Aibjam (Abijah) - A Double Minded Man

Introduction

I began to name this the ‘Bible Person Study’, but chose to go with the ‘Bible Character Study’. I hesitated to name it that, as I don’t want to diminish the fact that these are real people we’ll be examining. But the reason that it’s named the Bible Character Study is because we’ll be focusing on the person’s character throughout. But don’t forget that these were real people, with real lives that made real choices that had real consequences.

I. Abijam’s Nature

((What is their History / Background?)

Second King of Judah

As we have been learning, the Southern Kingdom when it was divided was then called the Kingdom of Judah.

(Show the map) Describe:

The Cities of Dan & Bethel

The location of Jerusalem (South, not East of Bethel)

Saul; David; Solomon (40y each); Rehoboam (splits - 17y over Judah); then Abijam

Of the Lineage of David

Remember, the Kingdom of Judah is the on that follows the lineage of David.

Btw, I will repeat and belabor several things as we go through the Kingdoms that I pray will help your retention of the information…

Son of Rehoboam (1Ki. 14:31; 2Chr. 12:16)

Reigned for 3 years (1Ki. 15:2; 2Chr. 13:2)

This is a very short reign for a King of Judah. It wasn’t the shortest, but one of.

During Jeroboam’s Reign in Israel (2Chr. 13:1)

Jeroboam had reigned for 17 years and in the 18th, is when Abijam would come into power

Asa His Son would Follow (1Ki. 15:8; 2Chr. 14:1)

Had 14 wives, 22 sons & 16 daughters (2Chr. 13:21)

Asa one of the 22 sons, Abijam’s son Asa would follow and take over the Kingdom after Abijam would ‘sleep with his fathers’.

II. Abiham’s Notoriety

(What they are known for?)

War between He and Jeroboam (Israel) (1Ki. 15:6; 2Chr. 13)

The only thing noted in the Kings account is that during his tenure as king, there would be continual war between Abijam King of Judah & Jeroboam King of Israel.

In the Chronicles account, we have a telling of a very important battle between the two kingdoms.

Walking in the Sins of His Father (1Ki. 15:3)

The only attribute mentioned int eh Kings account is that he ‘walked in the sins of his father’.

We’re not told exactly what sins those are specifically here, but if we go back to the life of his father, we can pinpoint three specifically:

Pride (Caused the Rebellion - 2Chr. 10)

Idol Worship & Sodomy Tolerated (1Ki. 14:23-24)

Notice it doesn’t say that he participated himself - but he allowed it. (We’ll see the contrast when we get to Rehoboam’s grandson)

A Sermon on a Mount (2Chr. 13)

2Chr. 13 is just an amazing, suspense-filled passage of Scripture!

Abijam ascends atop Mt. Zem-a-rā’-im and preaches a message that would’ve made John the Baptist proud.

He chastises Jeroboam’s rebellion against God (v6)

He accuses them of taking advantage of his father (v7)

He invokes the name of the LORD and calls out their false gods (v8)

He accuses them of rejecting God’s anointed for their hirelings (v9)

He embraces the LORD, His people and plan (v10)

He claims they follow the true God, while Jeroboam & Israel have forsaken Him (v11)

He claims God as their Captain, and warns them not to fight against the LORD (v12)

That’s a strong message! One of the strongest you’ll find from a king not named David!

A Sermon on a Mount

A Great Victory over Jeroboam’s Israel (2Chr. 13)

The story of Abijam waxing eloquent for several verses - all the while, this force that is literally twice the size of Judah, then not only twice the size, but sets up an ambush behind them! Judah is overpowered, surrounded with no where to go!

But their answer was not to run, wave the white flag or give in - they blew the trumpets & shouted - AND GOD GAVE THEM THE VICTORY!

If you compare this to another account of God’s amazing providence, we draw some similarities:

Joshua 6:15–16 “And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.” Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”

He’s known for a Great Victory over Jeroboam’s Israel

III. What Makes him Noteworthy

(What Lessons we can Learn from them?)

Courage + God = Victory

Know that when Abijam was atop Mt. Zem-a-rā’-im, he could see the odds: 2 Chronicles 13:8 “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.”

(Ill.) Has anyone seen Braveheart? Do you remember when the Scottish were lined up against the English army and they were horribly outnumbered? The ‘leaders’ of the Scottish was looking to ‘tuck tail & run’ as William Wallace would say. But William on the other hand had courage to fight for what he believed in!

Judah’s army had 400k men, the Israeli army had 800k. Church, if the Israeli army had 6 million men, it wouldn’t matter, because God was on the side of the army of Judah - and Abijam knew it!

Abijam had complete faith in His God to defeat his foes. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE - COURAGE IS THE OFFSPRING OF FAITH!

Paul wrote to Timothy & said: 2 Timothy 1:5–7 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

If we believe God - AND ACT ON THAT FAITH - God will give us the victory! And this holds true for all aspects of life: He’ll give us victory…

In our Walk

In our Witness

In our Work

In everything we do, if we by faith act with Courage doing the work of the LORD, we’ll live victorious lives.

Notice I didn’t say easy, but certainly victorious!

Courage + God = Victory

No Army is Too Great for God (2Chr. 13:3)

This of courage goes hand in hand with the first point, but on a broader scale.

In the first we spoke personal

In this I will speak in general

There is none like unto my God.

I know that this world and the way it’s headed at times can be discouraging. But know that none of this takes God by surprise, and none of it has the power to dethrone my God. Church, if you are on God’s side, then YOU’RE ON THE WINNING SIDE!

I’ve read the end of the book - God Wins! No matter how bleak it may look at times!

(I’m sure it looked bleak to Abijam there on Mt. Zem-a-rā’-im, but God got the victory!

There is no Government; False Religion; ‘Global’ church organization or entity that can thwart the plans of our God! God is in Control!

No Army is Too Great for our God!

There’s a Difference between a Shepherd and a Hireling (2Chr. 13:9)

Abijam knew this, recognized it & called it out.

The difference being:

There are those who are called by God…

…and those who are called by man.

There are those who serve to Glorify God…

…and those who serve for a paycheck

There are those with the anointing of God upon them…

…and those who haven’t

There are those ordained of God…

…and those who are not.

Abijam was saying: ‘The sons of Aaron are our priests & Levites wait on them’ - you see, that’s the way God ordained it! He said ‘you put them of the lowest degree in - those who will grease the wheels a little bit!’

So what you had in Israel was a bunch of hirelings.

Do you know what fills most pulpits in America today? Hirelings.

Jesus spoke of the difference in: John 10:11–13 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”

Do you know why I say that most are hirelings? Because the wolf has been on the prowl in America, and most - instead of warning & protecting the sheep, they are standing by while the wold preys upon them!

There’s a difference between a Hireling and a Shepherd

Keeping the “Charge of the LORD” includes: (2Chr. 13:11)

Next I want to examine something that Abijam said during his sermon on a mount: 2 Chronicles 13:11 “And they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken him.”

Abijam is going through most of the functions of the Temple that God ordained. And within what he spoke, we find most of the duties of man unto God found there in.

Sacrifice

Abijam speaks of the burnt sacrifices

To be fair, there are several different sacrifices that are ordained by God - all of them pointing to an aspect of Christ.

For time sake, I’m going to lump most all of them together that took place on the brazen altar as a Sacrifice.

There had to be a Sacrifice made for the atoning of their sins. Personally and collectively.

I thank God that Jesus is the perfect, ultimate Sacrifice for our sins today!

He speaks of Sacrifice, but also Worship

Worship

Another aspect of the burning of Sacrifices was an act of worship.

‘Keeping the Charge of the LORD’ - in other words, ‘Godly living’ includes Worship of God

He speaks of Worship

Prayer

‘…and sweet incense’

Now he’s referencing the Golden altar - that one next unto the veil - nigh unto God.

They’d burn incense on that altar which represented the offering of prayer & petitions unto God.

(It’s where Zacharias was at when the angel Gabriel appeared unto him: Luke 1:11–13 “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”

He speaks of Prayer

Fellowship

‘…the shewbread…’

Now he’s referring to the Table of Shewbread which is an image (picture) of fellowship - fellowship with other believers and especially fellowship with God

‘Godly Living’ would also include the fellowship of both of these.

Remember - God’s design is not that we serve in solitude, but in the company of other believers!

He speaks of Fellowship

Illumination

‘…the candlestick…’

Now he mentions the golden candlestick

This was the only light there - it’s an image of the light of Christ and how it - and it alone - should be the guiding light in our lives

He speaks of Illumination

Always

We see three time references - ‘every morning & every evening’ and ‘every evening’

In other words, Godly living doesn’t take days off. Godly living doesn’t just happen on Sunday! It should be happening always!

He speaks of Godly living always

Consistency Matters

In 2Chr. we have an entire chapter dedicated unto this great sermon & leadership of Abijam. But then when you turn to 1Ki. 15, there’s a whole different narrative of the life and ministry of Abijam. (Read 1Ki. 15:1-8)

Now there’s many people who will list the ‘good’ kings and ‘bad’ kings of Judah. Inevitably, most every source will list Abijam as an ‘evil’ king. (The heading to my passage ‘Abijam’s Evil Reign over Judah’.)

What are we to make of this? The only way to reconcile the two accounts is to see a man living an inconsistent life in the eyes of God and man. We see a great bright God-led victory, and then a terrible account of him elsewhere.

But more importantly, we need to recognize the effect of this inconsistency. This inconsistency CALLS INTO QUESTION THE ENTIRETY OF HIS MINISTRY.

Far more is written about his victory, than his failing - but he’s largely remembered for his failings.

Consistency in our ministry matters. I’m not saying that if you mess up, God can’t use you. What I am saying is that the more you mess up as a Christian, the more of a taint it puts on your testimony, and it blights your triumphs and exacerbates your sins.

Consistency matters

Knowing and Doing are Different

Judging by the sermon, Abijam wasn’t an ignorant man. He knew what was right - he just didn’t always do what was right.

Church, it’s important that our Christianity doesn’t just live in our heads - but in our hands - and our feet. As James says: James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

You can know what the Word of God says better than anybody - but it does you or anybody else no practical good unless you put it into action.

Knowing and Doing are Different

Sins of Omission Count

The best I can tell from Scripture, Abijam’s problem wasn’t doing wickedness, but NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT WICKEDNESS that was in his power to effect. Sodomites & Idolatry were running rampant in the land, but Abijam was comfortable in the ‘live and let live’ mentality which was sending people to Hell.

This would be classified as a sin of omission - and it mattered.

Again James said: James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

How many people under his watch entered the pits of Hell? He had a platform to make change and he didn’t.

(Ill.) That is akin to preachers of today who have the power and opportunity to tell people the truth, but instead they’re worried about the opinion polls instead of souls.

Sins of Omission count

Conclusion