Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Week 20 - Day 4


2 Chronicles 12-15; Psalm 108

*Click here to read these passages:

What a story in 2 Chronicles 13!  You’ve got Abijah and an army of Judah against Jeroboam and an army of Israel that is twice their size.  Not only are they double in size, but they are also surrounding them from both the front and the back.  Abijah gives a speech about how God is with them and that they should not fight them because they would not succeed.  They did attack, and the men of Judah cried out to the Lord.  Verse 18 says, “The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.”

What is interesting is that Abijah was actually not a king that was considered as doing right in the eyes of the Lord.  Overall his heart was not devoted to following the Lord.  He only reigned for 3 years, whereas the kings who did right in the eyes of the Lord are associated with long reigns.  Asa, for example, who led a great revival and reform after Abijah, reigned for 41 years.  The books of Chronicles are meant to inspire and encourage the small group of God’s people who are left so the focus is not on the kings themselves, but what God did for the people when they were looking to Him.  Here at this battle they looked to the Lord as their leader and relied on Him, and even though they were outnumbered 2 to1 God gave them the victory.

“With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.” 
(Psalm 108:13)

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