“and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.”
~ 2 Chronicles 13:15
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you pretend God-followers? Do you only ask God for help when you are in desperate need for help? How often have you pulled an Abijah? Abijah ruled from 913 B.C. to 910 B.C. as king over the guys and gals who were living in the land area of Judah. Rehoboam was Abijah’s dad. Rehoboam’s dad was Solomon. Solomon’s dad was David. Abijah was one of David’s great-grandkids. Jeroboam’s dad was Nebat. Nebat was one of Solomon’s officials. Jeroboam was responsible for the dividing of the Israelite people group guys and gals – who are God’s specially chosen guys and gals, into two kingdoms of guys and gals. The northern kingdom of Israelite people group guys and gals kept the name Israel for their land area. The southern kingdom of Israelite people group guys and gals took on the name Judah for their land area. Jeroboam positioned himself to be the first king to rule over the guys and gals who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam’s life goal was to rule as king over all of God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area that God gave to them to always to have to live as their very own land. Jeroboam had an unscrupulous gang of worthless scoundrels supporting him when he deliberately set himself up to oppose any guy from David’s extended family who would be in line to rule as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals. Rehoboam was an indecisive guy who did not have the strength or wherewithal to resist Jeroboam when Jeroboam established himself as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals. It fell on his kid Abijah to stop Jeroboam from ultimately fulfilling his egotistical life goal. The Chronicler – in 2 Chronicles 13, recounts the epic, all-out battle that broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam – between Israel’s southern kingdom and Israel’s northern kingdom, all because of Jeroboam’s narcissism and conceit. Jeroboam amassed an armed force of about 800,000 Israelite people group guys – guys who were living in the northern kingdom of Israel. Abijah confronted Jeroboam at Mount Zemaraim with an armed force of about 400,000 Israelites people group guys – guys who were living in the southern kingdom of Israel.
As Abijah was railing away at Jeroboam for having made gold calves to worship, Jeroboam sent some of his guys from his armed force behind Abijah’s armed force to ambush Abijah’s guys. When the guys in Abijah’s armed force realized that they were about to be ambushed, the guys desperately called out to God for His help. Verse 15 sums up what happened when the priests among Abijah’s fighting force began to blow their trumpets, “and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.” 500,000 guys in Jeroboam’s armed force died during the ensuing chaos. The smaller southern kingdom armed force won this battle against their much larger northern kingdom’s armed force because they relied on God to help them. Abijah and his armed force of southern kingdom guys captured from the northern kingdom the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, Ephron and these town’s surrounding villages. Because of losing this battle against Abijah and the southern kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam lost any power and influence that he had among the guys, gals and kids who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. God saw to it that Jeroboam died. Abijah would have his strength and sway grow among the guys and gals who were living in the southern kingdom of Israel. Even though Abijah sounded like he was a true God-follower, Abijah’s words were just shallow, gong-like words. The Chronicler put a positive twist on Abijah’s life while the Kings Books historian put a negative spin on Abijah’s life. Even though Abijah was used by God to put an end to Jeroboam’s drive to become the single dominant leader over both the southern and northern kingdoms of Israelite people group guys and gals, Abijah is not remembered as a guy who took the time to specially honor and revere God for how God helped him against Jeroboam and Jeroboam’s northern kingdom armed forces. Abijah seemed to have as his life goal accumulating wives and having a lot of kids. Abijah ruled for just three years as king over the Israelite people group southern kingdom of guys and gals.
Your grandpaa had two classes at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota that were taught by a rabid, avowed Marxist. In order to receive a B.A. degree from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, your grandpaa needed to take a year of liberal arts classes from an accredited college or university. Your grandpaa opted to take the classes at South Dakota State University. In one of the two classes that your grandpaa had with the teacher who had bought into Marist ideology, the guy said that ‘if a guy or gal had nothing to fight for, that he or she had nothing to live for’. This South Dakota State University professor traveled to Peru to learn from Gustavo Gutiérrez – who is the prominent spokesman for liberation theology, to underpin his beliefs. Because the Bible ostensibly states that the meek/poor will one day inherit the land that is now owned by rich land owners, this South Dakota State University self-purporting communist professor believes that the meek/poor have the right now to take the land from all the rich dudes in any way that they can. Liberation theology is a communal driven belief that presupposes that there will be universal peace if there are no status differences that is caused by wealth anywhere on planet Earth. This misguided belief ideal supports communist ideology. This belief ideal though should identify a Christ-follower. Your grandpaa hopes that you know by now that being proactive, faithful servants of God is the only way to find true inner peace.
2 Chronicles 13 (831)