I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 11-14.

    There are several things in today’s passage which strike me as noteworthy. However, I am unsure how many of them I will touch on. It will depend on how much I have to say about each of them and whether or not I can find a way to transition between them.

    When Jeroboam took control of the Northern Tribes the first thing he did was replace the Levitical priesthood with priests loyal to himself. It is not quite clear what the Levites, aside from the descendants of Aaron, did outside of Jerusalem (and Gibeon before that), but they clearly provided religious leadership. Jeroboam removed that role from the Levites and gave it to others of his own choosing. As a result all of the Levites, both priests and non-priests, moved to the area under the control of Rehoboam. This had further results, all of those from the Northern Tribes who wished to follow the Law of Moses migrated from the territory controlled by Jeroboam to the territory controlled by Rehoboam. From this we discover that not all of the members of the “Ten Lost Tribes” lived in the Northern Kingdom when it later fell to the Assyrians and its people were taken into exile. (This, by the way, is why I usually refer to the “Northern Kingdom” and the “Southern Kingdom” rather than the “Kingdom of Israel” and the “Kingdom of Judah” when referring to the divided kingdoms).

    We know from both the account of his reign in Kings and from the description of his son’s reign here that Abijah was not a godly king. Abijah allowed pagan shrines and Asherah poles, even supported worship at them, during his reign. Yet, when he found himself at war with Jeroboam and the Northern Kingdom, he pointed out the continued worship of God among the people of the Southern Kingdom as a reason why the Northern Kingdom would not be victorious. Jeroboam outmaneuvered Abijah by outflanking Abijah’s army. However, Abijah’s troops, outflanked and outnumbered, put their trust in God and were victorious. Later, when Abijah’s son, Asa, was king, we have a similar story. The Southern Kingdom was attacked by an army for Ethiopia (Cush) which greatly out numbered the army which Asa was able to muster. Asa, who unlike his father was faithful to God, called on the Lord for aid and was overwhelmingly victorious. Ordinarily, one would have expected a war between two such armies to take more than one battle. However, Asa found himself on the borders of the land he controlled and the army which he had come to fight completely defeated. So, he took the opportunity to extend his control beyond its previous borders. By putting their trust in God, the people of the Southern Kingdom were able to thrive.