2 Chronicles 13:1-15:19 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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Abijah and Asa -Kings of Judah
Comments for Study 5

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Memory Verse: 14:7
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MAPS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
A MAP OF THE DIVISION OF CANAAN
A MAP OF JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPL.
A MAP OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
A MAP OF JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE
A LIST OF ISRAEL'S KINGS AND PROPHETS
A TIMELINE OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY
A TIMELINE FROM BABYLON TO ROMAN EMPIRES

SORRY, THE COMMENTARY THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN FINISHED.
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I. Abijah King of Judah (13:1-22)

>1. Who was the next king of Judah? (1-2) How is his life defined? (1 Kings 15:3) Why did the Lord keep David's line on the throne? (1 Kings 15:4-5) How was relations between their northern brothers?

* 2 Chronicles 13:1-7 "In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Maacah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went into battle with a force of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops."

* "In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam" -Thus the year is 913 B.C. Jeroboam became king in 930 B.C.

* the reign of Jeroboam" -Jeroboam was the first King of Israel, the northern kingdom. He is mentioned in 2 Chronicles only when his life interacted with Judah, the southern kingdom. 1 Kings 13:1 thru 14:20 record more of Jeroboam's reign of the norther kingdom. They record the evil ways of King Jeroboam that led to the downfall and destruction of his house from the face of the earth. (1 Kings 13:33-34).

* 1 Kings 15:1-8 also record Abijah King of Judah. They state he committed all the sins his father had done and that there was constant war between him and Jeroboam.

* 1 Kings 15:6 mentions but does no more to document the war between King Abijah and Jeroboam, king of Israel, the northern tribes. 2 Chronicles 13 goes into more detail.

* "three years" - 913-910 B.C.

* "Abijah" -means "my Father is Yahweh" and "my Father is Yam (sea)" in Hebrew. The son of Rehoboam, king of Judah and the son of Jeroboam, king of Israel (1 Kings 14:1-18) had the name Ahijah.

* United Israel did not calculated a king's ascension and reign as other nations. After Israel and Judah split Judah kept calculating to "old way" and Israel switched and started calculating the way other nations did around them. Read The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin Richard Thiele for more understanding on how Israel and Judah calculated the dates of their king's ascension and reign.

* "war between Abijah and Jeroboam" -The sins of Solomon had many repercussions that lasted genertions. Yet each generation had the choice to change. They did not.

* "four hundred thousand... eight hundred thousand" -Israel out numbered Judah 2 to 1. Judah's low army size and vast riches from David and Solomon made them a constant target to regional powerhouses. Truely the Lord protected them until their sins became to many. The Lord punished their sinful ways by sending the armies of neighboring nations.

* The Bronze Age was ending and the Early Iron Age was beginning in the Near East. Nations that began using iron in their weapons had a great military advantage.

* United Israel had been the military power house in the Middle East till they split in 930 B.C. Egypt remain powerful. However, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was rising to become the next regional power.

* Israel did not calculated a king's ascension and reign as other nations. After Israel and Judah split Judah kept calculating to "old way" and Israel switched and started calculating the way other nations did around them. Read "The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings" by Edwin Richard Thiele for more understanding on how Israel and Judah calculated the dates of their king's ascension and reign.

10th Century Middle East

* The map to the right is 10th century Middle East. Israel is shown as one nation in the map. Use the link above to see a map of the kingdom divided.

>2. What did Abijah remind Israel of? (4-12) What mistake did King Jeroboam make?

* 2 Chronicles 13:4-12 "Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! 5 Don't you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. 7 Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. 8 And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. 9 But didn't you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. 10 "As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. 11 Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. 12 God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."

* "Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim" -Zemarain means "twin peaks" in Hebrew. The location of this mountain is uncertain. A town named Zemaraim was in the territory of Benjamin five miles northeast of Bethel (Jos. 18:22). It can be assued that the battle was along the common boarder of Benjamin and Israel. Some would place the town at khirbet es-Samra four miles north of Jericho.

* "and all Israel" -Either "all Israel" is both kingdoms or probably only the kingdom of Judah since Jeroboam was only the king of Judah.

* "has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever" -Abijah was correct. However, he did not recognize that because of Solomon's sin the 10 tribes were taken away from David's decendants.

* "the kingdom of the LORD" -a rather bold statement based on the covenant of God with first Israel at Mt. Sinai and then David. However, the covenants were a two sided covenant. Both required obedience on the part of Israel and David's descendants. 1 Kings makes it clear that Abijah did not keep the covenant just as Solomon and then his son, Jeroboam did not keep their part of the covenant for all of their lives. Also, Abijah too would violate the covenant between God and David.

* "the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods" -Jeroboam made the golden calves because he was afraid that if the Israelites in his kingdom would continually go to Jerusalem in Judah, they might defect. (1 Kings 12:25-33)

* "you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites" -The Levites had been given towns in the territory that became Israel, the northern tribe. Jeroboam drove then out of his kingdom because they naturally taught the truth that the people had to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

* "We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God" -While this was true it was also true that many Judahians also worship foreign false gods.

* "God is with us; he is our leader" -A great statement of faith for a king.

* "do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers" -This statement is totally true. Even though King Abijah and Judah were not perfect in following the Lord's command, the Israelites to the north did not have God on their side for they had totally cast him out of their lives and country. The reason why God was on the side of Judah was in part because of what Abiha said, but more so because the Lord had made a promise to David. (1 Kings 15:3-4)

* "for you will not succeed" -Abijah did not want to fight his relatives, the Israelites even though he knew victory was certain. This was a sign of his love for his countrymen who turned out to fight as well as his compasion for those who made themselves his enemy.

>3. Did Jeroboam accept Abijah's speech? What was his strategic plan? Why didn't it succeed? (16) How did Jeroboam's life end? (20) How does all this reveal the grace of God?

* 2 Chronicles 13:13-22 "Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. 14 Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets 15 and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. 17 Abijah and his men inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel's able men. 18 The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. 20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down and he died. 21 But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The other events of Abijah's reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo."

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II. Asa King of Judah (14:1-15)

>4. Who was Asa? Consider how living by faith would have been hard for him. (2-5) Would his family been supportive? (1 Kings 15:11-13) Who made building the towns possible? What did the king say about his success?

* 2 Chronicles 14:1-7 "And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years. 2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest. 7 "Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered."

* 1 Kings 15:9-24 also recored Asa King of Judah. The year he became king was 910 B.C.

* 1 Kings 15:11-13 "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley."

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>5. How large was Judah's army? (8) Was this significant considering other nations? (11) Who attached Judah? (9) How did King Asa respond? (10) What was this a repeat of 30 years earlier? (2 Chronicles 12:1-12)

* 2 Chronicles 14:8-10 ("Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah."

* Cushite's attack is only recorded here.

* "Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah" - The entrance to a road leading to the hills of Judah and Jerusalem. Mareshah had been fortifies by King Rehoboam to protect the boarder and road. (2 Chronicles 11:8)

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>6. How did King Asa respond to the threat? (11) What did he confess? Why is it important to tell the truth? How did the Lord respond to his prayer?

* 2 Chronicles 14:11-15 "Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you." 12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 14 They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all these villages, since there was much booty there. 15 They also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem."

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III. Asa's Reform (15:1-19)

>7. What message did God give through Azariah? (1-2) What was missing from Israel (3) What was it like in Israel? (5-6) Was all hopeless and lost? (4) How was this history lesson to give hope and direction to Judah? (8)

* 2 Chronicles 15:1-7 "The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."

* "The Spirit of God came upon" -When the Spirit of God came upon a man who wasn't a king nor priest, that man was considered a prophet.

* "Azariah son of Oded" -Azarah meand "Yahweh has helped" in Hebrew. The prophet Azariah is only mentioned here. Azariah was a common name in those days.

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>8. Who was his adversary and what is ironic about this? (8, 1 Kings 15:16-22, 32) Where did Asa find courage?

* 2 Chronicles 15:8 "When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple."

* 1 Kings 15:32 "There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns."

* "from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim" -1 Kings 15:16-22 goes into more detail about a war between King Asa and Baasha king of Isreal. King Asa ended the hostility between them by sending the gold and silver that was left in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and of his own palace to the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, north of Isreal. Through this he asked him to break his treaty with Israel and attack it. Aram did as Asa requested. This ended the on and off again war between Israel and Judah that had started when Israel and Judah split. Judah obtained cities in Ephram located originally in the kingdom of Israel.

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* Israel did not calculated a king's ascension and reign as other nations. After Israel and Judah split Judah kept calculating to "old way" and Israel switched and started calculating the way other nations did around them. Read The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin Richard Thiele for more understanding on how Israel and Judah calculated the dates of their king's ascension and reign.

* 1 Kings 15:25-26 records that Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year of reign. Nadab reigned two years.

* 1 Kings 15:27-32 records that Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar assasinated King Nadab and killed Jeroboam's whole family during King Asa's third year as king. Baasha reigned in Israel twenty-four years.

>9. What did King Asa do after the fighting ended? (9-10) Why would this be significant to the people? (1 Kings 15:17)

* 2 Chronicles 15:9-10 "Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign."

* 1 Kings 15:17 "Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah."

* "the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign" - 895 B.C., the year after Zerah's invasion. The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) was held in the third month.

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>10. What did the king and the people of Judah do? (11-12) What did they do with those who did not make a covenant with the Lord? (13) What does it mean to seek God wholeheartedly and eargerly? What did the Lord give after this?

* 2 Chronicles 15:11-15 "At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side."

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