2 Chronicles 13: 1 – 22
The battle cry of the South
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor. 4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. 7 Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them. 8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9 Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods? 10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. 11 And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him. 12 Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!” 13 But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so, they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. 17 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so, five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain. 18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages. 20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD struck him, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo.
After reading today’s topic what was the thought that came into your mind? Let me guess. Did it have to do with something from the Civil War? Yes, we are going to review a civil war with the North verses the South but all of it is not speaking of the American Civil War but of the Israel Civil War.
In our study of this North verses South war, the South wins because this army was still loyal to our Holy God Yahweh.
I want to share with you a poem that was turned into a song that not only covers the American Civil War, but you will see a strong meaning to the Israeli Civil War.
The following poem was written by James Ryder Randall (January 1, 1839 – January 15, 1908). He was an American journalist, poet, and song-writer, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 1 January, 1839. He was educated at Georgetown college, D. C., but did not graduate, and afterward travelled in South America. When he was a young man he went to Louisiana and edited a newspaper at Point Couple, and afterward was engaged on the New Orleans " Sunday Delta." His delicate constitution prevented him from entering the Confederate army, but he wrote much in support of the southern cause. His " Maryland, my Maryland," which was published in Baltimore in April 1861, was set to music, and became widely popular. It has been called "the Marseillaise of the Confederate cause." Other poems from his pen were "The Sole Sentry," "Arlington," "The Cameo Bracelet," " There's Life in the Old Land Yet," and "The Battle-Cry of the South." After the war he went to Augusta, Georgia, where he became associate editor of " The Constitutionalist," and in 1866 its editor-in-chief. He is best remembered as the author of "Maryland, My Maryland".
The Battle-Cry of The South - Poem by James Ryder Randall
Arm yourselves and be valiant men and see that ye be in readiness against
the morning, that ye may fight with these nations that are assembled
against us, to destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to
die in battle than to behold the calamities of our people and our
sanctuary.--_Maccabees I._
Brothers! the thunder-cloud is black,
And the wail of the South wings forth;
Will ye cringe to the hot tornado's rack,
And the vampires of the North?
Strike! ye can win a martyr's goal,
Strike! with a ruthless hand--
Strike! with the vengeance of the soul,
For your bright, beleaguered land!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Arise! though the stars have a rugged glare,
And the moon has a wrath-blurred crown--
Brothers! a blessing is ambushed there
In the cliffs of the Father's frown:
Arise! ye are worthy the wondrous light
Which the Sun of Justice gives--
In the caves and sepulchers of night
Jehovah the Lord King lives!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Think of the dead by the Tennessee,
In their frozen shrouds of gore--
Think of the mothers who shall see
Those darling eyes no more!
But better are they in a hero grave
Than the serfs of time and breath,
For they are the children of the brave,
And the cherubim of death!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Better the charnels of the West,
And a hecatomb of lives,
Than the foul invader as a guest
'Mid your sisters and your wives--
But a spirit lurketh in every maid,
Though, brothers, ye should quail,
To sharpen a Judith's lurid blade,
And the livid spike of Jael!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Brothers! I see you tramping by,
With the gladiator gaze,
And your shout is the Macedonian cry
Of the old, heroic days!
March on! with trumpet and with drum,
With rifle, pike, and dart,
And die--if even death must come--
Upon your country's heart!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Brothers! the thunder-cloud is black,
And the wail of the South wings forth;
Will ye cringe to the hot tornado's rack,
And the vampires of the North?
Strike! ye can win a martyr's goal,
Strike! with a ruthless hand--
Strike! with the vengeance of the soul
For your bright, beleaguered land!
To arms! to arms! for the South needs help,
And a craven is he who flees--
For ye have the sword of the Lion's Whelp,
And the God of the Maccabees!
Remarkably it appears that the reign of Abijah was godly. As we move through the verses at first they reveal him as a king who was zealous for our God YHWH and His interests. You gain the impression at first that he was walking the right walk. But for all your bible students you start asking yourselves if you are reading about the right guy you have previously studied about. His battle speech, which presents a Judah whiter than white (so white that we must examine it more closely), is found on examination to be so full of holes to anyone who knew the truth that it brings out all Judah’s failures. It simply does not match up to what other scripture reveals about this guy.
There are four bad points that will be listed for us;
. He multiplied wife’s contrary to Deuteronomy 17.17.
, He constantly warred with Israel (13.2), something which our God YHWH was against (11.4).
. He did not prevent worship in the high places (14.3; 15.8).
. He entered (or continued in) a treaty relationship with Syria against Israel his brethren.
In the book of 1 Kings 15.3 it is said of him that he ‘walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him’, so that ‘his heart was not perfect with YHWH his God, as the heart of David his father had been’. As with Solomon his main folly is introduced after his death. But once we do read it about it, it throws a whole new light on his reign. Abijah’s sin rather is to be seen as lying in his superficiality, as he presents himself as a model Yahwist, only to be proved otherwise. The returnees from Exile would learn from this how men can appear righteous on the surface, but be evil underneath, and be warned against superficiality and its consequences. His quick death was probably seen as retribution for his sins.
A lesson for all of us who live today is to make sure we do not follow the ways of Abijah’s sins. For there are many who claim that they are Christians yet live the same way Abijah did.
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.
Since the scripture deals with both the North and the South we will see a lot of comparison of one king to the other. This verse brings out that Jeroboam was old enough to be Abijah’s father, and that Abijah was facing an experienced and mature enemy.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
Rehoboam was fifty-eight when he died which would make Abijah probably around forty when he began to reign. His short reign may have been because he was carried off by disease, but it would be a judgment on his life. Its very shortness would be a pointer to his waywardness. And even in this short period he did enough to be displeasing to YHWH as we have just listed. But the main point against him was that he did nothing to put things right. He let things slide.
Elsewhere his mother’s name was Maacah (11.22; 1 Kings 15.2), the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, and the grand-daughter of Absalom (11.21). Maacah was Rehoboam’s favorite wife, and a bad influence on both him and his father (1 Kings 15.13).
The war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam was continued by Abijah. It seems from what follows that he exulted in it, that he arrogantly saw himself as ‘in the right’. Contrary to YHWH’s previous command (11.4) he was out to re-establish Judah’s control over Israel even if it meant slaying his brothers. He saw Israel as rebels against David and against YHWH. And he knew what he intended to do about it.
3 Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.
The armies of Abijah and Jeroboam were gathered for battle. Abijah had four hundred thousand soldiers against Jeroboam’s eight hundred thousand men. But Abijah saw the right as on his side and was seemingly encouraged by it.
4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:
It was quite normal in those days for one general to try to dishearten the hearts of the enemy by some well-chosen words, seeking to put them in the wrong, while at the same time encouraging his own men.
Clearly Mount Zemaraim was a suitable spot for such an attempt, looking out over the enemy army in the valley While Abijah was talking Jeroboam was able to deploy his forces to obtain a military advantage. On this mountain Abijah stood and called to Jeroboam and the troops of Israel. Notice the deliberately demeaning way in which he spoke of Jeroboam, omitting his title and calling him plain ‘Jeroboam’. He saw Jeroboam as his father’s servant, an underling. He ignored the fact that he was the chosen of YHWH.
His argument was basically threefold:
• 1) that God had covenanted Israel to David and his sons as the Kingdom of YHWH and that Israel had therefore no right to break away.
• 2) that Israel had forsaken YHWH while Judah had been true to Him.
• 3) that Judah alone worshipped YHWH truly and could therefore know that He was on their side.
We must remember that it was our Holy God YHWH Who had taken Israel away from the house of David and had chosen Jeroboam as their king, calling on him to be faithful to Him (1 Kings 11.30-39). Also, that YHWH was angry with Judah because so much of their supposedly true worship was only nominal and carried out in parallel with false worship. Abijah was thus overlooking the fact that Israel had been lost to the house of David precisely because of the sins of his fathers, not because of anything that Jeroboam or Israel had done. Remember the valuable statement, ‘when you point your finger at someone remember that three fingers are pointing back at you.’
Like so many sinners he was unaware of the gravity of the sins of which he and his fathers had been guilty and could not believe that YHWH would call them into judgment for such sins. In fact, it was the house of David which had broken the covenant, not Jeroboam. Initially Jeroboam had obeyed YHWH. We therefore must see these words for what they are, propaganda in order to discourage the Israelites rather than as an actual stating of the real truth, although they do, of course, contain some truth.
5 Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?
He claimed that YHWH had given the kingship over Israel to David. This was true and it was because of this that the house of David retained Judah and Benjamin. But it was not true that YHWH had unconditionally given kingship over the whole of Israel to the house of David. The gift was conditional. And the house of David had by their sins forfeited the gift. It was only for David’s sake that they even retained Judah. In this at least Jeroboam had not been at fault.
One thing that is important about this verse is that it demonstrates that the coming everlasting kingdom was alive and well in men’s minds. Abijah clearly saw it as a fixed hope, he had simply got other facts wrong.
A covenant of salt was a binding covenant (Numbers 18.19). Once the use of salt had been involved in the making of a covenant it was binding in perpetuity. Salt had to be included in every meal offering for this reason, as the offeror bound himself to the covenant (Leviticus 2.13). When men ‘eat salt’ together it binds them together in friendship and in the faithful carrying out of any agreement. Salt indicates permanence. It was their use of salt that enabled them to preserve foods.
Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
Abijah seeks to put all the blame for the breach between Israel and the house of David on Jeroboam. He points to him as a servant rebelling against his lord. He ignores the fact that it was our Holy Ruler God YHWH who had spurred Jeroboam on to do this, and totally overlooks the fact that Israel always made their own choice based on their custom when choosing a king. As a consequence, any breach had been the fault of Rehoboam who had really given them no choice. Abijah was trying to make Israel feel guilty. He failed to understand that this was the way that they had always done things.
7 Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them.
Abijah tries to exonerate his dad who really was a mature adult at 41 years old by portraying him as ‘young and tender-hearted’ and easily persuaded, one of whom those worthless and base men of Israel had taken advantage. The irony of this, of course, was that it was worthless and base friends of Rehoboam who had been really to blame, together with Rehoboam himself, who in his maturity should have listened to the older men, his wise advisers. His picture of poor little Rehoboam having no chance against these devious Israelites is laughable. The Israelites had come honestly to make him king and had been rebuffed by a mature king acting in arrogance.
8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.
Abijah claims that their worthless and base predecessors had withstood the kingship of YHWH in the hands of the sons of David in the past at the beginning of Rehoboam’s reign, and now here were their descendants doing the same. And they did so as ‘a great multitude’. In his view the whole army of Israel had to bear the blame unless they came to their senses. They were as worthless and base as their predecessors. (He is trying to shame them into deserting).
But now he comes to a more solid argument. Seemingly among the host of Israel were the golden calves (or similar ones) which Jeroboam had made, probably present with the army with the intention of gaining help in battle (as the Ark had been taken into battle in 1 Samuel 4.3 ff. It was probably Jeroboam’s intention that the calves be bearing YHWH as on His invisible throne, but they were, of course, graven images and the people had begun to worship them falsely (1 Kings 12.30). Abijah also saw them as idols and as therefore condemning them in the eyes of YHWH. But he appears not to have considered the idols which were rampant in Judah about which he had done nothing. His speech is full of hypocrisy.
9 Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?
Seeking to discourage Israel even more he pointed out that they had driven out the true priests of YHWH, the sons of Aaron, together with their Levite assistants, all of whom had been appointed by The God of Israel, YHWH. And he had replaced them with priests who were simply a imitation of the real thing. These new priests had not been appointed because of their valid ancestry which made them acceptable to YHWH God, but because they had decided the matter on their own volition. Rather than being the chosen of YHWH the choice had been made by themselves. Each priest had chosen himself for the position. All they had had to do was bring a bullock and seven rams and consecrate themselves, just like the idolaters of other lands. It was fitting that such appointees be priests of what were ‘not really gods’ at all.
So, their gods were false, and their priests were false. What help then did they expect of them? The consecration by a bullock and seven rams was probably a deliberate and scornful exaggeration, considering the way in which Levitical priests were consecrated (contrast Exodus 29.1). They multiplied the ram offerings to make their consecration valid! But, of course, it did not work.
10 But as for us, the LORD Is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.
This was how Abijah wanted Israel to see Judah. It was true that publicly YHWH was their God, and perhaps it was true that they had not forsaken Him. It depends on whether you see a married man who has a girlfriend on the side as ‘forsaking’ his wife. Outwardly he has not done so. But his wife might not agree. Staying with her and putting on an outward show could hardly be indicating a perfect relationship. And yet this is what Judah were doing with YHWH. What he was describing was all surface. It did not indicate the real heart of Judah.
11 And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him.
Abijah then points to all the outwards acts implemented by Yahweh. As previous ordered by Adoni Yahweh Judah continually offers the morning and evening burnt offerings and incense. They regularly change the showbread on the golden table in the Sanctuary. They regularly arrange for the golden lampstands to be burning every evening. They do all that YHWH their God has commanded, whereas Israel have deserted Him. It must be obvious to all whom YHWH will favor. But at least Israel was honest about it. Judah put on a show and then went off to worship their other gods. Everything that Abijah claims about Judah in the end points accusing fingers back at them.
12 Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”
Now he ends with the real issue. The priests of YHWH were about to sound their alarm trumpets urging Judah on to battle. And because YHWH was with them at their head, to fight against Judah would be to fight against the God of their fathers with the consequence that they could have no hope of prospering. He almost sounds as though he believes it. Possibly he has talked himself into doing so. But if God were to act on the real situation his hopes would collapse, for Judah was not faithful to YHWH.
This reminds me of two sports teams both taking time to pray to our Holy Lord for victory. Our Great God should not be brought into such a prayer. He loves the players on both teams.
Fortunately for Abijah God had more cause to be angry with Jeroboam than with Abijah. For He had appointed Jeroboam over the ten tribes calling on him to be faithful. And Jeroboam, through fear of losing the kingdom, had been the opposite and had perverted the religion of Israel and spurned the appointed priests of YHWH. Abijah had this advantage, that he was a son of David for whose sake YHWH was prepared to preserve the Davidic kingship (1 Kings 15.4-5), and he also had a son who was more worthy than he was. These would be the reasons which caused him to prevail, rather than the claims which he had made in his speech which anyone knowing the facts would totally discount.
13 But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so, they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
Meanwhile Jeroboam had taken advantage of Abijah’ speech. He directed some of his troops to circle round the forces of Judah and come up behind them. They thus had the army of Judah trapped between two armies, with no way of retreating.
14 And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
When Judah recognized the predicament that they were in it threw them on YHWH, and they cried out the battle cry of the South to Him. Now their prayers were genuine, and YHWH heard them. So, when the priests sounded with their trumpets and they gave a great shout, YHWH went before them and smote their enemy.
These were typical battle tactics, but they remind us of when the people of Israel were preparing to launch themselves on Jericho. There also the priests sounded their trumpets and the people gave a great shout. This was Jericho revisited. But the consequence here was that it was the human walls which caved in. ‘God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah’.
16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.
Both segments of Israel’s armies were routed because God delivered them into the hand of Judah. ‘The children of Israel fled before them.’ The battle was won.
17 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so, five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain.
That day there was great slaughter. Five hundred thousand men of Israel were killed. They were so weakened that they would cause no more trouble to Judah during the remaining lifetime of Jeroboam (verse 20). YHWH stood firm for Abijah for David’s sake (1 Kings 15.4-5), not because of the hypocritical arguments he had put forward.
18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.
Our Gracious Holy God YHWH was giving the people of Judah another chance. He delivered the children of Israel into their hands because in their predicament they had relied on Him. That had been the positive import of Abijah’s battle speech and it had seemingly encouraged Judah to think rightly. But Abijah should have learned from it and righted the wrongs in Judah. (It probably helped Asa, Abijah’s son, who might well have been involved in the battle, to genuinely trust in YHWH. Having a more genuine attitude towards YHWH he may even have taken the speech at face value).
19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages.
Abijah not only pursued after Jeroboam, but he was able to take possession of cities and land which belonged to Israel. He took possession of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with all their related small towns. The expanding of territory was always a sign of YHWH’s favor.
Bethel was an Ephraimite town on the borders of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7.28; Joshua 18.13, 22). It was one of the two towns in which Jeroboam had set up the golden calves (which were at this time with the army). Ephron was possibly the same as Ophrah (Joshua 18.23).
20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD struck him, and he died.
The victory was so complete that Abijah had no more trouble from Jeroboam (aided by the fact that he had an alliance with the King of Aram (Syria chapter 16.3), and it probably explains why Asa had ten years of rest at the start of his reign (14.1). Jeroboam was unable to build up his strength again before he died three years into Asa’s reign, smitten by YHWH, leaving Israel to his son in a weakened state. The reference to his being smitten by YHWH indicates that God had not forgotten his treacherous behavior, and explains why the victory was given to Abijah in spite of his own inadequacies
21 But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
In a peace time after war you see a great influx of babies. When Abijah grew strong with a time of peace through our Holy Lord YHWH’s help? He multiplied wives to himself. That was his response to YHWH’s goodness. Instead of assiduously putting right what was wrong, he added to his sins and forsook the Law. He disobeyed Deuteronomy 17.17 showing that all his words had been just hot air.
As with Rehoboam some would interpret the number of his sons as evidence of God’s favor. But what Scripture sees as demonstrating God’s favor is a large number of sons through one or two women. Producing twenty sons from fourteen wives was hardly evidence of being prolific. It can easily be argued that it was the opposite. It is doubtful if post-Exilic Israel were impressed. They would rather notice that Abijah had ignored the Law concerning the number of wives he took.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo.
This final verse has a special significance on its own. It is clear from our scripture today that Abijah was good with words. Like so many he could sound pious when it was called for. But it did not turn into deeds. This is the severe warning from the life of Abijah. May we learn to walk the walk not just talk the talk.
