Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem,
Abijam ruled Judah three years, copying his father's sins with a heart that was not fully true to God. Then the verse turns on one word — "Nevertheless" — and gives a lamp no king of Judah had earned.
Grace after a divided heart
The king was unfit, yet God kept his house on the throne. One writer traces the reason back past Abijam, to a man whose own record was not clean.
H. L. RossierGod remembers David and his obedience, even though he had turned away from what was right in the matter of Uriah. But after the bitter discipline this required, his restored soul found fellowship with his God again. The Lord did not forget these things. So we see Abijam's success, and his son Asa raised up for David's sake as a true witness for God in Judah. Only the grace of God could do this, not the merits of man.
What a lamp meant
Why a lamp? The picture comes from an everyday custom.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIt was a custom — and still is among the farming people of Palestine — to keep a lamp constantly burning in the tent. The putting out of the lamp meant the removal of the family. The Lord remembered the house of David and his covenant. Because of that covenant He held back the deserved judgment.
Mercy reaching down the generations
Why should a man three generations back matter to this king at all? One writer answers with a principle that runs in two directions.
Leslie M. GrantDespite Abijam's sins, the Lord honoured his great-grandfather David by letting Abijam reign this short time in Judah. The Lord often visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation (Ex. 34:7). But He also gives benefits to the children of godly people to the third and fourth generation. God remembered David's faithfulness through his lifetime, even though David failed badly in the case of Uriah the Hittite. God takes everything into account in His actions, whether good or bad.
Sin travels the same road between generations.
George C. WillisWe see from this record that it was his father's bad example that led this king astray. What a warning to those of us who are fathers! May the Lord keep us from leaving behind a trail of sin for our sons to follow. For this is exactly what Rehoboam did for Abijah.
Where the lamp finally shines
David's line kept failing, king after king. One writer sets that failure in a longer story.
J. N. DarbyUnder priesthood, under kingship, under prophecy — under every form and means God had prepared — Israel always failed. Yet God raised up the house of David. Solomon fails. Though more faithful than others, his family also fails. God had promised to chastise it, but that He would never entirely withdraw His favour. Christ Himself has been the fulfilment of this promise, as of all others. Man always fails to keep his relationship with God, but everything is accomplished in Jesus. The family of David failed, and it is in Christ alone that the Jews find the blessing attached to it.
God repeated this lamp promise many times. One writer asks where its light can be seen now.
C. H. MackintoshIf it is asked, where does this lamp shine now? Not on earth — for Jerusalem, the place of its earthly display, is "trampled underfoot by the Gentiles." But the eye of faith can see it shining with undimmed brightness in the true tabernacle, where it will go on shining "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."
Summary
- Nevertheless. Abijam's heart was not fully true to God, and the throne still stood. The hinge is not the king's worth but God's covenant with David.
- Lamp. A light kept burning meant the family was still in the tent. God would not put out David's line, because the covenant held the judgment back.
- Sake. God gave the mercy for David's sake. He remembered a faithful life, failure over Uriah and all, and let the good reach down to David's great-grandchildren.
- Son. The lamp took shape in Abijam's son Asa, raised up by grace and not by merit. A father can also hand down a path of sin, as Rehoboam did.
- Christ. The line kept failing, so the lamp never rested on the line. Faith sees its light in the true tabernacle, and Christ makes good every promise to David.