Year One, November 17

I Will Speak of Your Testimonies Before Kings1

1 Kings 18:1-15; 17-20

1After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”

To unbelievers this would seem like a command to dive into the raging waves of the ocean or to walk into a lion’s den. But soldiers of the Heavenly King do not hesitate. They obey.

2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly, 4and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) (Here was a dove living in the eagle’s nest. Obadiah was not a half-and-half man, but feared the Lord fully. As a result, he won the respect of even the ungodly Ahab. The king trusted Obadiah more than any of the idol worshipers in his court. Obadiah lived in a wicked society, but he was still committed to God. He showed his zeal by feeding the prophets when food was scarce and being kind to them might have cost him his life. If Obadiah was so faithful when his circumstances were so difficult, what kind of people should we be who live in so much better situations?)

5And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” (Judgment alone cannot soften the heart. God was punishing Ahab and all he thought about was saving his animals. He cared more for his horses than he did for the starving people over whom he ruled.) 6So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

7And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant feared the LORD from my youth. 13Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? 14And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here;”’ and he will kill me.”

The good man was afraid. He had not been living the life of separation from the world and therefore his faith was far inferior to that of lonely Elijah. But the prophet put up with his weakness, because he knew his heart was right. We who are strong must forgive the defects of the weak and not expect everyone to be equally bold.

15And Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

17When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “It is you, you troubler of Israel.” 18And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. 19Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. (See the holy boldness of Elijah and how it awed the king. Elijah was far more royal than Ahab. His faith made him a king before the Lord. We should act with the same heroic spirit. Never fear the face of the Lord's enemies. Face them with unflinching bravery. Our highest aim should be to win the Lord’s, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”2)

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¹ Psalm 119:46

² Matthew 25:23

Year One, November 16

Feed on His Faithfulness1

1 Kings 17:7-24

7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8Then the word of the LORD came to [Elijah], 9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” (When one door shuts, another opens. God is not limited to only one way of providing for his servants. It was wonderful that Elijah was fed by ravens. We now see a new wonder when he is fed by a widow who is both poor and a foreigner.) 10So he arose and went to Zarephath. (He did not question the command, but obeyed it. This is the walk of faith.) And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. (As unlikely as it seemed that this poor woman could provide for the prophet, Elijah spoke to her with confidence.) And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” (The good woman recognized Jehovah’s servant and was ready to serve him, but his request for bread touched her in a tender place. She had barely enough for one small meal and then she expected to die with her child.)

13And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” (She was to exercise obedient faith first. Then her needs would be supplied. Many try to reverse this order.) 15And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah. (Our little will always be enough. We may often scrape the bottom of the barrel, but there will always be a handful left. It may be that we shall never have much in hand, but this is not a sin. Fulfillment of our needs will come to us fresh from our heavenly Father and never grow stale.)

17After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” (All too often we mistake the reasons for our troubles and place the blame on the wrong causes. The prophet had kept the child from starving. How could the woman blame him for his death? Sorrow clouds our judgment and we may say or do things for which we are later sorry. Elijah knew this and was very tender toward her.)

19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. (Prayers are often answered by what the world calls the laws of nature. In this case, the prophet prayed and was clearly answered by a miracle. Whether good things come to us by so-called laws of nature or by miracles, we know that if we pray like Elijah, we will have like Elijah.)

23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

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¹ Psalm 37:3 NKJV

Year One, November 15

His Bread Will Be Given Him1

We now turn from the more peaceful history of Judah to the troubled history of their more sinful neighbor Israel. The family of Jeroboam was killed by Baasha. Baasha reigned over Israel for twenty-four years. “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.”2 Baasha’s son, Elah, became king, but after two years he and all his descendants were murdered by his captain, Zimri, while he was “drinking himself drunk” in his palace at Tirzah.3 Zimri reigned only seven days before he was overthrown by Omri, a rival commander. Omri attacked Tirzah and when Zimri knew all was lost, he set fire to the palace and died in the blaze. Omri had a troubled and wicked reign of twelve years and was then succeeded by the notorious Ahab, of whom we will now read.

  

1 Kings 16:29-34

29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. 31And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. (The strong-willed Jezebel completely mastered the indecisive Ahab. She became the real ruler of Israel. She killed the prophets of Jehovah and forced the people to worship her demon gods.)

32He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. (It was a time of monstrous evil. God was not feared. The people ignored the Lord and even gloried in defying the Most High. Unbelief and superstition usually go hand in hand. Where some are worshiping a thousand false gods, others are always found who make fun of the one and only Lord. But even when this happens, the Lord’s word is being fulfilled. After defeating Jericho, Joshua prophesied, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”4 In his arrogance, Hiel of Bethel did exactly what the Lord had proclaimed.)

  

1 Kings 17:1-6

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (Elijah leaps onto the scene like a lion from the hills. Who he was, or what he had been, we are not told. He comes in thunder, and speaks lightning. The times were ready for an Elijah, and Elijah was ready for them.) 2And the word of the LORD came to him, 3“Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” (God is a good master and never allows his servants to starve. He will provide for his own, even if all the land is unfruitful because of drought.)

5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

He had plain food, but enough food. But what unlikely providers! Ravens are robbers of food, not providers. Yet they forgot their own hunger and the cries of their young to feed the prophet. Perhaps they brought the bread and meat from Ahab’s kitchen. There was not much to be found anywhere else! An old writer observes, “Oh God! You that provide meat for the birds of the air, will make the birds of the air provide meat for man before you will allow man’s dependence on you to be disappointed. Oh do not let our faith in you be inadequate, because your care can never be inadequate to us.”5

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¹ Isaiah 33:16

² 1 Kings 15:34

³ 1 Kings 16:9

⁴ Joshua 6:26

⁵ Author unknown.

Year One, November 14

You Bless the Righteous, O LORD1

Asa evidently died in a backslidden condition. But the Lord had mercy on his people and gave them a good ruler in Jehoshaphat, the good son of a good father. Today, we read about his early days as king over Judah.

  

2 Chronicles 17:1-11

1And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel.

Ahab had been king over Israel for several years when Jehoshaphat became king. He was an active and warlike prince who needed to be guarded against. Jehoshaphat took normal precautions for the defense of his nation, but he did not place his trust in Syria like his father had.

2He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured. 3The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, (Notice the difference between David’s earlier ways and his last ways. What a pity that such a contrast had to be made. Sadly, many good people have their first warm, zealous, consistent ways, but gradually decline from their first love and grow cold and worldly. We should imitate that which is good in people, but avoid their faults that would have an evil influence over us. Jehoshaphat was not an idolater and was not tempted by the example of his neighbors to worship Baal.) 4but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.

5Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. 6His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD. (He was enthusiastic about following the Lord. His delight was to obey Jehovah.) And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

It is good when we can serve God with joy, because then our service is real and from the heart. The Lord made the king popular with his people and they gave him many presents, but this did not make him proud. Instead, by God’s grace, the more they raised him up the more he rejoiced in the Lord.

7In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; (Princes and judges have great influence. When they give themselves over to promoting virtue they can accomplish great things. May God teach those who govern and those who are great. Then they will truly benefit the nation.) 8and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the LORD with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

The holy teaching of the priests and Levites supported the instruction given by the officials. Education is of small value if it is separated from true religion. There is more need for people to know their Bible than anything else. Ministers, when they teach, should carry their Bibles with them, to give weight to their words, and bring conviction on all who hear them.

10And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. (When we are right with God he will make things right all around. He calms the raging of the sea and the unrest of the people. When the Lord gives peace no one can upset us.)

11Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.

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¹ Psalm 5:12

Year One, November 13

Cursed Is the Man Who Trusts in Man1

2 Chronicles 16:1-14

1In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. (The king of Israel was annoyed because the peace and prosperity of Judah, and the nation’s faith in the true God, had inspired many of his subjects to move to the land under Asa’s rule.) 2Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3“There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 4And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. 6Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

What a proof this is that the best believers may fall into unbelief and sometimes place their trust in humans. Asa turned to Syria for help and for a while he was glad he did. The good outcome probably convinced him he was right in asking King Ben-hadad for help. But we are mistaken if we measure the correctness of our actions by their result. The Lord was angry with Asa and chastised2 him with trouble for the rest of his life. He took the temple gold to bribe a heathen king to break his treaties, but his great fault was that he trusted in human power rather than in God.

7At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. 8Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. 9For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” (Hanani was faithful to Asa and told him the truth. This godly king should have been touched in his conscience, but his soul was not in agreement with God. He did not receive the rebuke like a gracious man should have.) 10Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

His trust in physical means had apparently led to good results and so the king resented the prophet’s warning. He became irritated and, sadly, the old nature in him took over. Until this time Asa had been a fair-minded king, but now he acted like a tyrant. We must not judge anyone by their isolated actions, but by the general course of their life. After all, Asa was one of the best kings in Judah’s history.

11The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians. (As a child of God he could not be left undisciplined for such sins. The disease in his feet became a heavy rod with which the Lord used to strike him. It is sad to see him at this time repeating his reckless trust in the creature instead of the Creator. We may call in the physician, but we must not forget our God. The most skillful doctor will do us no good unless God is in it.) 13And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. 14They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer’s art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.

The people knew how to value a good king. His memory was very fragrant among them. May our names also “smell sweet and blossom in the dust.”3

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¹ Jeremiah 17:5

² chasten, chastening or chastisement - The act of discipline which may include scolding, criticizing or pain inflicted for the purpose of correction or moral improvement

³ English poet James Shirley (1596-1666) from The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses

Year One, November 12

If You Seek Him, He Will Be Found by You1

2 Chronicles 15:1-17

1The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. (While they were still thrilled with the victory it was a good time to remind them from where their great strength came. God sent them a prophet while the rewards of obeying him were before their eyes, to urge them to continue obeying the Lord. The prophet did not congratulate and flatter king Asa. Instead, he reminded him that he must continue to follow the Lord who had done so much for him. Pastors are not sent to please us, but to guide us.)

3“For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4but when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 7But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” (Israel’s history was clear. When they were faithful to God they prospered, when they turned their backs on him he did not bless them. They made or unmade their own fortunes. Have we not also learned by this time that we are happy when we live near to God and miserable when we fall back into our old evil habits? Let us not forget this remarkable truth.)

8As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the LORD. (The cleanest room can be cleaned even more. Asa investigated the situation and found there was more to be done. Here and there, the idol worshippers secretly kept their idols, but this time they must be found and destroyed.) 9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

10They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11They sacrificed to the LORD on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13but that whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14They swore an oath to the LORD with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. (The people were great at promising, but slow in performing. Their hearts were fickle. What they resolved on one day with great enthusiasm, they forgot the next. It was not long before they would again fall in love with their idols. They were a lot like we are!)

16Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. (This was a masterstroke. He removed the queen-mother and destroyed her idol in the most humiliating manner. The king would not secretly allow sin even in those nearest and dearest to him. It must have caused him much pain, but he loved his God too well to back away from doing what he knew was right.) 17But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. (There is imperfection in even the best work. Everything we do includes a “but.” The false gods were torn down, but the forbidden altars to the true God were left untouched. This may be thought to be a lesser evil, but it would have been better to follow through with all the work. Still, we must admire Asa. His heart and intention were right before God.)

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¹ 2 Chronicles 15:2

Year One, November 11

Thanks Be to God, Who Gives Us the Victory1

2 Chronicles 14:1-15

1Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. (Asa’s reign was a change for the better. Abijah worshiped Jehovah, but he allowed idol worship in his kingdom. The godless group multiplied and polluted the nation with their idolatry and immoral behavior. Abijah and his favorite queens supported and helped these evil people and the nation grew worse. It is remarkable that even though his mother and father were bad, Asa did what was good. It is clear from this that children will not turn out wicked simply because their parents were.)

2And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim 4and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. (Asa made a complete change. He got rid of not only the images of the false gods, but the sacred groves where they were worshiped. Oh that we might live to see such a complete cleaning up of our own land! Let us pray for it.) 5He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.

6He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace. 7And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. (They obeyed God and he blessed them. But even though this was obvious, their history shows their faithfulness did not last long.) 8And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

9Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. (The good king had his trials. His obedience brought prosperity, but it did not protect him from every trouble.) 11And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

This is a great example of the prayer of faith. The million soldiers of Zerah are not enough to shake his faith. He knows they are nothing before the Lord and does not fear their large number. He is not discouraged because his army is not as strong as Zerah’s. He knows the Lord is all powerful and does not depend on the strength of his people. It is a glorious thing to be able to call on the Lord our God and then to rest in him without concern or fear; knowing that our cause is safe because it is about the Lord’s honor and it is in his own hands. Let us follow Asa’s example. Let us trust God and not be afraid when we encounter great trails and difficulties.

12So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the LORD and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil. 14And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. (They were more than conquerors, as believers always are. They gained greatly by the very thing that threatened to destroy them. If we will only trust the Lord in the same way, the same experience will certainly be ours. Greater is he that is for us than all that are against us.2)

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¹ 1 Corinthians 15:57

² See Romans 8:31 & 1 John 4:4

Year One, November 10

God Is With Us at Our Head1

While the new kingdom of the ten tribes was under the rule of Jeroboam, Rehoboam died and was replaced by his son, Abijah.

  

2 Chronicles 13:1-16; 18; 20

1In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him, with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. (The horrors of civil war are almost unimaginable. Surely every male in the two nations must have been drafted into one or the other army. We should be thankful when we are blessed with peace in our own country. A day is coming when the Lord will stop all wars on this earth.)

4Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, 7and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

8“And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. (Abijah was wise to explain the reason for the battle. When it comes to whether Jehovah or golden calves should be worshiped, the answer is clear.) 9Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods. 10But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the LORD who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. 11They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken him. 12Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

This speech was intended to prevent bloodshed. Abijah’s motive was deserving of praise. We cannot be sure that Abijah was a spiritual man, but he and the nation of Judah still worshiped Jehovah and still had the Lord on their side.

13Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. (Jeroboam was not a man of words, but of deeds. While Abijah was delivering his speech, Jeroboam was surrounding his opponent.) 14And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. (Prayer and praise are superior weapons. We should not be surprised that the Lord got involved when his people brought him into the fight by using prayer and praise.)

18Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

20Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down, and he died. (He was made to feel how impossible it is to fight against God. But he would not quit and died without repenting2 for his actions. He is remembered because the way he lived brought God’s curse on him. May the good Lord save us from such an end.)

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¹ 2 Chronicles 13:12

² repent, repentance - The act or feeling of remorse, regret, sorrow or shame that results in a change of heart or purpose.