10 `As for us, Jehovah `is' our God, and we have not forsaken Him, and priests are ministering to Jehovah, sons of Aaron and the Levites, in the work,
`And now, if ye really hearken to My voice, then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all the peoples, for all the earth `is' Mine; and ye -- ye are to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation: these `are' the words which thou dost speak unto the sons of Israel.'
`And this `is' the thing which thou dost to them, to hallow them, for being priests to Me: Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams, perfect ones, and bread unleavened, and cakes unleavened anointed with oil, of fine wheaten flour thou dost make them, and thou hast put them on one basket, and hast brought them near in the basket, also the bullock and the two rams. `And Aaron and his sons thou dost bring near unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water; and thou hast taken the garments, and hast clothed Aaron with the coat, and the upper robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and hast girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and hast set the mitre on his head, and hast put the holy crown on the mitre, and hast taken the anointing oil, and hast poured `it' on his head, and hast anointed him. `And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them `with' coats, and hast girded them `with' a girdle (Aaron and his sons), and hast bound on them bonnets; and the priesthood hath been theirs by a statute age-during, and thou hast consecrated the hand of Aaron, and the hand of his sons, and hast brought near the bullock before the tent of meeting, and Aaron hath laid -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the bullock. `And thou hast slaughtered the bullock before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast taken of the blood of the bullock, and hast put `it' on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and all the blood thou dost pour out at the foundation of the altar; and thou hast taken all the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which `is' on them, and hast made perfume on the altar; and the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, thou dost burn with fire at the outside of the camp; it `is' a sin-offering. `And the one ram thou dost take, and Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on the head of the ram, and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken its blood, and hast sprinkled `it' on the altar round about, and the ram thou dost cut into its pieces, and hast washed its inwards, and its legs, and hast put `them' on its pieces, and on its head; and thou hast made perfume with the whole ram on the altar. It `is' a burnt-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance; a fire-offering it `is' to Jehovah. `And thou hast taken the second ram, and Aaron hath laid -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the ram, and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken of its blood, and hast put on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and hast sprinkled the blood on the altar round about; and thou hast taken of the blood which `is' on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and hast sprinkled on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he hath been hallowed, he, and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. `And thou hast taken from the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which `is' on them, and the right leg, for it `is' a ram of consecration, and one round cake of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one thin cake out of the basket of the unleavened things which `is' before Jehovah. `And thou hast set the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering before Jehovah; and thou hast taken them out of their hand, and hast made perfume on the altar beside the burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance before Jehovah; a fire-offering it `is' to Jehovah. `And thou hast taken the breast from the ram of the consecration which `is' for Aaron, and hast waved it -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, and it hath become thy portion; and thou hast sanctified the breast of the wave-offering, and the leg of the heave-offering, which hath been waved, and which hath been lifted up from the ram of the consecration, of that which `is' for Aaron, and of that which `is' for his sons; and it hath been for Aaron and for his sons, by a statute age-during from the sons of Israel, for it `is' a heave-offering; and it is a heave offering from the sons of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings -- their heave-offering to Jehovah. `And the holy garments which are Aaron's, are for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to consecrate in them their hand; seven days doth the priest in his stead (of his sons) put them on, when he goeth in unto the tent of meeting, to minister in the sanctuary. `And the ram of the consecration thou dost take, and hast boiled its flesh in the holy place; and Aaron hath eaten -- his sons also -- the flesh of the ram, and the bread which `is' in the basket, at the opening of the tent of meeting; and they have eaten those things by which there is atonement to consecrate their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger doth not eat -- for they `are' holy; and if there be left of the flesh of the consecration or of the bread till the morning, then thou hast burned that which is left with fire; it is not eaten, for it `is' holy. `And thou hast done thus to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee; seven days thou dost consecrate their hand; and a bullock, a sin-offering, thou dost prepare daily for the atonements, and thou hast atoned for the altar, in thy making atonement on it, and hast anointed it to sanctify it; seven days thou dost make atonement for the altar, and hast sanctified it, and the altar hath been most holy; all that is coming against the altar is holy.
And Jehovah saith unto Aaron, `Thou, and thy sons, and the house of thy father with thee, do bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou, and thy sons with thee, do bear the iniquity of your priesthood; and also thy brethren, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring near with thee, and they are joined unto thee, and serve thee, even thou and thy sons with thee, before the tent of the testimony. `And they have kept thy charge, and the charge of all the tent; only, unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar they do not come near, and they die not, either they or you; and they have been joined unto thee, and have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and a stranger doth not come near unto you; and ye have kept the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar, and there is no more wrath against the sons of Israel. `And I, lo, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel; to you a gift they are given by Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting; and thou, and thy sons with thee, do keep your priesthood, for everything of the altar, and within the vail, and ye have served; a service of gift I make your priesthood; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death.'
and after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those giving their heart to seek Jehovah, God of Israel, have come in to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, God of their father. And they strengthen the kingdom of Judah, and strengthen Rehoboam son of Solomon, for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 13
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
2Ch 13:1-20. Abijah, Succeeding, Makes War against Jeroboam, and Overcomes Him.
2. His mother's name also was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel—the same as Maachah (see on 1Ki 15:2). She was "the daughter," that is, granddaughter of Absalom (1Ki 15:2; compare 2Sa 14:1-33), mother of Abijah, "mother," that is, grandmother (1Ki 15:10, Margin) of Asa.
of Gibeah—probably implies that Uriel was connected with the house of Saul.
there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam—The occasion of this war is not recorded (see 1Ki 15:6, 7), but it may be inferred from the tenor of Abijah's address that it arose from his youthful ambition to recover the full hereditary dominion of his ancestors. No prophet now forbade a war with Israel (2Ch 11:23) for Jeroboam had forfeited all claim to protection.
3. Abijah set the battle in array—that is, took the field and opened the campaign.
with … four hundred thousand chosen men … Jeroboam with eight hundred thousand—These are, doubtless, large numbers, considering the smallness of the two kingdoms. It must be borne in mind, however, that Oriental armies are mere mobs—vast numbers accompanying the camp in hope of plunder, so that the gross numbers described as going upon an Asiatic expedition are often far from denoting the exact number of fighting men. But in accounting for the large number of soldiers enlisted in the respective armies of Abijah and Jeroboam, there is no need of resorting to this mode of explanation; for we know by the census of David the immense number of the population that was capable of bearing arms (1Ch 21:5; compare 2Ch 14:8; 17:14).
4-12. Abijah stood up upon Mount Zemaraim—He had entered the enemy's territory and was encamped on an eminence near Beth-el (Jos 18:22). Jeroboam's army lay at the foot of the hill, and as a pitched battle was expected, Abijah, according to the singular usage of ancient times, harangued the enemy. The speakers in such circumstances, while always extolling their own merits, poured out torrents of invective and virulent abuse upon the adversary. So did Abijah. He dwelt on the divine right of the house of David to the throne; and sinking all reference to the heaven-condemned offenses of Solomon and the divine appointment of Jeroboam, as well as the divine sanction of the separation, he upbraided Jeroboam as a usurper, and his subjects as rebels, who took advantage of the youth and inexperience of Rehoboam. Then contrasting the religious state of the two kingdoms, he drew a black picture of the impious innovations and gross idolatry introduced by Jeroboam, with his expulsion and impoverishment (2Ch 11:14) of the Levites. He dwelt with reasonable pride on the pure and regular observance of the ancient institutions of Moses in his own dominion [2Ch 13:11] and concluded with this emphatic appeal: "O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper."
13-17. But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them—The oration of Abijah, however animating an effect it might have produced on his own troops, was unheeded by the party to whom it was addressed; for while he was wasting time in useless words, Jeroboam had ordered a detachment of his men to move quietly round the base of the hill, so that when Abijah stopped speaking, he and his followers found themselves surprised in the rear, while the main body of the Israelitish forces remained in front. A panic might have ensued, had not the leaders "cried unto the Lord," and the priests "sounded with the trumpets"—the pledge of victory (Nu 10:9; 31:6). Reassured by the well-known signal, the men of Judah responded with a war shout, which, echoed by the whole army, was followed by an impetuous rush against the foe. The shock was resistless. The ranks of the Israelites were broken, for "God smote Jeroboam and all Israel." They took to flight, and the merciless slaughter that ensued can be accounted for only by tracing it to the rancorous passions enkindled by a civil war.
19. Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him—This sanguinary action widened the breach between the people of the two kingdoms. Abijah abandoned his original design of attempting the subjugation of the ten tribes, contenting himself with the recovery of a few border towns, which, though lying within Judah or Benjamin, had been alienated to the new or northern kingdom. Among these was Beth-el, which, with its sacred associations, he might be strongly desirous to wrest from profanation.
20. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah—The disastrous action at Zemaraim, which caused the loss of the flower and chivalry of his army, broke his spirits and crippled his power.
the Lord struck him, and he died—that is, Jeroboam. He lived, indeed, two years after the death of Abijah (1Ki 14:20; 15:9). But he had been threatened with great calamities upon himself and his house, and it is apparently to the execution of these threatenings, which issued in his death, that an anticipatory reference is here made.