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2 Chronicles Chapter 13 (ESV)
3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! …
10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. 11 They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. 12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”
13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
REFLECTION:
The military power of Judah was weak and could not compete with Israel. However, Judah had victory because it relied on God. In the history of Judah there were numerous kings who faithfully put their hope in God but there were none in Israel; they all followed the example of Jeroboam in worshipping idols or serving Baal. As a result, God punished Israel much earlier than punishing Judah. There were some good kings in Judah who implemented benevolent rule during their reign. After the reign of a king who worshipped idols, he was always succeeded by a god-fearing king who brought spiritual revival. Furthermore, the period of reign of kings who worshipped idols was usually much shorter than the good kings. Therefore, the genuine faith of Judah to God was stronger and deeper rooted than Israel resulting in God’s care and protection. Reflect if the spiritual element was the deciding factor of victory in the struggle between Judah and Israel. What is the revelation to you?
PRAYER:
Give thanks to God for He always cares and protects you. Pray for God’s help in the struggles you are facing. No matter if the struggles are external or internal, ask God to help you rely on His strength to win but not rely on anything else.
HYMN:
Abide – youtu.be/c441z2h-_fE?si=fftZAy5e64L-PlNR
