2 Chronicles 13:1-22

3. THE REIGN OF ABIJAH. (Chapter 13)

TEXT

2 Chronicles 13:1. In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. 2. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3. And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor. 4. And Abijah stood up upon Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel: 5. Ought ye not to know that Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 6. Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord. 7. And there were gathered unto him worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. 8. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods. 9. Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. 10. But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering unto Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work: 11. and they burn unto Jehovah every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense: the showbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him. 12. And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

13. But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. 14. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried unto Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 15. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16. And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand. 17. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. 18. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers. 19. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jashanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns thereof. 20. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again the days of Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died. 21. But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. 22. And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.

PARAPHRASE

2 Chronicles 13:1. Abijah became the new king of Judah, in Jerusalem, in the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel. He lasted three years. His mother's name was Micaiah (daughter of Uriel of Gibeah). Early in his reign war broke out between Judah and Israel. 3. Judah, led by King Abijah, fielded 400,000 seasoned warriors against twice as many Israeli troops-strong, courageous men led by King Jeroboam. 4. When the army of Judah arrived at Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, King Abijah shouted to King Jeroboam and the Israeli army: 5. Listen! Don-'t you realize that the Lord God of Israel swore that David's descendants would always be the kings of Israel; 6. Your King Jeroboam is a mere servant of David's son, and was a traitor to his master. 7. Then a whole gang of worthless rebels joined him, defying Solomon's son Rehoboam, for he was young and frightened and couldn-'t stand up to them. 8. Do you really think you can defeat the kingdom of the Lord that is led by a descendant of David? Your army is twice as large as mine, but you are cursed with those gold calves you have with you, that Jeroboam made for youhe calls them your gods! 9. And you have driven away the priests of the Lord and the Levites, and have appointed heathen priests instead. Just like the people of other lands, you accept as priests anybody who comes along with a young bullock and seven rams for consecration. Anyone at all can be a priest of these no-gods of yours! 10. But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken him. Only the descendants of Aaron are our priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work. 11. They burn sacrifices to the Lord every morning and eveningburnt offerings and sweet incense; and they place the Bread of the Presence upon the holy table. The golden lampstand is lighted every night, for we are careful to follow the instructions of the Lord our God; but you have forsaken him. 12. So you see, God is with us; he is our Leader. His priests, trumpeting as they go, will lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed!

13, 14. Meanwhile, Jeroboam had secretly sent part of his army around behind the men of Judah to ambush them; so Judah was surrounded, with the enemy before and behind them. Then they cried out to the Lord for mercy, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15, 1.6. The men of Judah began to shout. And as they shouted, God used King Abijah and the men of Judah to turn the tide of battle against King Jeroboam and the army of Israel, 17. and they slaughtered 500,000 elite troops of Israel that day. 18, 19. So Judah, depending upon the Lord God of their fathers, defeated Israel, and chased King Jeroboam's troops, and captured some of his citiesBethel, Jeshanah, Ephron, and their suburbs. 20. King Jeroboam of Israel never regained his power during Abijah's lifetime, and eventually the Lord struck him and he died. 21. Meanwhile, King Abijah of Judah became very strong. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22. His complete biography and speeches are recorded in the prophet Iddo's History of Judah.

COMMENTARY

1 Kings 15:1-8 records the brief reign of Abijah emphasizing his military conflict with Jeroboam, king of Israel. Twenty two verses in II Chronicles, chapter thirteen, give attention to Abijah's life and times. Jeroboam's reign continued through twenty two years. Three kings were to reign in Judah in Jeroboam's time. There were Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa. Late in Jeroboam's reign (the 18th year) Abijah began his reign in the sister kingdom. 2 Chronicles 11:22 names Maacah as Abijah's mother. Here his mother is named Micaiah. Uriel of Gibeah may be identified as the husband of Tamar, Absalom's daughter. Absalom was grandfather of Abijah's mother.

The reasons for military conflict between Judah and Israel are not carefully traced in this record. Jeroboam was determined to guard his position as king and to prevent any effort to unify the two kingdoms. He may have attempted to enlarge his territory and move into areas occupied by the southern kingdom. Abijah was concerned to maintain his position in Judah and he had the assurance that from a religious viewpoint his military involvement was justified. Jeroboam drew up an army of eight hundred thousand men. Abijah countered the move by drawing up an army of four hundred thousand men. In the reign between Bethel and the Jordan river in the mountains of Ephraim at a place called Mount Zemaraim Abijah made a dramatic plea to Jeroboam and the representatives of the northern kingdom. Apparently he asked to be heard not because Judah was outnumbered, but because there were deep national and religious ties which civil strife would violate.

Jehovah's promise to David (2 Samuel 7) was a basic consideration. A covenant of salt was one that could not be broken. Certainly, Jehovah would never break such a pact. Abijah reminded Jeroboam that he was a servant to Solomon, yet he had dared to try to take Solomon's throne. The king of Judah charged the king of Israel with folly in that he had gathered around him men who were empty headed and wicked. Abijah excused his father, Rehoboam, as being young and inexperienced in matters of government. Rehoboam was forty one years of age when he became king and he did not demonstrate gentleness in his dealings with the people at Shechem. Abijah was deeply concerned that Jeroboam would not recognize the sanctity of the Davidic line. You withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David. (2 Chronicles 13:8)

As if he were a prophet, Abijah, called attention to Israel's golden calves and to the general disregard for the priests and Levites. Like Elijah on Mount Carmel, Abijah affirmed Judah's confidence in Jehovah. He reminded Jeroboam and the Israelites that the priests and Levites were serving in Judah by divine appointment and with government approval. All of the regular services were being observed in the Temple. The burning of the incense, the morning and evening sacrifices, the showbread (twelve loavesall Israel) regularly placed on the table designed for this purpose, the golden candlesticks lighted every evening constituted Abijah's proof that Judah had not forsaken Jehovah. In righteous wrath Judah's king leveled this charge at the northern kingdombut ye have forsaken Him (Jehovah) (2 Chronicles 13:11). If there was to be civil war, Abijah said it would be a holy war. The trumpets of alarm may well have been the silver trumpets appointed to the priests at Sinai (Numbers 10:1). If Jeroboam dared to go to war under these conditions, he was warned that he would be fighting against Jehovah.

In spite of his eloquent appeal and of the basic spiritual considerations, Jeroboam lost no time in joining the battle. Probably while Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam planned the strategy of the attack. While Judah's attention was diverted, a large division of Israel's soldiers moved behind Abijah's army to set an ambush. Caught between the ranks of the enemy, all that Judah could do was to call upon Jehovah for help and then proceed to attack. The sounding of the trumpets and the soldiers-' shouts remind us of the overthrow of Jericho (Joshua 6). Miraculously Jehovah gave Abijah and Judah a great military victory. Israel lost five hundred thousand warriors (2 Chronicles 13:17). Admittedly, this was a very large number, but this is the record. On one occasion Shennacherib, king of Assyria, lost one hundred eighty five thousand warriors in one night (2 Kings 19:35). There is no estimate as to how many Egyptian soldiers perished in the trap of the Red Sea when Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt. This was a serious defeat for Jeroboam. Not long after this event his reign ended in shame with Abijah's prediction of the extinction of Jeroboam's house. Certain villages in Ephraim were annexed to the southern kingdom. Abijah's accomplishments were attributed to his reliance on Jehovah. Jeroboam's death resulted from his having been smitten by Jehovah. Even though Abijah had made his impassioned speech on Mount Zemaraim, he was not careful to follow Jehovah in every matter. Fourteen wives, twenty two sons, and sixteen daughters composed his household. The prophet, Iddo, wrote an account of Abijah's life and times.