2 Chronicles 13
By David Petersen
King Abijah of Judah vs. Jeroboam
13:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.
Battlefield Sermons
Here Abijah preaches a "battlefied sermon" which turns out to be his crowning moment of the life of this man whose "heart was not perfect with the Lord" according to 1 Kings 15. Some of the best Old Testament sermons are preached on a battlefield. It is often when there is a real fight going on between the Lord and his adversaries that true spiritual clarity is achieved.
Buzzard Bait
The classic case is when the boy David faced the Philistine giant. He preached a two point message on the battlefield. He faced the Philistine army and said "I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." Then he turned to the army of Israel and said "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17. I say the he turned to the army of Israel because the Lord was not planning to teach the Philistines a lesson about how he saves. He was planning to make them into carcases. After they were buzzard bait then the army of Israel were the only ones left to learn how the Lord fights battles.
Abijah's sermon itself is a commentary on the false religion of King Jeroboam and is quite telling in that regard.
A Bleak Picture
Here Abijah is facing overwhelming resistance from an army which is twice as large as his own. The situation looked pretty bleak for him. Yet his heart was trusting in the Lord to save him against all odds. There is a spiritual war going on today. The kingdom of God is battling Satan and the forces of darkness. It is a contest for the hearts and souls of mankind. God's people are greatly outnumbered in this battle.
Valiant Men Of War
The term "valiant men of war" in verse 3 means "capable fighters or warriors". God still needs able fighting men and women to fight the spiritual battle today. This battle is not fought with carnal weapons as the battle was in the Old Testament. Instead "we demolish arguments and every lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor 10:5-6.
More than ever we need to put on the whole armor of God. Sometimes I think that we have lost our focus on this battle. We get caught up in our own lives. Our passion becomes my career, my family, my hobbies, my wealth, my comfort and well-being. There is nothing wrong with any of those things in and of themselves. However God did not save us just for our own personal benefit. He saved us for service in the kingdom of God and the kingdom is at war.
Blood Brothers
Here's an often overlooked opportunity to appeal to young men. One thing that frequently turns them off in today's society is the lack of opportunity to be comrades at arms. Males have a warrior spirit by nature. But our society has been feminized to the point where we have been brainwashed to believe that male characteristics are undesirable. So often, little boys in school are put on Ritalin. Both males and females desire to be something bigger and more important than themselves. This is why many of them joing gangs or look up to gangsters as role models. In the church they can become part of a "blood brotherhood". That's what Jesus said "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant." Matt 26:27-28. Jesus said "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." John 6:53-54. That's an alternative approach on how to present church membership to young people. Modern society is boring, controlled, safe. Young people hate that and love anything that sounds intense and out of control.
Yes, the Lord still needs able-bodied men and women to fight the battle.
I Beat My Body
There is a physical discipline that goes along with this. Paul said "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Cor 9:25-27.
He also said "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 1 Cor 6:19. What ever led us to believe that it's ok for us to let ourselves go to pot? So my body is a tool that I use to serve the Lord and I need to take care of it. Some guys spend more time taking care of their car than they do their body. Purity also is a feature of this physical-spiritual discipline.
News flash: the practice of fasting did not pass away with the completion of the New Testament like the miraculous spiritual gifts did.
Daniel and his Hebrew companions resolved themselves not to eat the king's rich dainty foods and instead ate something called pulse. Think of pulse as the ultimate health food. Notice that it was the young Hebrew men who had this resolve. We need to emphasize this physical-spiritual discipline to young people as well. This is a sit-down society. Machines do most of the physical work for us so we sit down to do intellectual work. We sit down to watch TV. We sit down to be entertained. We sit down on a bench in church. It's a nice docile, sedentary life. We don't have to lift a finger. But it's killing us. Most of our post-modern lives are spent sitting down. So going back to the desire for intensity, many young people value a physical discipline. The gyms are full of them.
What's it going to take to jump start us? I wish that I could attach jumper cables to my ears and attach the other end to the Holy Spirit. "All right Lord, crank it!" Church has mean more than merely sitting on a bench or our church is going to die.
4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim (site uncertain), which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;
Abijah then asks a rhetorical question:
5 Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
COVENANT OF SALT
(solt) (berith melach; halas, classical Greek hals): As salt was regarded as a necessary ingredient of the daily food, and so of all sacrifices offered to Yahweh (Lev 2:13), it became an easy step to the very close connection between salt and covenant-making. When men ate together they became friends. Compare the Arabic expression, "There is salt between us"; "He has eaten of my salt," which means partaking of hospitality which cemented friendship; compare "eat the salt of the palace" (Ezra 4:14). Covenants were generally confirmed by sacrificial meals and salt was always present. Since, too, salt is a preservative, it would easily become symbolic of an enduring covenant. So offerings to Yahweh were to be by a statute forever, "a covenant of salt for ever before Yahweh" (Num 18:19). David received his kingdom forever from Yahweh by a "covenant of salt" (2 Chron 13:5). In the light of these conceptions the remark of Our Lord becomes the more significant: "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another" (Mark 9:50).
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft).
(Heb. berit melah). Covenanting parties were accustomed to partake of salt, thus making a covenant of salt (Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5), i.e., one that was inviolably sure. The meaning appears to have been that the salt, with its power to strengthen food and keep it from decay, symbolized the unbending truthfulness of that self-surrender to the Lord embodied in the sacrifice, by which all impurity and hypocrisy were repelled.
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.).
The Lord Rules
Verse 5 shows Abijah's recognition that the Lord is in charge. He appoints kings and kingdoms. Of all people the northern kingdom should have known this. Jeroboam didn't wait for the Lord to establish his kingdom. Instead he took matters into his own hands and rebelled against Rehoboam. He went out and started his own kingdom as well as his own religion which was "devised in his own heart".
The Proper Authority In The Kingdom
When it comes to serving the Lord in the kingdom of God the proper authority must be present. Today the kingdom of God is not a theocracy like national Israel was. Instead we have a New Testament church. Jesus authorized his church to preach the gospel. He did not authorize the Trinity Broadcasting Network. There may be some good that comes out of TBS (not likely), but it is not an authorized New Testament church. The New Testament model is that starting in Jerusalem, local churches authorized and sent out missionaries to establish new churches. So I as an individual should not take it upon myself to go out of my own accord and start a church or a new religion for that matter.
6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.
7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
Worthless Scoundrels
In verse 6, the phrase "vain men, the children of Belial" could be translated "worthless scoundrels". They opposed Rehoboam when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. They were "low-lifes".
8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
The Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against It
Not only had they left the Lord's work, but now they were actively working against it. That is how low they had sunk. The point here is that Israel is working against the Lord's purpose. They are opposing the duly authorized kingdom of God.
A Great Multitude
They had a vast army that was under the influence of unscriptural, unauthorized false religion as clearly evidenced by the presence of the golden calves. These calves were not the true God, but were something made to be gods for them by the devices of Jeroboam who took this upon himself by his own volition and not by the will of God. It could be stated "You indeed have a large, imposing army animated by false religion, but your kingdom is illegitimate and will not prevail against God's true kingdom".
Your Bad Self
These are fighting words which could be paraphrased like this "You might think you're bad with your vast army and you might think you're hot with your golden calves, but you still can't whip the Lord!" "You're goin' down!"
9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations 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.
A Franchise Fee
God had ordained that only the sons of Aaron and the Levites were to be priests. Those were the qualifications. In constrast, the priesthood of Jeroboam was for sale cheap. Anybody who paid a franchise fee of a young bull and seven rams could become a priest. It was like getting your ordination papers out of a box of Cracker Jacks. How appropriate that those things which are no gods should have priests which are no priests.
10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:
11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread 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 the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.
Many Ways To God?
Apparently, these primitive peoples didn't understand that "all religions basically teach the same thing". They weren't very tolerant because they were "igonorant" of the fact that there are many ways to God. They hadn't been enlightened to know that there is no such thing as absolute truth and it's not that "I'm right and your wrong". They were'nt very ecumenical in their approach like so many of the progressive churches today.
The Scriptural Way
The point in verses 10 and 11 is that Judah continues to serve the Lord in the scriptural way, according to the commandments of the Lord. The priests of Judah are properly qualified and their practices are done according to the pattern given in God's word. It is done in the place where God chose to place his name: the temple in Jerusalem. Judah was observing the requirements of the the Lord but Israel had forsaken him.
The Lord still has requirements for those who would serve him today. Today we are under a New Testament model of service. The church is not under the system of temple service prescribed in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the Lord is still Lord and he determines how we are to approach him. There is a pattern laid out for church service in the New Testament. There are not many ways to God. It is arrogance to think that we can approach God in our own way.
12 And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
Apparently, Abijah had been reading his Bible because the reference to the priests blowing their trumpets is a claim to the scriptural way. This was a command given in Numbers 10:9. "And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies." To fight against the kingdom of God is to fight against God himself. Whoever fights against God will not be successful.
Our Captain
Abijah recognized that his kingship was subject to the Lord's authority. God is the captain or head of the kingdom of God. Jesus did not design his churches to be big business. Instead he described a flat organization with no middle management, no vice presidents and no CEO on this earth. He did not appoint a vicar to represnt himself on earth.
'But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.' 'But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;' 'And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.' Matt 20:25-27.
True churches report directly to Jesus and recognize him as their only head and owner.
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: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
They Cried Unto The Lord
Sometimes when it seems as though we are overwhelmed by the forces of Satan; when there are enemies before us and behind us there is only one thing to do. Call upon the Lord. There are so many things in this world working against the kingdom of God that sometimes it might seem hopeless. Secular humanism has taken over the public school system. There are people who would like to make it a hate crime to preach the truth. Homosexuality is taught as merely an "alternative lifestyle" that is to be embraced. Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in the world. All people seem to care about is entertainment and materialism. Phony churches are springing up preaching a watered down prosperity gospel suitable for mass consumption. And people don't seem to have time for the things of God.
It is in times like this, "perilous times" as Paul described that we need to learn to trust in the Lord as Abijah did. We have to admit that our adversary is too powerful for us to handle on our own. But he is not too powerful for God. Jesus promised "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18) and "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations." Matt 24:14. We need to trust in those promises of God and rely upon him.
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 the LORD God of their fathers.
Abijah followed the word of God and did things the scriptural way. His army even went into battle according to the commandment by having the legitimate priests of God blow their trumpets. If we will go into the spiritual battle according to the scriptural way of the New Testment, God will give us the victory against all odds just as he gave the victory to Abijah.
19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshnah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.
20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died.
21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married 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 story of the prophet Iddo.
The Book of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles
Introduction |
1 Kings 1 |
1 Kings 2 |
1 Kings 3 |
1 Kings 4 |
1 Kings 5 |
1 Kings 6-7 |
1 Kings 8 |
1 Kings 9 |
1 Kings 10 |
1 Kings 11 |
1 Kings 12 |
2 Chronicles 13 |
1 Kings 13 |
1 Kings 14 |
1 Kings 15 |
2 Chronicles 15 |
1 Kings 16 |
1 Kings 17 |
1 Kings 18 |
1 Kings 19 |
1 Kings 20 |
1 Kings 21 |
1 Kings 22