Abijah King of Judah
15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.
There are three or four differences that jump out at us when we compare the account of King Abijah here in Kings with his account in 2 Chronicles 13:1-22. The first one, and the most obvious to some readers, is the name of his grandfather. Was Maakah the daughter of Abishalom? Or was she the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chronicles 13:2)? The Hebrew word for “daughter” (bath, as in Bathsheba) can mean either “daughter” or “granddaughter/female descendant.” We see it used for “granddaughter” in Genesis 24:48, where Abraham’s servant tells Laban that God “led me on the right road to get the granddaughter (bath) of my master’s brother for his son.” Here we encounter a similar context.
David’s son Absalom (Abishalom and Absalom are the same person; the man who rebelled and who had five pounds of hair) had three sons and one daughter. She was the beautiful Tamar who was named after Absalom’s sister (2 Samuel 13:1, 14:27). The younger Tamar married Uriel of Gibeah, and named her daughter after Absalom’s mother, Maakah (2 Samuel 3:3). So this Maakah was the granddaughter of Absalom, and as far as we know, is the only connection between Absalom and the royal throne of Judah after his rebellion against David.
3 He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
Another difference between the two accounts of Abijah’s reign, and the most important, is the evaluation given of him by the Holy Spirit. In Chronicles, Abijah is compared with Jeroboam and comes across as a pretty good guy. Here in Kings, the emphasis is on Abijah compared with what God demands of us, and he comes across as no better than his father or grandfather. With Abijah, we are beginning to see that the Kings have failed in their leadership of God’s people, just as the priests were failing in their leadership. There is even the reminder, in case we needed it, that David himself was not spotless even though he loved the Lord with all his heart.
We also remember with heavy hearts that in the first real story of a prophet back in chapter 13, the man of God from Judah also fell into sin. The prophets, priests and kings could not truly lead God’s people in righteousness. Everything here reminds us again and again that we need Jesus, our true Prophet, Priest and King, to bring us to God in righteousness and purity forever.
6 There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. 7 As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king. (NIV)
A third difference between the two accounts of Abijah’s reign is that in Kings we don’t have any details about the war (or, for a fourth difference, of the speech Abijah made in 2 Chronicles 13:4-12).
In December of 1862, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest found himself squeezed in between two Union Armies in northern Tennessee. As he pressed one Union brigade to surrender, another appeared behind him. He is rumored to have said “Attack in both directions!” His soldiers did exactly that, and Forrest and his Southern men succeeded in breaking through the Northern lines to get to safety.
King Abijah was likewise attacked from two sides in the Battle of Mount Zemaraim (about ten miles north-northwest of Jerusalem). With Jeroboam’s army coming up the mountain from two directions, Abijah ordered his men forward (Attack in both directions!), and “God delivered them into their hands” (2 Chronicles 13:16). Abijah captured the nearby towns of Jeshanah and Ephron, and he even captured Bethel itself! These towns (all on the northern border of Benjamin) stayed in the hands of Judah until after Jeroboam’s death.
Abijah died young, after a reign of only three years. His death brings us to the year 910 BC, one hundred and one years after King Saul took his life at the Battle of Mount Gilboa. Abijah’s son Asa was still young when he came to the throne. But young or old, how would he reign? What would he do with the time God gave him?
What we will do with the time God has given to us today? If the devil comes at you from two sides, don’t despair. God ahead and attack him in both directions: The law and the gospel are for us to hear, and for us to use, too.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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