2 Chronicles 13

Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam

1 ¹In the eighteenth * year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.

2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. ²Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 * * chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 * * chosen men who were valiant warriors.

Civil War

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount ³Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

5 "Do you not know that ⁴the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by ⁵a covenant of salt?

6 "Yet ⁶Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master,

7 and worthless men gathered about him, scoundrels *, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when ⁷he was young and timid * and could not hold his own against them.

8 "So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the LORD through the sons of David, being a great multitude and having with you ⁸the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you.

9 "⁹Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ¹⁰to consecrate * himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are ¹¹no gods.

10 "But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the LORD as priests, and the Levites attend to their work.

11 "Every morning and evening ¹²they burn to the LORD burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and ¹³the showbread * is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him.

12 "Now behold, God is with us at our head and ¹⁴His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."

13 But Jeroboam ¹⁵had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind * them.

14 When Judah turned around, behold, they were attacked both front and rear; so ¹⁶they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets.

15 Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God ¹⁷routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16 When the sons of Israel fled before * Judah, ¹⁸God gave them into their hand.

17 Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 * * chosen men of Israel fell slain.

18 Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered ¹⁹because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers.

19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages.

Death of Jeroboam

20 Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the ²⁰LORD struck him and ²¹he died.

21 But Abijah became powerful; and took fourteen * wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two * sons and sixteen * daughters.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in ²²the treatise of ²³the prophet Iddo.

2 Chronicles 13 Commentary

Chapter 13

Abijah overcomes Jeroboam.

- Jeroboam and his people, by apostacy and idolatry, merited the severe punishment Abijah was permitted to execute upon them. It ( 1 Kings. 15:3 ) not himself truly religious, yet he encouraged himself from the religion of his people. It is common for those that deny the power of godliness, to boast of the form of it. Many that have little religion themselves, value it in others. But it was true that there were numbers of pious worshippers in Judah, and that theirs was the more righteous cause. In their distress, when danger was on every side, which way should they look for deliverance unless upward? It is an unspeakable comfort, that our way thither is always open. They cried unto the Lord. Earnest prayer is crying. To the cry of prayer they added the shout of faith, and became more than conquerors. Jeroboam escaped the sword of Abijah, but God struck him; there is no escaping his sword.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Kings 15:1, 2
• 2. 1 Kings 15:7
• 3. Joshua 18:22
• 4. 2 Samuel 7:12-16
• 5. Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19
• 6. 1 Kings 11:26
• 7. 2 Chronicles 12:13
• 8. 1 Kings 12:28; 2 Chronicles 11:15
• 9. 2 Chronicles 11:14, 15
• 10. Exodus 29:29-33
• 11. Jeremiah 2:11; Jeremiah 5:7
• 12. Exodus 29:38; 2 Chronicles 2:4
• 13. Exodus 25:30-39; Leviticus 24:5-9
• 14. Numbers 10:8, 9
• 15. Joshua 8:4-9
• 16. 2 Chronicles 14:11
• 17. 2 Chronicles 14:12
• 18. 2 Chronicles 16:8
• 19. 2 Chronicles 14:11
• 20. 1 Samuel 25:38
• 21. 1 Kings 14:20
• 22. 2 Chronicles 24:27
• 23. 2 Chronicles 9:29

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "to him and to his sons"
• [b]. Or "lord"
• [c]. Lit "Rehoboam"
• [d]. Lit "in the hands of"
• [e]. Lit "and you are a"
• [f]. Lit "in the work"
• [g]. Lit "offer up in smoke"
• [h]. Lit "the battle was before and behind them"
• [i]. Lit "smote"
• [j]. Lit "were strong"
• [k]. Another reading is "Ephrain"
• [l]. Heb "midrash"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 13

This chapter begins with the reign of Abijah, 2Ch 13:1,2, gives an account of a battle between him and Jeroboam, previous to which Abijah made a speech to Jeroboam and his army, to vindicate his own cause, encourage his own soldiers, and intimidate the enemy, and dissuade them from fighting, 2Ch 13:3-12 and in the mean while Jeroboam laid an ambush for him, which greatly distressed him, 2Ch 13:13,14, nevertheless he obtained a complete victory over him, 2Ch 13:15-20, and the chapter is concluded with some account of his family and reign, 2Ch 13:21,22.