II Chronicles Chapter 13
Please read: II Chronicles 13 –
One of the saddest connotations on our nation’s history is the Civil War, brother fighting against brother. And so it was with Israel and Judah. We are not told in this passage why the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah went up to war against each other, but we learn in the book of I Kings that there were continual battles between them under the reign of Jeroboam. It is most likely because Jeroboam thought he should be king over the whole nation. In this particular battle the southern kingdom of Judah was far outnumbered and by all practical means should have lost terribly. But at this juncture, King Abijah (also known as Abijam) called upon God to deliver them from the threat of Jeroboam.
While it may seem from Abijah’s speech he gave, that he was a man who followed wholly after God, we know that it was only for a short season of his life. Abijah only reigned over Judah for three years and in I Kings 15:3 we learn that “he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God.”
Abijah was correct in the fact that God made a covenant with his grandfather David, a covenant to continue the line of David because David had obeyed the LORD. God would preserve the line of David. Here Abijah refers to it as a covenant of salt, drawing upon the direction God gave regarding how to present a grain offering. “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” Leviticus 2:13 In the book of Numbers salt is again mentioned in reference to the wave offering, “All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.” Numbers 18:19
There is encouragement for those the chronicler is writing to, the returned exiles from Babylon. They could look back on their history and read about King Abijah who reminded the people that God had made a covenant to preserve the kingdom of David. And there is encouragement for us today, knowing that no matter what difficult circumstances we might face, that God is still in control and He will preserve those who belong to Him. No person, no battle, nor any circumstance can take our salvation away from us, we are preserved for Him and by Him.
Let's Reflect
1. Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, became king of the southern kingdom during the reign of King Jeroboam of the northern kingdom. How many years had Jeroboam been on the throne when Abijah became king of Judah?
2. The chronicler tells us exactly how bad the situation looked for Judah. They were far outnumbered by the northern kingdom. And what happened while Abijah was delivering his speech?
3. In his speech Abijah condemned the worship practices of the northern kingdom. What did he say about them?
4. Abijah made a very bold statement about the kingdom of Judah. What did he say in verse 10 about their worship?
5. Abijah was very confident in his stand against Israel. He knew that he would win. How did he proclaim it?
6. Despite being far outnumbered and being surrounded on both sides, Judah got the victory. We are not told exactly how they won, whether a supernatural thing happened or just that God emboldened the army of Judah. What we do know is that the chronicler wrote in verse 15 that there was victory. Who did he write had victory over Israel?
7. We also learn in verse 18 the reason that the army of Judah won. What was the reason?
