'And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in
Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the
king of Syria?'--1 KINGS xxii. 3.
This city of Ramoth in Gilead was an important fortified place on the
eastern side of the Jordan, and had, many years before the date of our
text, been captured by its northern neighbours in the kingdom of Syria.
A treaty had subsequently been concluded and broken a war followed
thereafter, in which Ben-hadad, King of Syria, had bound himself to
restore all his conquests. He had not observed that article of peace,
and the people of Israel had not been strong enough to enforce it until
the date of our text; but then, backed up by a powerful alliance with
Jehoshaphat of Judah, they determined to make a dash to get back what
was theirs, but whilst theirs was also not theirs.
Now, I have nothing more to do with Ahab and Jehoshaphat, but I wish to
turn the words of my test, and the thoughts that may come from them,
into a direction profitable to ourselves. 'Know ye that Ramoth in
Gilead is ours?' and yet it had to be got out of the hands of the King
of Syria.