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civil war

2 Chronicles 13:1-22

2 Chronicles 13:1 In the eighteenth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah,
2 Chronicles 13:2 and he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah. There was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
2 Chronicles 13:3 Abijah set his army of warriors in order with four hundred thousand fit young men. Jeroboam arranged his mighty army of eight hundred thousand chosen mighty warriors in battle formation against him.
2 Chronicles 13:4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.
2 Chronicles 13:5 Don’t you know that Yahveh, God of Israel, gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?
2 Chronicles 13:6 But Jeroboam, son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon, son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
2 Chronicles 13:7 Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam, son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young, inexperienced, and unable to assert himself against them.
2 Chronicles 13:8 “And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against Yahveh’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.
2 Chronicles 13:9 Didn’t you banish the priests of Yahveh, the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and make your own priests like the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to ordain himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.
2 Chronicles 13:10 “But as for us, Yahveh is our God. We have not abandoned him; the priests ministering to Yahveh are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.
2 Chronicles 13:11 They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to Yahveh every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the Bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahveh our God, while you have abandoned him.
2 Chronicles 13:12 Look, God, and his priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don’t fight against Yahveh God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”
2 Chronicles 13:13 Now Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to advance from behind them. So, they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
2 Chronicles 13:14 Judah turned and discovered that the battle was in front and behind them, so they cried out to Yahveh. Then the priests blew the trumpets,
2 Chronicles 13:15 and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. When the men of Judah raised the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
2 Chronicles 13:16 So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God handed them over to them.
2 Chronicles 13:17 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and five hundred thousand fit young men of Israel were killed.
2 Chronicles 13:18 The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on Yahveh, the God of their ancestors.
2 Chronicles 13:19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their surrounding villages.
2 Chronicles 13:20 Jeroboam no longer retained his power during Abijah’s reign; ultimately, Yahveh struck him, and he died.
2 Chronicles 13:21 However, Abijah grew strong, acquired fourteen wives, and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
2 Chronicles 13:22 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, along with his ways and his sayings, are written in the Writing of the Prophet Iddo.

civil war

It took only 18 years for the kingdom to go from one divided to become one engaged in civil war. Abijah’s army was outnumbered two to one, and he, himself was not entirely faithful to the LORD. But he knew that the LORD had made a covenant with David, he knew that Jeroboam had angered God by his expulsion of his priests and Levites, replacing them with impostors. He knew that the Jerusalem temple worship was legitimate, whereas Jeroboam’s cult was not. The armies of Judah knew to cry out to the Lord when they were in trouble. Half a million Israelites died that day, another monument to man’s attempt to undo God’s will. When will we learn that he is sovereign?

LORD, as we fight life’s battles, give us the good sense not to fight against you.