I Kings 20

Meanwhile, back in the northern kingdom, an army from Damascus marches to Samaria probably with the intent to add the northern kingdom to its empire.

God has not given up on Ahab or the northern kingdom. God has recently raised the stakes with higher level miraculous events - a 3 year drought, fire from heaven at Mount Carmel, followed by a torrential rainstorm. The outcome was that the people killed 450 priests of Baal, which was a big step towards God.

Now a massive army comes to them. Will they rely on God? Will they turn to their idols? What will God do?

The Syrian army initially demands money and Ahab agrees. He did not consult God.

However, when they demand to go through his palace and plunder it, this is too much and he tells them off. He probably thought that was a thinly-veiled attempt to just kill Ahab and take the city without fighting.

A prophet steps forward and tells Ahab that God will deliver the city and defeat the army. This happens and then prophet tells Ahab to expect another invasion in a year. A second invasion follows and this time, the Syrian strategy is to fight in the plains because they think that God's power is limited to the mountains. They also replace the field commanders with professional soldiers and not the drunken kings of the first invasion.

Again the prophet tells Ahab that God will deliver the city. The Israelites win a second time. Ahab ends up sparing the Syrian king and calls him "my brother".

Afterwards, there is a strange interaction in which a prophet disguises himself as a wounded warrior and tells Ahab a story about how he lost a prisoner and now must either die or pay a fine. Ahab has no mercy on him. The prophet takes off the disguise and Ahab recognizes him. The prophet tells Ahab that because spared a person who God wanted to die, that Ahab will die in his place. Ahab goes away angry.

So, who is this unnamed prophet? I assume that Elijah and Elisha are walking around anointing people, so probably not them. My guess is that this prophet or prophets were some of the 100 prophets that were hidden by Obadiah. It also sounds like they are walking around freely.

So, who is the person Ahab was supposed to kill? Based on the context, I assume it was the king of Syria who he called "my brother". However, according to the text, God did not tell Ahab to kill the king of Syria. It might have been an implicit instruction given the context. Plus, God wanted Elijah to anoint Hazael as the next king in Damascus which would replace the guy that Ahab calls his brother. So, it is clear that God wants this guy wiped out, but it is not clear if Ahab was explicitly told to kill him.

It also shows Ahab's character as king. He is not a ruthless tyrant, which is good. But he likes to please people and is easily influenced, particularly by his peers. This character trait gets him in trouble in the next chapter.