13:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.
Jeroboam was the evil king of Israel who rejected the eternal dynasty in which God offered him and led his nation into calf worship. Abijah was an evil Davidic king of Judah, but he will do a good deed for Judah in this chapter. God uses evil kings for His divine purpose. God is completely omnipotent, meaning that he can turn all of the human view point decisions of evil men into divine good.
13:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
Michaiah was not a very good mother to Jeroboam. Israel and Judah began a civil war.
13:3 Abijah launched the attack with 400,000 well-trained warriors, while Jeroboam deployed against him 800,000 well-trained warriors.
Israel’s nine tribes compared to Judah’s three tribes gave them a 2-1 advantage. King Jeroboam wanted to remove a Davidic king off of the throne.
13:4 Abijah ascended Mount Zemaraim, in the Ephraimite hill country, and said: “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel!
King Abijah of Judah gave a speech to the soldiers of King Jeroboam of Israel.
13:5 Don’t you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal agreement?
King Abijah reminded Israel of the promises of the Davidic Covenant.
13:6 Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master.
King Abijah reminded Israel that their king did not possess the royal blood of David. He was only a servant of Solomon. This servant had rebelled against the messianic seed line.
13:7 Lawless good-for-nothing men gathered around him and conspired against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was an inexperienced young man and could not resist them.
King Jeroboam and a bunch of godless outlaws rebelled against King Rehoboam, who was part of the messianic seed line.
13:8 Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty. You have a huge army, and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.
The Israelite army was fighting against Jehovah Himself. It was Jehovah’s will to bring the messianic king in through the seed line of David. Israel’s army was twice as big as Judah's, but they brought golden calves into battle. They were placing their faith to win the battle in demonic idols.
13:9 But you banished the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods!
The Levites were ordained by God to become the priests of Israel. However, Jeroboam banned the true priests of gods and replaced them with demonic priests. Israel was behaving like the other pagan Gentile nations.
13:10 But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests and the Levites assist them with the work.
Judah was not practicing satanism as of yet. They were still worshiping the one true God. The Levites whom God appointed were still serving in Judah.
13:11 They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him.
Judah was still keeping the Mosaic law. Israel was not.
13:12 Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not win!”
Jehovah was with Judah, but not Israel. Israel had no chance to win this battle, because she would be fighting against Jehovah Himself.
13:13 Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind. The main army was in front of the Judahite army; the ambushers were behind it.
This type of speech was not good for Israel’s morale. Jeroboam began a surprise attack of Judah on two different fronts.
13:14 The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear. So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets,
Judah was sandwiched between an army which was twice as large as their own. She was about to be wiped out, so she prayed to the Lord for deliverance.
13:15 and the men of Judah gave the battle cry. As the men of Judah gave the battle cry, the Lord struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
Jehovah was not about to allow King Jeroboam to wipe out the messianic seed line. Therefore, Jehovah struck down King Jeroboam and all of Israel.
13:16 The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, and God handed them over to the men of Judah.
Israel began to run away from the battle. Even though she ran away, God delivered the Israelite army to Judah.
13:17 Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them; 500,000 well-trained Israelite men fell dead.
Judah killed 500,000 of the 800,000 Israelite soldiers. Judah now had a 400,000 to 300,000 soldier advantage. This was a 4-3 advantage. This balance of numbers would keep both armies from attacking each other in the future (at least for a while).
13:18 That day the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.
This was a battle between Jehovah and the demonic calf god. Jehovah won. The purpose of the war was to preserve the messianic seed line. Even though King Abijah was an evil king, God protected His seed line for the sake of King David.
13:19 Abijah chased Jeroboam; he seized from him these cities: Bethel and its surrounding towns, Jeshanah and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns.
King Abijah chased King Jeroboam and took control of some of his border cities. These border cities were not underneath a nation which worshiped Jehovah.
13:20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the reign of Abijah. The Lord struck him down and he died.
King Jeroboam was one of the most unwisest men in history. God offered him an eternal dynasty equal to that of King David, but King Jeroboam refused and worshiped the calf god. Jehovah took his life.
13:21 Abijah’s power grew; he had fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
King Abijah followed the polygamy practices of his monarch family. The Bible was not commending this practice. The Bible just simply recorded the details and the results.
13:22 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including his deeds and sayings, are recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.
The author had access to this book during his time period, but this book is now lost.