SERIES L --- THE NATION DIVIDES --- LESSON 19

WAR

ABIJAH’S WAR WITH JEROBOAM

From 1 Kings 14:18, 19; 15:1-5; 2 Chronicles 12:16; 13:1-22; 14:1

After the death of Rehoboam, his son Abijah became the new king of Judah. [He should not be confused with Jeroboam’s son who had died, whose name also was Abijah or with the prophet Ahijah, whose name was similar.] This man was the son of a woman named Michaiah, who was the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. He ruled for only three years, beginning with the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. Shortly after Abijah became king, he and Jeroboam went to war. Judah led by Abijah had only four hundred thousand troops. Israel, led by Jeroboam, had twice that number. When King Abijah and his forces arrived at Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim, he stood on the top of a mountain and called down to Jeroboam and the army of Israel. [Listen to me, Jeroboam and the army of Israel!] he called. [Don’t you understand that Adonai YHVH of Israel promised David that he and his descendants would rule over Israel forever? Jeroboam the son of Nebat was a former servant of king Solomon and he rebelled against his master. Not only that, but a band of worthless fellows gathered around him and they became traitors to Solomon’s son King Rehoboam when he was still young and unable to stand up to them. Even though your army is twice the size of ours, do you hope to use human strength against Adonai’s Kingdom which is led by a descendant of David? Remember! You have those golden calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods and you have driven out Adonai’s priests and the Levites and have chosen as your priests anyone who could bring a young bull and seven rams to consecrate himself, anyone can become a priest of your worthless gods. But we have Adonai as our YHVH, for we have not turned away from Him. Our priests are Aaron’s descendants; they serve Adonai and the Levites help them with their work. Every morning they burn offerings to Adonai with incense and they keep the sacred Bread of the Presence on the table at the temple. Every night the golden lamp stand is lighted, for we try to follow exactly what Adonai told us to do. While you have turned away from Adonai, He is with us as our leader. Thus, when our priests sound the alarm for us to go into battle against you, do not fight against Adonai YHVH of your ancestors, for you cannot win.] While Abijah was talking, Jeroboam sent part of his troops behind the army of Judah, hoping to ambush them from the rear. When Judah’s forces looked, they saw men in front of them and behind them. They begged Adonai to help them as the priests blew the trumpets, giving the signal to attack. The men of Judah gave a great shout and YHVH gave them a great victory against King Jeroboam and the army of Israel, leaving about five hundred thousand casualties. The people of Judah won the victory because they trusted YHVH to help them. They pursued Jeroboam’s troops and even captured several of his cities, including Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron and some of the villages surrounding these cities. Jeroboam was never strong again during the reign of Abijah and he eventually died. His other deeds are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. After Jeroboam died, his son Nadab reigned as king of Israel in his place. Jeroboam reigned a total of twenty-two years. King Abijah of Judah was strong for a while. He married fourteen wives and through them had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. But he soon turned away from Adonai and followed the evil practices of his father Rehoboam instead of following his great-grandfather David’s example. Yet for the sake of David and Jerusalem, Adonai permitted him to continue to rule in Jerusalem and for his son to become king after him. Adonai did all of this because David had always tried to please Him, except for the incident with Uriah the Hittite. At the end of his three-year reign, Abijah died and was buried with his ancestors. The rest of the deeds of his life are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and in the Visions of Iddo the Seer.

COMMENTARY

THE KINGS OF ISRAEL: HOW LONG DID THEY RULE?

The kings of Israel ruled from seven days to forty-one years. Since they were all bad kings, the length of their reign did not seem to be connected to their faithfulness to YHVH, as with the kings of Judah. Also, the kings of Israel were mostly not descended from previous kings, as were many of the kings of Judah.