13:1ffFirst Kings 15:3 says Abijah committed many sins, but the Chronicles account has only positive comments about him. For the most part, Abijah was, no doubt, a wicked king. The writer of Chronicles chose to highlight the little good he did in order to show that he was still under God's covenant promise to David. Because of Abijah’s fiery speech to Jeroboam (13:4-12), he was spared the immediate consequences of his sin.
Life Application Study Bible2 ChroniclesChapter 13
2 Chronicles 13
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 682, 683
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
132 Chronicles 13
Abijah’s War with Jeroboam
113 Abijah began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. 2He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah,* the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3Judah, led by King Abijah, fielded 400,000 select warriors, while Jeroboam mustered 800,000 select troops from Israel. 4when the army of Judah arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim and shouted to Jeroboam and all Israel: “Listen to me! 5Don’t you realize that the LORD, the God of Israel, made a lasting covenant* with David, giving him and his descendants the throne of Israel forever? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David’s son Solomon, rebelled against his master. 7Then a whole gang of scoundrels joined him, defying Solomon's son Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced and could not stand up to them. 8"Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the LORD that is led by the descendants of David? You may have a vast army, and you have those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods. 9But you have chased away the priests of the LORD (the descendants of Aaron)and the Levites, and you have appointed your own priests, just like the pagan nations. You let anyone become a priest these days! Whoever comes to be dedicated with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these so-called gods of yours! 10“But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Only the descendants of Aaron serve the LORD as priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work. 11They present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD every morning and evening. They place the Bread of the Presence on the holy table, and they light the gold lampstand every evening. We are following the instructions of.the LORD our God, but you have abandoned him. 12So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!” 13Meanwhile, Jeroboam had secretly sent part of his army around behind the men of Judah to ambush them. 15When Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the LORD for help. Then the priests blew the trumpets, ‘Sand the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel and routed them before Abijah and the army of Judah. 16The Israelite army fled from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah in defeat. 17Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel's select troops were killed that day. 18So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their ancestors. 9Abijah and his army pursued Jeroboam’s troops and captured some of his towns, including Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their surrounding villages. 20
Textual footnotes
- a variant spelling of Maacah.
- 13:2 As in most Greek manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 2 Chr 11:20-21; 1 Kgs 15:2); Hebrew reads Micaiah,
- 13:5 Hebrew a covenant of salt.
Life Application Notes 4 notes
13:8Jeroboam’s army was cursed because of the gold calves they carried with them.!t was as though they had put sin into a physical form so they could haul it around. Consider carefully the things you cherish. If you value anything more than God, it becomes your gold calf and will one day drag you down. Let go of anything that interferes with your relationship with God.
13:9Abijah criticized Jeroboam’s low standards in appointing priests. Anyone is qualified to represent a god that is worthless. To represent the LORD God Almighty, however, a person must live by God's standards. Those appointed to positions of responsibility in your church should not be selected merely because they volunteer, are influential, or are highly educated. Instead, they should demonstrate sound doctrine, dedication to God, and strong spiritual character (see 1 Timothy 3).
13:18,19Although outnumbered by Israel, Judah won this conflict by depending on God's help. Some kings in Judah’s history focused on God, but not one Israelite king consistently followed God—all followed Jeroboam’s idolatry or served Baal. As a result, Israel experienced God’s punishment many years before Judah did. Judah had an advantage: The Temple, with its sacrifices and the loyal priests and prophets, was in the southern kingdom. Many of Judah’s kings were good, at feast for parts of their reigns. Whenever an idolatrous king reigned, his rule was later followed by that of a God-honoring king who reformed religious life. Also, the idolatrous kings usually served for a much shorter time than the good ones. The result was that true faith in God ran stronger and deeper in Judah than in Israel, but it was still not up to God’s standards.
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Study feature · page 683
ASA’S BATTLES A huge army from Ethiopia under Zerah advanced toward Mareshah, greatly outnumbering King Asa’'s army. Asa sent his troops to meet them, and the battle took place in the valley north of Mareshah. Asa prayed to God, and the Ethiopians were defeated and chased as far as Gerar.