all that came a “still, small voice.”

When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his cloth and went to stand at the mouth of the cave. A voice came to him and asked him again why he was there. (At first I thought Elijah had been hesitating, but now I see he recognized WHEN the Lord, his God, had arrived. And that’s when he went out to meet Him.)

Elijah repeated himself. (The first time was to Jesus, the second time was to God Himself.)

Then the Lord told him to go back where he came from and go through the Desert of Damascus. Once there, anoint Hazael as the King of Aram; Jehu as King of Israel; and Elisha to succeed himself as prophet.

The Lord God said that Jehu will kill whoever escapes Hazael, and Elisha will kill whoever escapes Jehu.

And also, Elijah was wrong. There were still 7,000 in Israel who had not forsaken Him.

After receiving his orders, Elijah left and found Elisha. Elisha was plowing with TWELVE teams of oxen (and was in the 12th team). Elijah passed by him and literally passed his mantle onto him by putting his cloak around Elisha’s shoulders. (12 like the tribes of Israel.)

Immediately, Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah, asking for permission to kiss his parents goodbye before he followed Elijah. Elijah replied, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” (How did Elijah feel about bringing Elisha into this life of being a prophet?)

Elisha turned back, took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them, cooked the meat, passed it around for people to eat, then set out to follow Elijah. (A last supper? Did Elisha ever return home?)

Fire Competition of the gods: the God of Israel vs Baal

After the 3rd year of drought, the time came where God’s word (Jesus!) told Elijah that the country was about to receive rain, so he should go ahead and approach King Ahab again. (Why did it take 3 years of drought?)

Although Ahab and Jezebel were Baal-worshippers, they had Obadiah in charge of the palace–he was loyal to the God of Israel. When Jezebel was trying to kill all the prophets of God, Obadiah had hidden a hundred of them in caves, and he gave them food and water to save them. (Where were the 100 he saved now? Did they survive and were still in hiding?)

King Ahab and Obadiah split up, searching the country to find grass to keep their horses and mules alive.

On Obadiah’s route, he came across Elijah and was shocked. He fell to his knees, bowing, and questioned if it was really him. (It was probably better that Elijah ran into Obadiah first, Ahab might have been so excited that he’d have killed Elijah on sight.)

Elijah confirmed it was really him, and told Obadiah to let Ahab know he’d seen him.

But Obadiah didn’t want to. He said that Ahab had been looking for him and if he told Ahab Elijah was HERE, Obadiah would be killed! And he didn’t want or deserve those problems after his life of being devout to God. He thought as soon as he told Ahab, God would move Elijah to save his life.

But Elijah promised, “as surely as God of the Angel Armies lives,” he would meet Ahab face-to-face. So Obadiah went and told Ahab, and Ahab set out to meet Elijah. (Why didn’t Elijah just go WITH Obadiah? Was he preparing something for the competition?)

Ahab greeted Elijah as the “troubler of Israel.” (Ahab probably didn’t kill Elijah on sight because he did believe that Elijah had some power to end the drought. Why else would Ahab have called Elijah a troublemaker if he didn’t blame him for the drought–did Elijah do anything besides hang out with the ravens, and the widow and her son over those 3-3.5 years?)

Elijah denied being a troublemaker, he said that it was Ahab himself and Jezebel who brought trouble upon the land by denying God and His commands and following Baal. Elijah challenged Ahab, telling him to gather all of Israel at Mount Carmel–including all of the local prophets of Baal and Asherah. (Mount Carmel was the same place where Moses had talked to God and received the commandments.)

Ahab did so.

Elijah challenged all the people, telling them it was time to make a choice between following God and Baal. But no one responded.

Elijah went on to say he was the ONLY prophet of God left in Israel but Baal had 450 prophets. So he proposed a competition of sorts where the Baals get two bulls/oxen; they pick the one they want, cut it up and put it on wood. He gets the other, prepares it and puts it on wood, and NEITHER side ignites it. They each pray to their god and the god that responds and ignites the bull/ox is the true god. Now, all the people agreed to these terms and found it to be a good plan. (Notice: consistent between translations, it doesn’t say they are to do the same thing to the bulls. Most say the Baals will cut it into pieces, and Elijah will prepare it. Most translations don’t even say that he will cut them into pieces. This reminds me of the challenge between Jacob and Laban where STRATEGY came into play.)

Elijah told the Baals to go first. They could prepare their ox, pray, but not set it on fire.

They took their ox and prepared it for the altar. Then they prayed to Baal all morning long, but nothing happened. They started getting desperate and dancing around the altar they’d built.

By noon, nothing had happened and Elijah started taunting them. They got MORE desperate and started yelling louder and cutting themselves, hoping blood sacrifice would give some result. (Baal worshippers prayed in a different way than followers of God, and they were doing things that perhaps wouldn’t practically help a fire start.)

They tried every religious trick they knew, but nothing happened.

Eventually, Elijah said it was his turn. He repaired the altar for God, gathered 12 stones–one for each tribe of Jacob. He built the stones into the altar in honor of God. Then dug a trench around the altar. Laid wood, cut up the ox, then drenched the ox and firewood until the alter and the trench was filled with water. (The use of stones and trenches shows that he is taking a different approach–like he is using some knowledge of how to build a firepit. But the water seems counterproductive. Since he wasn’t the one to gather the water, I can’t claim it was actually gasoline, but how might drenching everything be beneficial to starting a fire? And does the time of day [it was evening when his turn came] impact flammability?)

Elijah prayed to God, and immediately the fire of God burned up the offering–even the water in the trench. (If the water gave no secret advantage to the fire starting, then it was just an added flex–pure miracle that couldn’t be replicated without God.)

All the people saw it happen and conceded that Elijah won and his God WAS the true God.

With his success, Elijah demanded that all the Baal prophets be grabbed and brought to Kishon Valley where they were slaughtered.

Elijah told Ahab to start celebrating because the rain was going to come now. Surprisingly, Ahab did so. He ate and drank while Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and prayed. He told his servant to keep a lookout off to the sea. Seven times if necessary. (What is the significance of 7? Ahab was the king, he must have really believed in Elijah and God if he did not refuse the execution of his prophets and put Elijah to death instead.)

Eventually, the servant did see a small hand-sized cloud coming towards them. With that, Elijah knew it was successful and he sent word to Ahab to hurry up and get down from the mountain before the rain stopped him. (Why did Elijah seek to save Ahab instead of letting him get stuck on the mountain?)

Quickly, the sky grew dark and the rain started pouring with Ahab on his chariot heading back to Jezreel and Elijah running AHEAD of the chariot.

A Wild ELIJAH Appears

He confronts his enemy King Ahab and says that there will be a drought in the land for as long as he says so. NO RAIN, NO DEW. (He didn’t CAUSE the drought, but he knew there would be one and foretold he’d know when God would end it. Because droughts followed a pattern? When groups of people get too wicked, a drought comes [reverse but equal of Noah’s flood]. But does that pattern say when droughts will end?)

Then “the WORD of Lord” (Jesus!) via a revelation told Elijah to get out of there and go hang out where he has commanded ravens to feed him and give him water. (Revelations seem to be notions/ideas/knowledge that come specifically from the Lord.)

He obeyed this word and sure enough, while the drought took place, he was able to drink from the brook and eat what the ravens brought every morning and evening (In a practical sense, he was stealing from ravens’ nests, right?)

When the brook dried up, the WORD of the LORD (revelation from Jesus) told him to go to Sidon where a widow would feed him. (Are widows more likely to help someone in need?)

So he obeyed the Word and went to Sidon. There he saw a woman gathering firewood. She was a widow. He asked her for water, and then for food. She swore by the Lord, his God, that she didn’t have any. Thanks to the drought, she was down to her last bit of flour and oil. It was going to be the last meal of her and her son. (Was it possible that she was lying? Why did she not pledge allegiance to God in her assertion? Did she worship Baal or Asherah?)

Elijah told her not to worry about it. If she feeds him, he declared, “this is the Word of the Lord” : her grain and oil would not go empty before the Lord ends the drought. (This seems to be a declaration–which tells me that when a revelation leads a prophet somewhere, they are allowed to make declarations in the Lord’s name when it will allow them to fulfill their assignment.)

And a miraculously just as he said it, it happened! The little bit of oil and flour she had didn’t go empty and they were eating for days beyond what she’d thought. (but was he there for the full three years? Did the oil and flour regenerate even after he left Sidon? Was there a practical explanation behind the miracle?)

But then her son got sick and stopped breathing. The widow got mad at Elijah and yelled that he, as a man of God, had come there to remind her of her sin and kill her son. (What sin is she talking about??? Was she the cause of her husband’s death or son’s illness, did she lie about how much she had left of flour and oil? Or was she one of the one’s who was worshipping Baal, causing the drought to occur?)

Elijah carried the son, laid him down, and cried out to the Lord for letting the son of the woman who had let him into her house die. Then he prayed with all his might, tried something, and it resulted in a miracle where the son came back to life and breathed again. (Sounds a lot like CPR. Prayer + Emergency response knowledge = miracle!)

The woman was happy and acknowledged Elijah, saying that when he speaks, so does the Lord. He speaks truth. (GOOD fruit = good words come true and presence saves lives, not brings sorrow.)

PT 1: research: https://ogressheroine.com/2025/03/20/z-s-v-god-elisha/

Intro video:

A Just God and an Imperfect Prophet: Rethinking Elisha’s Curse

1. Who Were These “Boys”?

The Hebrew word used for “young boys” (na’arim qetannim) does not strictly mean small children. This term is also used in the Bible to describe young men, including servants and soldiers. https://youtu.be/R5bOAxvXdnk?si=2ROA3_Xy1qKxVVIp (timestamp 0:46)

Given that Elisha was traveling alone in a hostile region where his mentor Elijah had been a fugitive, it’s more likely that this was a mob of aggressive young men rather than innocent children.

2. Was This Just Name-Calling?

If this were merely about a few kids teasing an old man, Elisha’s response would indeed seem excessive. However, consider the context:

• Elijah had just been taken up to heaven, and many people, including admirers of Elijah were skeptical or outright hostile toward Elisha.
• There was political and religious tension, as many in Israel followed Baal worship under the influence of Queen Jezebel, who had been hunting prophets like Elijah.
• The phrase “Go up, baldhead!” wasn’t just an insult—it was likely a mocking challenge, taunting Elisha about Elijah’s disappearance or even telling him to leave town.

This was more than name-calling; it was a public rejection of Elisha’s authority as a prophet. If this group was aggressive and threatening, the situation was much closer to an attempted lynching than childish teasing.

3. Did God Approve of Elisha’s Reaction?

This is the hardest question. Did Elisha act justly? Or did he overreact?

Elisha was newly appointed and still learning how to wield his prophetic power. We see throughout the Bible that prophets, despite being chosen by God, remain human. Moses lost his temper and broke the first tablet of commandments. Jonah fled from God’s command to warn a wicked city to change their ways. Simon Peter denied Jesus three times. The Bible never portrays its chosen leaders as flawless.

Elisha cursed them, but the Bible does not say he commanded the bears. It says that after his curse, the bears came.

Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. (2 Kings 2:24)

This could have been divine intervention, but the key point is: the text does not say that God sanctioned Elisha’s specific reaction—only that it happened. Israel was in need of prophets and Elisha was the best option available, Elisha’s last request of Elijah was a “double portion of his power,” so if he cried out to the Lord to save him, that request wasn’t going to be ignored and it’s not surprising that the result seemed extreme. However…

4. Did the Young Men Die?

The passage states that the bears “mauled” 42 of them. It does not say they were killed. The Hebrew word used here does not necessarily mean fatal wounds, only that they were attacked. If they had died, the text would likely have said so explicitly, as it does in other biblical accounts of divine judgment. If God wanted them to die, they probably would have. But instead they were extremely incapacitated so Elisha could get away.

5. Is God Guilty for Giving Elisha Power?

You argue that if Elisha used excessive force, then God is responsible for allowing him to have that power in the first place. But consider this:

• God gives free will to those He calls. He does not micromanage every action of His prophets.
  • Even IF you train your employee to handle conflicts a certain way, there’s no guarentee they will do it how you want them to.
• If God waited for a perfect person to become a prophet, there would be none.
  • During the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, Angels of the Lord were wise enough to be able to just temporarily blind wicked people so they could escape. But Elisha was no Angel of the Lord, he was just an eager farmer new to prophetic power.
• The Bible shows that God allows people to grow in wisdom and maturity over time. Elisha later demonstrates more controlled and compassionate uses of his power.

God does not condone every action of His servants. Rather, He allows them to make mistakes and learn—just as He allows us to do the same.

Conclusion: A Different Perspective

I don’t ask you to ignore your concerns, but I encourage you to reconsider the story with this added context. Rather than viewing this as an act of divine cruelty, it may be better understood as:

• A confrontation with a hostile group, not small children joking around.
• A reaction from an inexperienced prophet, not a divinely commanded execution.
• A situation where the text does not explicitly state that God approved of Elisha’s response.
• A result that was not explicitly deadly.

If this were a courtroom case, the evidence would not prove that God is unjust or guilty—it would show that humans, even prophets, sometimes act rashly. And yet, God continues to work through them, just as He works through us.