2 Chronicles 13 Study Notes

13:1 Abijah: Second king of Judah, son of Rehoboam, father of Asa, miraculous victor over an army of the northern kingdom. Jeroboam was still ruler over the northern kingdom. Despite all the shortcomings of many of the kings of Judah, and even though God would take drastic measures to correct them in the future, the line of David continued on the throne until the exile. There was one brief interruption when Athaliah usurped the throne (22:10), but even then the rightful heir was alive and eventually installed. In contrast, the northern kingdom saw no dynasty longer than five kings, and in many cases there was no succession at all.

13:2 On Abijah’s mother Micaiah (also called Maacah), see note at 11:18-21.

13:3 Paradoxically, the Chronicler keeps track of the size of the army for each king, but only to make the point that in the final analysis, the size of the army did not matter. Jeroboam not only had an army twice as large as Abijah’s, but he was able to establish his tactical formation so the army of Judah was practically trapped. The site of this battle was in the hill country of Ephraim, a place north of Jerusalem in the area straddling the two kingdoms.

13:4 Only in the context of the parallel account in 1Kg 15 does Abijah’s action take on its full significance. In that passage we see that Abijah was an idolater who cared little for the Lord or his laws. The moment that we see depicted here in Chronicles, when Abijah briefly relied on the Lord in a time of great need, is an exception, but it illustrates the Chronicler’s affirmation that God protects the people who rely on him. This particular case in point began with Abijah standing up and publicly repudiating Jeroboam and his entire army, an action that exposed him to great danger.

13:5 Abijah reminded everyone that God had promised the kingdom to David and his descendants forever. A covenant of salt refers to a binding promise that cannot be broken (Nm 18:19); the term may be derived from the Middle Eastern practice of two parties reassuring each other of their goodwill by consuming a bit of salt together.

13:6-7 Abijah depicted Rehoboam as a helpless youngster who was deceived by the manipulative Jeroboam. This made it sound as though the split of Solomon’s kingdom was brought about by Jeroboam, who had schemed to grasp the throne.

13:8 Addressing the soldiers of Jeroboam, Abijah pointed to their action as another act of rebellion against God and the descendants of David. The golden calves they were carrying with them into battle were evidence of their idolatry.

13:9 Abijah combined Jeroboam, the instigator, and his soldiers a generation later in his accusation. Both they and their usurper king shared the guilt for having banished the true priests and substituting their own priesthood. The description of how one could become a priest by paying the going price of a young bull and seven rams was intended to raise doubts in the soldiers’ minds about the wisdom of this practice.

13:10-12 In contrast, Abijah pointed out that he and his kingdom had retained the true priests of God, the descendants of Aaron, and that they were worshiping the true God. He mentioned the rituals of the temple, hoping that these references would induce the soldiers to understand that by having discarded their true legacy in favor of Jeroboam’s contrivances, they were pursuing a lost cause.

13:13-18 While Abijah was attempting to persuade the northern army to abandon the fight, his enemies sent soldiers into the rear of his army to close the trap. The army of Judah cried out, fought with desperation, and God took it from there. They killed more than half of Jeroboam’s army, but the Chronicler makes it clear that it was the Lord who was responsible for the victory.

13:19-20 Abijah and his army not only routed Jeroboam, but they also captured the town of Bethel—the southern sanctuary for Jeroboam’s golden calves. For Jeroboam, this was the beginning of the end. God judged him severely, and after he died, his son Nadab was assassinated after only two years on the throne (1Kg 13-14; 15:25-28).

13:21 Abijah’s reign was brief as well, but he remained powerful.

13:22 The Writing of the Prophet Iddo is not known to us.