Back to 2 Chronicles… The Kingdom of Israel divides under Rehoboam: 10 northern tribes, “Israel,” under Jeroboam, and 2 southern tribes, “Judah” with Benjamin, under Rehoboam. I wrote about this back in June. The 2 Chronicles version begins in chapter 10, and Rehoboam’s disastrous reign goes through chapter 12.

Then we have two good kings, Abijah in chapter 13 and Asa beginning in chapter 14. Let’s take a look.

Abijah finds himself at war with Jeroboam (the text doesn’t say why), and Abijah tries to explain to Jeroboam that they are on the wrong side:

Abijah took a prominent position on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and gave this speech: “Listen, Jeroboam and all Israel! Don’t you realize that GOD, the one and only God of Israel, established David and his sons as the permanent rulers of Israel,…GOD’s kingdom ruled by GOD’s king? And what happened? Jeroboam, the son of Solomon’s slave Nebat, rebelled against his master…you are asserting yourself against the very rule of GOD that is delegated to David’s descendants—you think you are so big with your huge army backed up by the golden-calf idols that Jeroboam made for you as gods! But just look at what you’ve done—you threw out the priests of GOD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests to suit yourselves, priests just like the pagans have. Anyone who shows up with enough money to pay for it can be a priest! A priest of No-God! “

But for the rest of us in Judah, we’re sticking with GOD. We have not traded him in for the latest model—we’re keeping the tried-and-true priests of Aaron to lead us to GOD and the Levites to lead us in worship by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to GOD at the daily morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what GOD told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of him. “Can’t you see the obvious? God is on our side; he’s our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don’t fight against GOD, the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle.” (2 Chronicles 13.4 – 12, MSG)

I always worry when someone says they’re going to win because “I’m following God, and you’re not!” But in this case, Abijah was right even though while he’s talking Jeroboam sends some of his vast army behind the forces of Judah.

While Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam had sent men around to take them by surprise from the rear: Jeroboam in front of Judah and the ambush behind. When Judah looked back, they saw they were attacked front and back. They prayed desperately to GOD, the priests blew their trumpets, and the soldiers of Judah shouted their battle cry. At the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The army of Israel scattered before Judah; God gave them the victory. Abijah and his troops slaughtered them—500,000 of Israel’s best fighters were killed that day. The army of Israel fell flat on its face—a humiliating defeat. The army of Judah won hands down because they trusted GOD, the God of their ancestors. (2 Chronicles 13.13 – 20, MSG)

Trust God, pray, fight…and “God gave them the victory…because they trusted God…” And we’re back to our verse from two days ago:

God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels…In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. (Ephesians 6.10 – 12…18, MSG)