2 CHRONICLES 13 - ABIJAH

Heart Issues
Abijah made steps in the right direction, but he did not go all the way in turning the people back to the Lord. He displayed great faith though to go up against a vast army and trust that the Lord would win the battle. I am sure he looked back on history and saw that impossible situations for God’s people were not impossible with God’s presence. God is the winner of battles and the protector of His name. I want to trust Him for that in my life as well. No matter is too large or unconquerable for my God. He is huge and able to do all that I can ask or imagine. God is worthy of my praise. He is holy and turns against the unholy that defile His name. I am thankful to God for how he deals with sin and the false worship of lesser gods.

Notes
-It doesn’t tell us a whole lot about Abijah himself. Some things we know about reading the chapter before and the beginning of the chapter after are that he learned from his father’s last action of humbling himself and began to seek the Lord as well. He stayed faithful to God in some ways and led the people of Judah to win the battle against the less faithful Israel. However he did not cut down the Asherah poles, remove the high places, or smash the sacred stones. This was done later by Asa.
-He was a good king though and set his son up to be an even better king. Each generation can make the next even better.
-It’s awesome to see how even strategy and military might is nothing compared to the Lord’s presence. They had double the people and even a surprise ambush and the Lord routed the enemy. This was an illustration of the wrath of God coming against His people who did not follow Him.