1 Kings 20:22

22 Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now - build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force."

1 Kings 20:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:22

And the prophet came to the king of Israel
The same that came to him before:

and said unto him, go, strengthen thyself;
exhorted him to fortify his cities, especially Samaria, and increase his army, that he might be able to oppose the king of Syria:

and mark, and see what thou doest:
observe his moral and religious actions, and take heed that he did not offend the Lord by them, as well as make military preparations:

for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against
thee;
about the same time in the next year, at the spring of the year, when kings go out to war, see ( 2 Samuel 11:1 ) .

1 Kings 20:22 In-Context

20 They hit hard in hand-to-hand combat. The Arameans scattered from the field, with Israel hard on their heels. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram got away on horseback, along with his cavalry.

21 The king of Israel cut down both horses and chariots - an enormous defeat for Aram.

22 Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now - build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force."

23 Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains - we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage.

24 Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer.