Abijah II Chronicles 13

II Chronicles 13:4 "And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim which is in mount Ephraim and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;"

Abijah, king of Judah and Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes of Israel, are facing each other ready to do battle. Judah is outnumbered and surrounded. Abijah does some pretty good preaching to Israel. He tells them about their false gods and how they have forsaken the proper worship of the LORD with false priests. He also reminds them how they overcame Rehoboam when he was young and tender. It is as if Abijah is saying: It is not the same now. He reminds Rehoboam that he descended from a servant of Solomon and not from the line of David as he himself does.

v6 "Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up and hath rebelled against his lord."

This statement must have had an effect on the men of Israel, for they knew it was true.

v8 "And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods."

Here is what Jeroboam had going for them: a great multitude, golden calves, false priests and a trap where they had surrounded Judah while Abijah delivered his sermon. Judah had another advantage though.

v12 "And behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you, O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper."

Abijah looked around and saw the trap. Judah did three things in the face of these odds: v14 They cried unto the LORD, the priests sounded with the trumpets, they gave a shout.

v15"....it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel..."

Being outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy is not hopeless when God is on our side.

Jeroboam was stricken sick and never recovered, neither was Israel (ten tribes) able to become strong against Judah.

v21 "But Abijah waxed mighty,..."

Psalm 18:29 "For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall."

Abijah defeats Jeroboam.