Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 11-14.

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Every year I want to comment on the way in which Rehoboam started out walking according to God’s commands and every year I struggle with putting the thoughts together (and most years I end up not writing anything about it as a result).  Two things happened after Jeroboam led the northern tribes in revolt against Rehoboam.  First, a prophet told Rehoboam and the army of Judah and Benjamin not to fight against Jeroboam.  Second, the Levites and those who desired to serve God faithfully left the area controlled by Jeroboam and migrated to the area controlled by Rehoboam.  I am convinced that Rehoboam did not attempt to put down Jeroboam’s rebellion more because his army refused to go against the word of God from the prophet more than because he was going along with the message from the prophet.  These two facts meant that Rehoboam had no choice but to abide by God’s laws for a time.  However, as soon as he had solidly established his authority over Judah, Rehoboam abandoned his pretense of following the Lord.  Rehoboam only served God when he thought that he needed to do so to establish his power.  As soon as he felt safe in his power he turned from God and did evil.

Then we have Rehoboam’s son, Abijah.  Abijah was at war with Jeroboam and marched into the territory of Ephraim.  There the army of Judah was outnumbered and surrounded by the army of Israel under Jeroboam.  As the armies prepared for battle, Abijah gave a speech which served as a rallying cry to his men and to dishearten Jeroboam’s army.  In that speech Abijah pointed out that God had given the throne in Jerusalem to David and his descendants and that the people under Jeroboam had driven out the Levites and had forsaken God’s commands.  As a result of Abijah’s speech, the men of Judah put their faith in God while the men of Israel felt disheartened.  In a similar way, Asa, Abijah’s son, called upon God when faced with an overwhelming force of Ethiopian soldiers.  Both of these accounts show that if we put our trust in God He will deliver us from danger, even when the odds are stacked against us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.