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1KI Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22
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15:1 Abiyyam rules over Yehudah
15 In the eighteenth year of (Nabat’s son) King Yarobam’s reign over Israel, Abiyyam became king of Yehudah. 2 (His mother’s name was Maakah, one of Abishalom’s daughters.) He reigned from Yerushalem for three years 3 but he disobeyed God in ways similar to his father—he wasn’t interested in following his God Yahweh completely like his ancestor David had done. 4 However for David’s sake, his God Yahweh gave Abiyyam a son to rule after him—to allow Yerushalem to continue on with a flicker of light[ref] 5 because David had done what Yahweh had said was correct, and thoughout his life he hadn’t deviated from what Yahweh had instructed him, except in the matter concerning Uriyyah the Hittite.[ref] 6 Rehavam’s and Yarobam’s factions were in a continual state of war during Abiyyam’s reign.[ref] 7 Everything else that Abiyyam did is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yehudah, as the war between Abiyyam and Yarobam continued.
8 Then Abiyyam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Asa replaced him as king.
1 Kings 15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13
From Sunday School lessons to inspiring sermons, modern portrayals of biblical characters often suffer from overly simplistic, two-dimensional perspectives on people’s moral character and deeds, but a careful reading of Scripture often shows reality to be more complex. The story of Abijah is ripe for similar misunderstanding unless one reads both biblical accounts of his reign. Abijah (also called Abijam) son of Rehoboam reigned for only three short years over Judah, and 1 Kings 15:3 tersely notes that “he committed all the sins that his father did before him; his heart was not true to the Lord his God.” It also notes that Abijah’s entire reign was marked by war with Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:6). From this it would be easy to assume that his reign was characterized only by wickedness and moral decline. Yet 2 Chronicles, though silent on the final assessment of Abijah’s overall character, seems to present Abijah as a leader who takes up the righteous cause of bringing the rebellious northern tribes of Israel back under the fold of Judah’s Davidic dynasty and Aaronic priesthood, though he was ultimately unsuccessful. As part of this effort, Abijah makes a foray into the northern tribes’ territory and arrives at Mount Zemaraim, but Jeroboam confronts him there with twice the amount of forces. The location of Mount Zemaraim is not certain, but it may have been located at the twin hills (which may explain the dual form of the name) of Ras ez Zemara, which suggests Abijah was advancing along a secondary route to avoid initial detection or fortifications along the main Central Ridge Route. There Abijah calls upon Jeroboam and all Israel to return to the leadership of David and Aaron. While Abijah is making his appeal, however, Jeroboam positions some of his forces in ambush behind Abijah’s forces, but Abijah’s men win a great victory over them and capture the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron (also called Ophrah). The writer of Chronicles notes that Abijah’s forces were victorious “because they relied on the Lord” and that Jeroboam never recovered from his weakened power for the rest of his reign, while Abijah grew strong (though Abijah’s reign was only for three years).
1KI Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22