Study Desk

^(a)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.

He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. ^(b)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men who were valiant warriors.

Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(c)Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

Do you not know that ^(d)the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David ^[a]and his sons by ^(e)a covenant of salt?

Yet ^(f)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his ^[b]master,

and worthless men gathered about him, scoundrels, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when ^[c](g)he was young and timid and could not hold his own against them.

"So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the Lord ^[d]through the sons of David, ^[e]being a great multitude and having with you ^(h)the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you.

⁽ⁱ⁾Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord , the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(j)to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are ^(k)no gods.

But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites ^[f]attend to their work.

Every morning and evening ^(l)they ^[g]burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and ^(m)the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him.

Now behold, God is with us at our head and ⁽ⁿ⁾His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."

But Jeroboam ^(o)had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

When Judah turned around, behold, ^[h]they were attacked both front and rear; so ^(p)they cried to the Lord , and the priests blew the trumpets.

Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God ^[i](q)routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, ^(r)God gave them into their hand.

Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.

Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah ^[j]conquered ^(s)because they trusted in the Lord , the God of their fathers.

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and ^[k]Ephron with its villages.

Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the ^(t) Lord struck him and ^(u)he died.

But Abijah became powerful; and took fourteen wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in ^(v)the ^[l]treatise of ^(w)the prophet Iddo.

^[a](a)So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

^[b]Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God,

for he removed ^(b)the foreign altars and ^(c)high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[c](d)Asherim,

and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment.

He also removed the high places and the ^(e)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.

^(f)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^[d]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(g)because the Lord had given him rest.

For he said to Judah, "^(h)Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[e]ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.

Now Asa had an army of ⁽ⁱ⁾300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(j)came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^(k)Mareshah.

So Asa went out ^[f]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

Then Asa ^(l)called to the Lord his God and said, " Lord , there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, ^(m)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord , You are our God; let not man prevail against You."

So ⁽ⁿ⁾the Lord ^[g]routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(o)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[h]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder.

They ^[i]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(p)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

They also struck down ^[j]those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.