King Abijah
2 Chronicles 13:1-22

Abijah's War with Jeroboam

2 Chronicles 13:1-22

• Abijah succeeded Rehoboam as king of Judah and reigned three years. (v. 1-2)
• 1 Kings mentions Abijah's sin in not following after the Lord, but Chronicles skips over everything in Abijah's reign except one battle with Jeroboam.
• There was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam (king of the northern tribes). Jeroboam started the battle with twice as many warriors as Abijah had. (v. 2-3)
• Abijah makes a speech to the assembled warriors. He recaps that Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam. (v. 4-7)
• Abijah compares worship between the southern and northern kingdoms. He tells the people of the northern kingdom that they can be made right with God if they abandon their detestable worship practices and come back to the Lord. (v. 8-12)
• Abijah shows that Israel had set up a counterfeit priesthood which men could enter without divine authorization. Judah clung to the Levitical priesthood, which was still serving the Lord in the prescribed manner.
• Jeroboam had set up places to worship calves in Bethel and Dan. (cf. 11:15, 1 Kings 12:28f)
• Jeroboam set a trap for Abijah and they found themselves surrounded. (v. 13-14)
• The people of Judah cried to the Lord, who delivered them and they conquered Jeroboam. (v. 15-18)
• Abijah captured several of Jeroboam's cities and Jeroboam was subdued. (v. 19-20)
• Abijah became powerful, took many wives and had many children. (v. 21-22)
• The weaker army was proved to be strong because they relied on God for their victory. In fact, they were forced to rely on God.