Tag Archives: 2 Chronicles 11-14

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2023 Bible Study — Listen To God Before Choosing Your Battles, Then Trust Him To Determine The Outcome

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

In today’s passage we have three successive kings of Judah and four wars (sort of).  After Jeroboam led the northern tribes in rebellion against him, Rehoboam mustered the fighting men of Judah and Benjamin to force an end to the rebellion.  However, God sent the prophet Shemaiah to tell them not to fight against their fellow Israelites.  When the army heard Shemaiah’s words, they went home.  (as a side note: this always reads to me like Rehoboam did not have a choice about whether to contest the rebellion after this because his army refused to fight to reclaim the northern territory).  Initially after this, most of those who lived in the northern territory who rejected Jeroboam’s idol worship moved south to Judah.  In Rehoboam’s fifth year, Judah was invaded by Egypt.  Once again, the prophet Shemaiah delivered God’s word to Rehoboam and the people of Judah.  Shemaiah told them that God had abandoned them to the Egyptians because they had abandoned Him. In response, Rehoboam and his officials humbled themselves.  Since they humbled themselves, God turned aside from His anger.   After Rehoboam died his son, Abijah ruled in Jerusalem.  During Abijah’s reign he was at war with Jeroboam.  In one battle, the army of Judah was vastly outnumbered by Jeroboam’s army.  Abijah appealed to God, and his army cried out to God, and they routed Jeroboam’s army.  The final battle in today’s passage occurred when Asa, Abijah’s son was king.  The king of Cush marched against Judah with a massive army.  Asa called out to God, and God struck down the Cushite army.

There are two lessons to learn from this.  First, we need to listen to God when we choose which battles to fight.  Second, we need to learn to call on God and trust Him when we do fight battles.  And, actually there is a third lesson: if we do not listen to God, we may end up having to fight battles we would have been better off avoiding.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2022 Bible Study — Do Not Fight Any Battles Which God Does Not Wish You To Fight

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

I am not sure where I am going with this today.  I want to start by talking about how the people and leaders of Judah responded to the prophet Shemaiah.  When Rehoboam rallied the troops to suppress Jeroboam’s rebellion, Shemaiah told the fighting force of Judah and Benjamin not to fight against their fellow Israelites.  While it is not clear from the passage, it appears to me that the army of Judah and Benjamin did not give Rehoboam a choice as to whether he would listen to Shemaiah.  Then, later in Rehoboam’s reign, Shemaiah again prophesied against the rulers of Judah.  Shemaiah told them that God had abandoned them to Shishak of Egypt because they had abandoned His worship.  In response, the leaders of Judah, including Rehoboam, humbled themselves and accepted God’s judgement.  Then we have the account of Abijah, Rehoboam’s son, warring against Jeroboam of the Northern Kingdom.  Elsewhere we are told that Abijah did evil in the sight of the Lord.  However, on this occasion, when he was both badly outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Abijah called on God and was victorious.  I will note that the reliance on God seems to have more been on the part of his army than Abijah himself.  Finally, we have the account of Asa against the Cushite army.  The writer here tells us that Asa was good and right in the sight of the Lord.  Asa was greatly outnumbered, but, when he called upon God, he was victorious.

As I said, I am not quite sure where this is going.  When Rehoboam went to suppress Jeroboam’s rebellion, Shemaiah told his army that God did not support their actions, and the army went home.  When Shishak invaded Judah, Shemaiah told the people of Jerusalem that God was with Shishak, and they surrendered to him.  When Abijah fought Jeroboam and the army of the Northern Kingdom, Abijah told the Israelites of the North that God was not with them, and they lost heart and went down to defeat.  When Asa went up against the Cushite army, he knew that victory could only come if God was on his side.  God was indeed on Asa’s side and Asa was victorious.  Do not go into battle, or any other endeavor, unless it is one which God desires you to fight.  If God is with you, you will be victorious.  If He is not, you will fail.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2021 Bible Study Turning To God In Times Of Trouble

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

When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem after his disastrous trip to Shechem, where the Northern Tribes rebelled against his rule, we see that he initially obeyed God’s commands.  As a result, the priests, Levites, and those who wished to follow the Lord migrated from the territory controlled by Jeroboam into Judah.  This migration set the stage for Rehoboam’s grandson to rule as a faithful follower of the Lord.  Further, we have three incidents in this passage where the people of Judah turned to God when facing overwhelming odds.  In all three incidents God provided deliverance.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2020 Bible Study Faithfully Serving God Gives Us the Tools To Face Challenges

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

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

After the disastrous decision which Rehoboam made at what was supposed to be his coronation, he made a wise decision of listening to the prophet Shemaiah and not making war on the rest of Israel in an attempt to assert his authority over them.  He followed that up by continuing to promote faithfully worshiping God while he consolidated his authority as king.  This led the priests and Levites, and others who wished to faithfully worship God, to  migrate from the Northern Kingdom to the territory controlled by Rehoboam.  Unfortunately, once he had fully consolidated his authority, he no longer felt it necessary to remain faithful.  However, when once again he was confronted by the prophet Shemaiah, he repented.

When war broke out between Abijah, Rehoboam’s son, and Jeroboam, Abijah used the fact that the priests and Levites had moved to his territory to break the moral of the Northern Army.  Abijah’s son, Asa, learned a lesson from what happened in this battle and started his reign dedicated to eliminating idol worship in his kingdom.  The result being that he was able to completely defeat a much larger army when it invaded.  It seems likely that in the process of removing pagan shrines from all of the towns and villages where his writ ran, Asa and his generals learned the layout of the land in detail.  Which allowed them to pick the right location to face their enemy.  The above is not to downplay the significance God played in delivering a victory to Asa’s army. Rather, I am pointing out how faithfully following God often gives us the tools to face unforeseen challenges which arise later.

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2019 Bible Study

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

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

When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem after the rebellion of the Northern Tribes, he mustered the warriors of Judah and Benjamin to attempt to take put down the rebellion.   However a prophet named Shemaiah prophesied that they should not make war against their fellow Israelites.  The passage here, and the equivalent in 1 Kings, is somewhat ambiguous about who responded to Shemaiah’s prophecy, but it reads to me like the warriors declined to fight against their fellow Israelites and Rehoboam was forced to allow the Northern Tribes to go their own way.  In response to this Rehoboam initially emphasized following God’s commands as laid out in the Law of Moses and welcomed the priests and Levites who migrated from the territory of the Northern Tribes.  The wording of the passage suggests that the Levites left the Northern Kingdom voluntarily because they felt unwelcome there.  Once Rehoboam felt secure on the throne of the Southern Kingdom he stopped doing more than paying lip service to doing God’s will.  However, when the Pharaoh of Egypt invaded, he had a renewal of faith.

Fortunately, both Rehoboam’s son and grandson learned from his shortcomings and were faithful to God.  When Rehoboam’s son Abijah was king, Jeroboam attempted to conquer at least part of the Southern Kingdom.  Jeroboam’s army outnumbered the southern army by two to one.  The account of the battle between the two armies is interesting.  While Abjiah was practicing psychological warfare against the northern army, Jeroboam was outflanking him..  In the end, the faith which the men of the southern army placed in God was rewarded and they slaughtered much of the northern army. We have a similar story when Abijah’s son Asa became king.  This time the opposing army was not that of the Northern Kingdom, but one from Ethiopia.  Asa was able to muster a larger army than his father had, but the Ehtiopian army was even larger and once again they were outnumbered by approximately two to one.  King Asa recognized that he could not defeat such a large army directly and called on God’s aid.  God provided that aid and Asa defeated the enemy army.

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2018 Bible Study — If We Put Our Trust In God, We Will Thrive

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

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

    There are several things in today’s passage which strike me as noteworthy. However, I am unsure how many of them I will touch on. It will depend on how much I have to say about each of them and whether or not I can find a way to transition between them.

    When Jeroboam took control of the Northern Tribes the first thing he did was replace the Levitical priesthood with priests loyal to himself. It is not quite clear what the Levites, aside from the descendants of Aaron, did outside of Jerusalem (and Gibeon before that), but they clearly provided religious leadership. Jeroboam removed that role from the Levites and gave it to others of his own choosing. As a result all of the Levites, both priests and non-priests, moved to the area under the control of Rehoboam. This had further results, all of those from the Northern Tribes who wished to follow the Law of Moses migrated from the territory controlled by Jeroboam to the territory controlled by Rehoboam. From this we discover that not all of the members of the “Ten Lost Tribes” lived in the Northern Kingdom when it later fell to the Assyrians and its people were taken into exile. (This, by the way, is why I usually refer to the “Northern Kingdom” and the “Southern Kingdom” rather than the “Kingdom of Israel” and the “Kingdom of Judah” when referring to the divided kingdoms).

    We know from both the account of his reign in Kings and from the description of his son’s reign here that Abijah was not a godly king. Abijah allowed pagan shrines and Asherah poles, even supported worship at them, during his reign. Yet, when he found himself at war with Jeroboam and the Northern Kingdom, he pointed out the continued worship of God among the people of the Southern Kingdom as a reason why the Northern Kingdom would not be victorious. Jeroboam outmaneuvered Abijah by outflanking Abijah’s army. However, Abijah’s troops, outflanked and outnumbered, put their trust in God and were victorious. Later, when Abijah’s son, Asa, was king, we have a similar story. The Southern Kingdom was attacked by an army for Ethiopia (Cush) which greatly out numbered the army which Asa was able to muster. Asa, who unlike his father was faithful to God, called on the Lord for aid and was overwhelmingly victorious. Ordinarily, one would have expected a war between two such armies to take more than one battle. However, Asa found himself on the borders of the land he controlled and the army which he had come to fight completely defeated. So, he took the opportunity to extend his control beyond its previous borders. By putting their trust in God, the people of the Southern Kingdom were able to thrive.

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2017 Bible Study — Relying On God When The Odds Are Against Us

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

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

    When Jeroboam went to war against Rehoboam’s son, Abijah, he was able to field a much larger army than Abijah. The Bible accounts are unclear as to how this war started, but the timing suggests that Jeroboam sought to take advantage of an inexperienced, young king (although the location suggests that Abijah may have been the aggressor). At the start of the battle, Abijah reminded both sides that God had promised David that his descendants would hold the throne forever. Furthermore, he reminded them that Jeroboam had driven the priests and Levites out of Israel. While Abijah was speechifying, Jeroboam outmaneuvered his army and attacked them from the rear while engaging them on the front. Tactically, this was a great move which should have given Jeroboam a great advantage. However, the army of Judah (and perhaps that of Israel as well) had listened to Abijah’s speech and called out to God for help before engaging the enemy. Abijah won a great victory that day, leaving Jeroboam weakened for the rest of his reign. Abijah and his army won that day because they trusted God despite being outnumbered and outflanked. Let us remember to do the same when we face opposition to carrying out God’s will.

     When Asa, Abijah’s son, took the throne he ruled with an eye on serving God faithfully. King Asa destroyed the various pagan shrines put up by his predecessors AND he destroyed those throughout the entire land. He led the people of Judah to serve the Lord in all that they did. As a result, Judah had ten years of peace. At some point in his reign, Judah was attacked by an army of around 1 million from Ethiopia. When Asa with his army of 680,000 faced them he called on God for aid. The passage tells us that God defeated the Ethiopian army in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah. This suggests that the enemy army broke before battle was entered. Asa had been a good king, doing God’s will and leading his people to follow God. Yet he faced this overwhelming army. However, he did not throw up his hands and say, “Why did God allow this to happen?” No, he cried out to God, acknowledging that only God could save him and his nation against these overwhelming odds.

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2016 Bible Study — Putting Our Faith In God

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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

    When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem from learning that the Northern Tribes had rejected him as king, he immediately gathered the army to put down the rebellion. However, God sent a prophet to tell him not to do so. I do not believe that Rehoboam listened to the prophet on his own. I believe that his army refused to march out against the Northern Tribes because of what the prophet said to them. We are also told that the priests and Levites living among the Northern Tribes moved to the territory controlled By Rehoboam, as well as those other Israelites who truly wanted to worship God (I am sure that this is slight hyperbole; there were certainly some Israelites who wanted to continue worshiping God for whom relocating to Judah was impractical). Those who moved to Judah from among he Northern Tribes fully supported Rehoboam for three years. Unfortunately, Rehoboam’s “faith” was politically motivated. As soon as he had consolidated power, he abandoned his dedication to God and led the people into sinfulness. We need to be careful about leaders who behave like Rehoboam; leaders who start out apparently worshiping God, who abandon doing so as soon as their power is established.

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    In this passage there are three accounts of where the Southern Kingdom was in a bad situation militarily. In each of these cases, they called out to God for deliverance and he delivered them. It is worth noting that in the first case, they first acknowledged that they deserved the suffering they were experiencing because of their failure to be faithful to God. In all three cases they were facing an enemy whose army was vastly superior to their own. The lesson for us is that God is able to see us through whatever troubles we face, no matter how overwhelming they are, if we put our faith in Him.