Cadle’s Home Fellowship
STUDY GUIDE
Spotlight on Israeli
(Gen 12:3 & Ps 122:6)
Israel blocked the sale of the
“IronDome” to Ukraine in 2014
because it would compromise its
cooperation with Russia in Syria.
Israel is helping Ukraine with
medical supplies and generators.
Putins waring aggression in
Ukraine may cause many to think
he is the “Gog of Magog” of Ez
38:1-3. This passage illicit’s three
questions - who is Gog, where is
Magog, and when does the battle
begin?
One popular view is that Russia is
the land of Magog and they
initiate the Gog of Magog battle
against Israel. This notion results
from translating the use of the
Hebrew word - “Rosh” as a noun
and a place name. This is how the
NKJV, YLT, Darby, ASV, the
Septuagint and the Vulgate
translations use it. The Schofield
study bible also popularized this
notion amongst fundamentalist
Christians especially in the 70’s.
However, modern day
translations such as the ESV,
CSB, NET, NASB, NIV, RSV,
including the KJV do not use
“rosh” in this manner. The
common meaning of rosh is the
head of or chief, such as in the
feast of Rosh Hashanah. 78% of
translations (42 / 54) do not use
rosh in Ez 38:3.
Mar 11, 2022
1 Kings 20:1-12
King Ahab wars with the King of Syria,
Ben-hadad
The focus now shifts away from Elijah, back to King Ahab who
has an epic struggle against the waring power of Syria under King
Ben-hadad. King Hazael has not yet been ordained as King over
Syria, as this will be a future event as foretold by God to Elijah in
2 Kings.
In 1 Kings 15 we learn that Judah had a treaty with Syria to war
with the Northern Kingdom Israel to prevent them from
continued attacks against Judah. I believe that Jesus used this
infighting amongst the 12 tribes when he spoke these words,
“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided
household falls.” - Luke 11:17.
This treaty was established by King Asa who took all the gold
from the Temple and the palace and gave it to King Ben-hadad
for his cooperation. In keeping with this long standing
agreement, King Ben-hadad gathers all of his military forces plus
those of 32 other Kings and besieges Samaria, sending a message
to Ahab defining the terms of surrender. King Ahab, consistent
with his weak kneed character, immediately responds by
accepting the terms of surrender without consulting the Lord,
nor any of his court counsel. Ben-hadad senses his weakness and
gets greedy by trying to strengthen his terms of surrender. Only
then does Ahab call for the elders of Israel, advising him not to
accept these new terms. The elders and the people of Israel seem
to understand the gravity of the situation in which they will loose
the kingdom. On the other hand, Ahab seems to be only
concerned with saving his life, even if it means loosing the
kingdom. However, in a stunning reversal, Ahab refuses the new
terms and retorts to Ben-hadad that he should not count his
chickens before they are hatched by expecting a victory before it
is won. Ben-hadad is enraged and swears an oath, by his gods,
that he will have the victory. He sends a message back to King
Ahab saying, may the gods deal with me severely if there is
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Spotlight on Israeli
(Continued from Page 1)
According to the John MacArthur
Study Bible, rosh is used over 600
times as an adjective and disagrees
with the NKJV translation. This
common use of rosh would
translate Ez 38:3 as “Gog, chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal.”
Today, the vast majority of bible
scholars agree that Magog is not a
reference to Russia. Perhaps the
most preeminent Hebrew scholar
of today, Daniel Block puts Magog
in Turkey, referring to the region of
Lydia.
Additionally, every Bible Atlas that
I have seen, nine total, places
Magog in the landmass known to
have been Asian Minor which is
now Turkey. This coincides with
the locations of Meshech and Tubal
as also being in Turkey.
Joel’s Trumpet has a list of
Historians, Bible Scholars and
Bible Atlas references showing that
Magog is not Russia.
https://joelstrumpet.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/04/The-
Location-of-Magog-Meshech-and-
Tubal-1.pdf
Four reasons why this battle cannot
occur until the end of Daniel’s 70th
Week - Ez 39:7-8 … “And 1) my
holy name I will make known in
the midst of my people Israel, and
2) I will not let my holy name be
profaned anymore. And 3) the
nations shall know that I am the
Lord, the Holy One in Israel … 4)
That is the day of which I have
spoken.” - Day of the Lord.
Mar 11, 2022
enough sand left in Samaria for each of my men to carry a handful.
Interestingly, it is an oath to the lesser gods, such as Jezebel made
against Elijah, that prompts God to intervene in both situations.
1 Kings 20:13-15
God promises victory for Israel
God exercises his long-suffering, mercy and patience and turns his
wrath against the enemy’s of Israel because they have invoked the
foreign gods. God does use foreign nations to bring judgment
upon his own people for their disobedience, but he does so to
demonstrate his sovereign control over all the nations. However,
as he demonstrates in this situation, he will protect and defend his
people and territory when the foreign gods intervene against his
sovereign will. God is showing extraordinary mercy and favor on
his people despite their many years of idol worship.
God sends a prophet to Ahab promising him victory so that he
and the people will know the he is the God Most High. It’s
important to remember that Elijah and now Elisha are not the
only prophets still in the land. Obadiah was protecting 100
prophets of God in a cave. Perhaps it was one of these prophets
who stepped out from hiding to speak to Ahab despite knowing it
may be his death sentence. The message is received and Ahab asks
who is going to bring about the victory as it appears there is not
enough fighting power within the city (Samaria) to come against
the enormous Syrian army. The prophet answers with clarity and
precision that 232 servants of the district governors and 7,000 of
Israel will be led by Ahab in a victory that same day. We aren’t told
where the 7,000 of Israel come from but I suspect these may be
the same faithful that did not bow their knee to Baal. It’s hard not
to see the connection with the repentant at Mt. Carmel and the
faithful remnant in Israel and those that go out to do battle
against the enemy of Israel. It’s been estimated that the
population of Israel (10 Tribes), at this time, was approximately
450,000. This means that the faithful remnant was only 1.5% of
the total population at the time. Does this not remind you of
Jesus’ warning in Matt 7:13-14 - “Enter by the narrow gate. For the
gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those
who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is
hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
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1 Kings 20:16-25
King Ben-hadad is defeated
Obviously, the Syrian King had no idea what he was up against. He placed his confidence in himself and
the allied forces with him. In his arrogance and weakness of character, he was having a drunken party with
his allied buddies. In his over confidence he instructed his forces to take the men of Israel as prisoners,
not to be killed. This foolish tactic put the enemy forces at a disadvantage because they had to fight
conditionally and not with their full force and might. Their instructions were to take these men alive and
it proved to be their downfall. The Lord blessed Israel with success; completely taking the Syrians by
surprise and routing them into a full scale retreat. Even King Ahab joined in the slaughter coming out to
do battle and killing many Syrians. Although the enemy was driven back to Syria, they were not totally
destroyed. The prophet of God once again appears before King Ahab and advices him to strengthen his
forces, carefully and thoughtfully prepare, because the King of Syria will come again in the spring. So it
was, while King Ahab was advised by the prophet of God, King Ben-hadad got some advice from his own
council. He rebuilt the Syrian army, deposed the 32 kings, replaced them with military commanders, and
constructed a new battle plan according to some very faulty theology. The Syrians concluded they lost the
last battle because the God of Israel is a mountain god - reference Mt. Carmel. Therefore, if they take this
new battle to the plain of the field, they will be victorious. God’s purpose is to punish Syria for their grave
lack of spiritual understanding & discernment. God had already displayed his superiority over Baal at Mt.
Carmel and returning rain to the land, proving he was in total control of nature. The refusal to see the
obvious signs that God was sending to all - Israel, Phoenicia and Syria would result in judgment.

1 Kings 20:26-34
The Lord delivers Israel from King Ben-hadad once again
As foretold, the Syrian forces returned to Israel and encamped near a small coastal fortified town called
Aphek. Perhaps this site was chosen as it was the same location where the Philistines camped when they
fought Israel and captured the Ark of the Covenant - 1 Sam 4:1. Verse 26 indicates that the Syrian forces
“went up to Aphek” implying they crossed the Jordan opposite Jericho. This is the same location where
Joshua, Jacob, Elijah, and Elisha crossed.

Ben-hadad is seeking revenge from the last encounter and he amassed a huge army in comparison to the
Israelites who came to meet them nearby. The visual comparison of the two armies left no doubt that
Israel faced overwhelming odds against them. The Israelites appeared as goats because goats don’t herd in
large numbers as sheep. The prophet of the Lord once again appears before King Ahab and reassures him
of victory so that he will know that he is the Lord. The Lord continues to message to King Ahab that he
is Lord of all and that these are signs directed toward him to get him to realize it and repent. Seven days
follow before the battle begins. Can anyone else see that these seven days can be seen as a metaphor for a
seven thousand year timespan (2 Peter 3:8) for mankind to repent of its ways and turn to the God of
creation, salvation, and judgment?

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God operated through the vastly outnumbered Israeli army to bring judgment upon 100,000 Syrian
soldiers or 75% of the entire army. The remaining forces to include King Ben-hadad retreat into the
fortified city of Aphek and the city wall falls and kills the remaining 27,000. Ben-hadad and his servants
are trapped in an inner room and have no choice but to throw themselves at the mercy of the conquering
king. They humble themselves before King Ahab with sackcloth and tie a rope around their head. Perhaps
they expected the worst and prepared themselves to be dragged by their necks. In any case, King Ahab
responded to their attitude of submission with clemency. Ahab must have gotten a lot of attention with a
bit of pageantry calling Ben-hadad “his brother” and pulling him up into his chariot. This brotherly
affinity must be related to their common bond of idol worship. After-all, King Ahab is married to Jezebel
a Phoenician princess. Here we have a bit of a slap in the face to God and Elijah. Recall that Elijah was
not offered a ride in the kings chariot as they raced across the Jezreel Valley following the Mt. Carmel
miracle. In any event, it is clear that King Ahab’s mind is far from God. There is absolutely no indication
that Ahab makes any connection with this victory and what the prophet of God had promised. The scene
continues with Ben-hadad offering terms of surrender by returning cities to Israel and making a free trade
agreement by allowing Israeli’s to market their goods in Damascus. This was all well and good for King
Ahab and they formalize a treaty together. Instead of Ben-hadad being defeated he now gains his own
form of victory in the midst of a defeat brought about by the Lord. This is not just unwise judgment by
Ahab but a demonstration of his outright foolishness.