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The 2nd King of Judah… (3 things)
- 1st – Abijah or Abijam… vs. 1-2
- 1st – Abijah – son of Rehoboam – only reigned in Judah for 3 years…
- He was not a Good King – he walked in the sins of his father – Read: I Kings 15:1-6
- There is a common belief in the church today concerning generational curses…
- God visits the sin of the parents – to the children to the 3rd and 4th generation…
- Exodus 20:4-6 / Deuteronomy 5:8-9 / Exodus 34:6-7 / Numbers 14:18-19
- But what does God mean when He says He will visit the sins on the children…
- In the Balance of Scripture we are told that we do not suffer for the sins of others…
- Ezekiel 18:20 – ” The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
- To say children are cursed because of the choices of their parents contradicts the Bible…
- And anytime we try to establish a doctrine that contradictors any scripture – its wrong!
- The curse of example…
- The power of example is amazing – people tend to follow – good or bad…
- Stand outside and look up – see how long it takes for others to look up too…
- If a father gives an example of a sinful life to his kids – they will tend to follow…
- Yet if we had a bad example for parents – we are not bound to repeat their mistake…
- We are not cursed – just look to a better example – break the chain of the generations!
- In Jesus we are no longer bound to the definition of our parents – Jesus defines us!
- I Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
- He was not a Good King – he walked in the sins of his father – Read: I Kings 15:1-6
- 2nd – The heart of Abijah was not loyal to the Lord – like the heart of King David…
- That is an interesting comparison – because David had his issues…
- He had an affair with another man’s wife / and then murdered her husband…
- And then went on to lie about it for a full year before he finally confessed…
- Yet David was loyal IN SPITE of his mistakes – because he stood back up when he fell!
- A little child does not learn to walk the first time they step out and try…
- Their little legs are not strong yet – so they stumble and fall down – a LOT!
- But you do not get angry with them for falling – you pick them up so they can try again!
- God is not surprised when we make mistakes – He knows we are sinners…
- The important thing is to repent and come back to Jesus – get back up!
- Keeping in mind God is not done with us – in fact He is just getting started!
- Proverbs 24:16 – “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.”
- Abijah did not have his moments of loyalty…
- But the being a Godly man / women is not about moments – it is about the finish line!
- The Christian life is like a race – with a beginning and end…
- We began the race the day we believed in Jesus – it ends the day we die…
- So often as believers we start off well in our race – but we do not finish well…
- We treat it like a sprint – but after a while we get tired – distracted – and give up…
- The Christian life is a not a sprint – it is a marathon…
- If we want to make it to the goal – if we want to cross that finish line…
- And like any good Marathon runner – we need to get rid of the extra weight…
- Hebrews 12:1 – “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
- That is an interesting comparison – because David had his issues…
- 3rd – Yet God did not take away the Kingdom – for the sake of King David…
- The Southern Kingdom – and the line of David – did not end with Abijam…
- But God did take away his name – it was changed from Abijah to Abijam – I Kings 15…
- Abijah – means God is my Father / Abijam – means father of the sea…
- Rather than being a Son of God – he became a son of the sea (this world)…
- The sins of Abijam did not stop the plan of God – but he did miss out on God!
- When we choose not to live for God – He does not loose – it does not stop His plans…
- We are the only ones to suffer – we miss out on the blessing God had for us!
- 1st – Abijah – son of Rehoboam – only reigned in Judah for 3 years…
And we will find that the Lord makes us mighty – as He does a work through us!
2nd – War with Jeroboam… vs. 3-12
Abijah went to war with Jeroboam – 400k from Judah against 800k from Israel… vs. 3-4
As the armies prepared to fight – Abijah stood and spoke to Jeroboam and Israel…
The armies of Israel had superior numbers – but they would loose – 6 reasons!
1st – God had made a ‘covenant of salt’ with King David… vs. 5
Abijam seems to be referencing the idea that God had given an everlasting covenant…
He had promised that a Descendant of King David would always rule – II Samuel 7:11
The salt covenant – according to Jewish tradition (Targum) states:
As long as there is salt in the sea – the house of David will rule over Israel!
In spite of whatever failures Judah or its Kings made – God would never break His Word!
Because when God makes a promise – you can be sure He will keep it!
II Timothy 2:13 – “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
That should bring great comfort to our hearts – it means no matter how bad we get…
Like the parable of the ‘Lost sheep’ – Matthew 18:12 – God keeps reaching out to us!
2nd – Jeroboam had rebelled against God by taking advantage of Rehoboam… vs. 6-7
Rehoboam had just succeeded Solomon – he was young and inexperienced…
Jeroboam took advantage of that – stirring up rebellion for his own benefit…
God had promised to give the Northern tribes to Jeroboam – I Kings 11:31
But Jeroboam went about getting those tribes in an underhanded / sneaky way!
When God makes a promise to us – we need to wait for Him to fulfill that promise…
It is dangerous when rather than trusting in the Lord – looking to the Lord…
We look to ourselves – trust in ourselves – thinking that it is up to us to make things happen…
It is easy to justify the means by the end – but how we get there is just as important!
Proverbs 10:2 – “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.”
3rd – Jeroboam trusting in numbers – 800k of them… vs. 8
God took Gideon from 30k men – to just 300 – to show him it is not about numbers!
Elijah stood alone on Mt. Carmel against 450 prophets of Baal – but he was the majority!
Even today we have a tendency to look to and trust in ‘numbers’…
The 1st questions someone will ask about a church – how many people come…
We see quantity as a sign of God’s blessings – but God does not look at numbers…
God looks at the heart – He looks for those who truly desire to follow Him!
4th – Jeroboam trusted in idols (the golden calves) to save him… vs. 8
It is foolish to think that something I create – can then turn around and save me…
Isaiah 44:19-20 – “The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, ‘Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to… roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a chunk of wood?’”
We might think – well that is silly – of course carved idols cannot help you…
I do not think any of us plan on running home and bowing before some statue…
But we often forget what our money is made of – paper is a wood product…
Too often we look to old George ($10) / Abe ($5) / or even the revered Benjamin ($100)….
And we think they can help – they can save us – some piece of wood we shaped!
If we are trusting in idols then we are no longer looking or listening to God…
Where God has the power to help us / save us – idols can do nothing…
So if we are trusting in idols rather than in God – nothing happens – Psalms 115:8
5th – Jeroboam had rejected the Levites and Priests of God… vs. 9-11
He removed the men who were called to lead the people to God…
The men who were commanded to offer the sacrifices – the incense – lite the menorah…
And replaced them with false priests – anyone who offered a bull and 7 rams (paid for it)…
Men who were not there to bless the people – they were there for the job!
So they were doomed to fail – because they had ungodly shepherds!
Many become ‘pastors’ today – because they think of it as a job – a way to make money…
They are not there to love and provide from the people – they take from them!
They are just there for the paycheck – as a result fall under the judgment of God…
Too many pastors today abuse they authority they are given in the church…
They use the pulpit as a means for personal gain – take advantage of God’s people…
The result is people are wary of the church – the Gospel message has become tainted!
Ezekiel 34:2 – “Destruction is certain for you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?”
6th – Jeroboam was fighting against God… vs. 12
Bottom line – God was with Abijam – and against Jeroboam…
The priests were even blowing their trumpets to help emphasize the point…
There is no question that whosever side God is on – is going to win…
But it is easy to say God is with us – the question is how do we know!
It is fun to watch new years fire works – lots of ‘flashes’ and ‘bangs’…
But if you stick around after the ‘show’ – something far better appears…
Stars – they may not be as flashy – but they are there night after night!
The ideas of men are fireworks – flash / bang – and then they are gone…
But the things of the Lord – they continue to shine and never fade away!
3rd – A sneak attack… vs. 13-22
1st – While Abijah was speaking – Jeroboam secretly deployed his army… vs. 13
He sent some of them to ambush Judah from behind…
And before they knew what was happening – Judah was being attacked on two sides!
It was a brilliant move on the part of Jeroboam – showing the inexperience of Abijah…
Abijah was so busy focusing on the failures of Jeroboam – he missed the danger!
We need to be careful whom/what we focus on…
I have seen and often-noted Christians like to get their soapboxes…
They like to point out the failures of others – focusing on their sins…
Or they compare themselves to a sinful fallen world – and think they are ok…
But they tend to miss the subtle sins that have snuck in and encircled them!
Rather than looking at others – we need to be careful of our own walk!
II Peter 2:10 – “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble…”
2nd – In desperation – Abijah and Judah cried out to the Lord… 14-18
They were outmatched (2 to 1) and had been outsmarted…
By any account they should have been in a lot of trouble – but God…
As they priests blew their trumpets – and the men of Judah gave a shout…
God struck the army of Israel – perhaps causing confusion – and disarray…
The result was that Judah was able to wipe out 500k Israelites in battle!
All because the men of Judah trusted in the Lord…
In the 1967 ‘6 Day War’ of Israel – Israel was outnumbered 10 to 1…
The 5 attacking Arab nations easily outgunned Israel in tanks and weapons…
There is one story where honey bees – attacked a column of Egyptian tanks…
Driving them out of their tanks so that Israel could come and confiscate them!
Because when God is the one fighting for us – who can possibly stand against us!
Romans 8:31 – “Since God is for us – who can be against us!”
As we learn to depend on the Lord – we are absolutely assured of our victory…
Sin / satan / the flesh do not stand a chance – God will overcome them all!
He will complete the work of salvation He began in our lives – Philippians 1:6
3rd – Abijah captured 3 towns on the northern border of Judah… 19-22
Jeshanah with its villages – Ephrain with its villages – and Bethel…
You might ask – why take just 3 towns – Abijah had essentially broken the back of Israel…
He could have marched in and conquered the entire nation – reunited the Kingdom…
One might assume Abijah was being careful not to contradict the Word of the Lord…
God had told Rehoboam it was His plan to divide the nation – II Chronicles 11:4
But Abijah did take Bethel – where Jeroboam had set up one of the Golden calves!
Jeroboam never recovered from the defeat…
But Abijah became mighty – married 14 wives – and had 36 children!
Two nations / two choices / two very different outcomes – and a picture for us…
The Lord has allowed there to be two different paths we can chose in this life…
We can be like Israel – and reply upon our wit / strength – and ultimately fail…
Or we can be like Abijah – imperfect / flawed – but cry out to the Lord…
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