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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
13:1-14:1 Abijah. The Chronicler's account of Abijah's reign is much longer than that given in 1 Kings 15:1-8 (where he is called Abijam). It is, in fact, mainly the development of the statement in 1 Kings 15:7 that "there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam" through the detailed record of one incident, a battle between these kings in the hill country of Ephraim. In the estimation of 1 Kings 15:3, Abijah, like his father Rehoboam, "was not wholly true to the Lord." The Chronicler would probably agree (since it appears from 2 Chron. 14:3-5; 15:8, 16 that idolatrous worship was practiced throughout Judah during Abijah's reign), but he refrains from explicit comment on the king's own piety to concentrate instead on what God accomplished through his reign. The Chronicler notes that in contrast to Jeroboam's kingdom and cult, the Davidic monarchy is the object of God's enduring promise (13:5, 8); the Jerusalem priesthood is legitimate and faithful (13:10-11); and the men of Judah trust in God (13:13, 18). It is for these reasons that the southern kingdom enjoys God's protection and blessing, even if Abijah himself (like his father) falls somewhat short of the ideal.
13:3 To judge from Abijah's words in v. 8, Jeroboam probably instigated this war, seeking to reunite the kingdom by force, as Rehoboam had tried to do (11:1-4). On the size of the armies, see note on 1 Chron. 12:23-37. However the numbers should be understood, Judah is outnumbered two to one by Israel.
13:4 Mount Zemaraim. Probably on the northern border of Benjamin, on the frontier between the two kingdoms; see Josh. 18:22. Abijah's speech is one of several royal addresses in Chronicles that serve to convey the author's concerns--in this case, his condemnation of the northern kingdom for its apostasy and continuing rebellion.
13:5-8a Abijah condemns Jeroboam and the northerners for opposing God's grant of perpetual kingship over Israel to David and his sons. The term covenant of salt denotes a permanent provision; see Num. 18:19. Jeroboam's kingship is dismissed as rebellion against his master, Solomon, while the Davidic kingdom is nothing less than the kingdom of the Lord (see 2 Chron. 9:8).
13:8b-12 Abijah condemns the northerners for their religious unfaithfulness in making calf idols (see Hos. 8:6) and driving out the Aaronic priests and Levites in place of their own appointees. Judah, by contrast, has the legitimate priesthood and temple worship, so Israel should not fight against the Lord. For the Chronicler's own audience, Abijah's speech may have functioned as a sermonic appeal to the different tribes to be united around the temple, under the leadership of the Davidic family.
13:13-19 This battle report echoes older OT narratives in which God fights for and with his people (cf. v. 14 with Josh. 6:20). Judah's reliance on God (2 Chron. 13:14, 18) is the key factor in its success.
13:19 Bethel was one of the locations of Jeroboam's calf cult (see v. 8 and 1 Kings 12:28-29).
13:21 Large families are a conventional sign in Chronicles of God's blessing on those who rely on him (see 1 Chron. 28:5; 2 Chron. 11:18-21).
13:22 the story of the prophet Iddo. Cf. notes on 12:15-16 and 1 Kings 14:19.
