Who was King Abijah in the Bible?

Son and successor of Rehoboam, king of Judah. He began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel (B.C. 958) and reigned three years. He walked in the sin of his father Rehoboam, but for David's sake he was placed on the throne, that, as Jehovah had said, David might have 'a light alway before me in Jerusalem.' 1 Kings 11:36; 1 Kings 15:4. "There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam," and Abijah by a patriotic address to Israel sought to recover the ten tribes. This could not be; for the rupture in the kingdom had been brought about by God on account of their wickedness. Nevertheless Abijah trusted in Jehovah while he did not fail to rebuke Israel touching the golden calves they had erected. God smote Jeroboam and all Israel, and there fell 500,000 chosen men of Israel. Abijah also took the cities of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephrain; and Jeroboam was not able to recover strength all the days of Abijah. 2 Chr. 13. In the above war Israel had 800,000 chosen men, and Judah 400,000. These numbers, together with the number slain, have been much called in question by critics, who say they ought to be 80,000 and 40,000, and 50,000 slain; which numbers are to be found in some of the early Latin copies and also in some early copies of Josephus. But the numbers in the Hebrew scriptures must have the preference: and what is there improbable in the numbers when we compare them with the number of men 'that drew sword' when David last numbered the people? 1 Chr. 21:5. Israel had 1,100,000; Judah had 470,000 and this was without Levi and Benjamin, who were not counted. This was about fifty years before the battle, ample time (notwithstanding the loss at the pestilence that followed the numbering) for a large increase. In 2 Sam. 24:9, the number of fighting men in Israel is given as only 800,000. It is supposed that this does not include the standing army, which according to 1 Chr. 27:1, amounted to 24,000 x12 = 288,000, which with its officers would be about 300,000, and this added to 800,000 = 1,100,000. On the other hand, the fighting men of Judah are in Samuel said to be 500,000. David may have had 30,000 with him at Jerusalem, from whence Joab went out, which may be here included, but which are not included in 1 Chr. 21:5.

Abijah 'waxed mighty and married fourteen wives;' which may have been a snare to him. 2 Chr. 13:1-22. He is called ABIJAM in 1 Kings 14:31; 1 Kings 15:1-8; and ABIA in 1 Chr. 3:10; Matt. 1:7.

Son of Jeroboam I., king of Israel. His mother disguised herself and went to Ahijah the prophet to inquire whether her child should recover from his sickness. Jehovah revealed to the prophet who it was that came to him, and he told out to the mother the heavy judgement that should befall her husband and his house; but because there was "some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel" in Abijah, he should come to his grave peacefully. In mercy he was taken from the coming judgement. As his mother came to the threshold of the door the child died. 1 Kings 14:1-17.

Abijam or Abijah (2 Chr. 13), the son of Rehoboam, began to reign over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel. His mother was Maachah, the daughter of Absalom. Absalom's mother was named Maachah (2 Sam. 3:3); it was natural that this name should be perpetuated in the family. This Maachah the mother of Abijam must herself have been the granddaughter of Absalom according to the evidence of 2 Chronicles 13:2. Here in verse 10 Maachah is called the mother of Asa, Abijam's son, according to the Jewish custom, although she was his grandmother. This woman was a worthy counterpart of Naamah, the mother of Rehoboam, an Ammonitess. Throughout the course of these books we shall see how the character of their mothers and where they came from had its influence upon their children. A pious mother sees her sons prospering round about her. The apostle Paul reminds Timothy of his blessed ancestry: "The unfeigned faith … which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also" (2 Tim. 1:5). The children of the "elect lady" walked in the truth (2 John 4). We shall notice other similar things as we go through Kings and Chronicles.

Here we find the other side of what we have just been saying. A profane or worldly mother is all the more dangerous for the moral development of her children, as according to divine order, both in nature and in relationship, the responsibility of guiding their youthful years is naturally entrusted to her. Thus it was that during the three years of his reign Abijam walked in all the sins of his father. "Nevertheless," it is said, "for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem" (v. 4). God remembers David and his obedience, even though he had turned aside from uprightness in the matter of Urijah; but after the bitter discipline this had necessitated, his restored soul had again found fellowship with his God. The Lord did not forget these things; thus we see Abijam's success and son, Asa, for David's sake raised up as a true witness for God in Judah. Only the grace of God could do this, not the merits of man, and so much the more so as Asa was placed under the same female influence as had been his father. His grandmother Maachah sought to promote the practice of idolatry under his reign, but Asa's faith fought this influence, reproved it, and destroyed it in order that the rights of the Lord might be known again in Judah. Maachah occupied the position of queen, perhaps of regent mother, at Asa's court. He stripped her of her dignity and prestige, she who in face of her grandson's zeal to abolish idolatry had ventured and had wished to reestablish it in its most corrupt forms.

The beginning of his reign (13:1-2) War with Jeroboam (13:3-19) Death of Jeroboam (13:20) Abijah's family (13:21-22)

Abijah is called in Kings, Abijam, and in 2 Chron. 13:21, Abijahu (Hebrew text). His reign was not of a long duration; he outlived his father Rehoboam only three years. His mother was Maachah (2 Chron. 11:20). She is called here Michaiah, probably because she was the queen-mother. There is no discrepancy between chapter 11:20 and the second verse of this chapter, in which she is called the daughter of Uriel of Gibeath. Josephus is probably correct when he states that Uriel was the husband of Tamar, the daughter of Absalom. In chapter 11:20, she is called a daughter of Absalom or rather grand-daughter, for one word is used in Hebrew for daughter and grand-daughter. (Abishalom in 1 Kings 15:2 is the same as Absalom.)

Of Abijah's evil walk, and that his heart was not perfect with the LORD, the Chronicles has nothing to say. That is found in Kings. That things went from bad to worse under Abijah's brief reign may be learned from the fact that his son Asa had to institute a reformation, and Maachah, the mother of Abijah and grandmother of Asa, had to be put away, because she had put up an Asherah, a vile idol-image in a grove (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chron. 15:16). Chronicles gives an account of Abijah's war with Jeroboam. The two armies of Judah and Israel faced each other; Abijah had 400,000 men and Jeroboam 800,000. There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of these figures, as some critics have done. Both sides were confident of victory. Jeroboam had twice as many men as Abijah, and they were "mighty men of valor." He trusted in his superior number. It was different with Abijah, King of Judah. Before the battle began the king delivered a remarkable address in which he expressed his confidence in Jehovah. The LORD had given the kingdom to David and to his sons by a covenant of salt, said Abijah. The covenant of salt refers to a very ancient custom. When a guest had been entertained in a tent and partaken of salt with his host, the obligation of the latter towards his guest was one of inviolable sanctity. The covenant of Jehovah with David was like a covenant of salt, that is, inviolable. Abijah believed in that covenant. Then he mentioned Jeroboam, whom sarcastically he calls "the servant of Solomon," his revolt, his idolatry, his opposition to the priesthood. He closed his address with a confident statement. "Behold, God Himself is with us for our captain, and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you." Then the warning: "O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper." Abijah won the battle. When they were encircled by the enemy they cried to Jehovah in their hour of need, and He was faithful to His own word (Numb. 10:9). When the priests sounded with the trumpets, when they shouted, no doubt in faith and anticipation of Jehovah's interference, then God smote Jeroboam and all Israel and delivered them into their hands. They had prevailed because they relied upon the LORD God, and so shall we prevail if we trust in the Lord. With that battle Jeroboam's strength was broken. The wicked king, whose awful idolatry was the ruin of Israel, never recovered his strength. The LORD struck him and he died.

Son of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. 1 Chr. 3:10; Matt. 1:7. See ABIJAH, No. 1.

Abijam of Judah (15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13) 2. Asa of Judah (15:9-24; 2 Chronicles 14-16) Abijam is called in Chronicles Abijah; in 2 Chron. 13:21 he is called Abijahu. Abijam was undoubtedly the older form. It is possible that on account of his great address of rebuke to Jeroboam (2 Chron. 13:4-12) they may have called him Abijah (Jehovah is my father). He ascended the throne in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign and was king for three years. Here we find the statement that he walked in all the sins of his father and that his heart was not perfect with the Lord as the heart of David his father. The statement in chapter 11:36 is repeated, that for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem. It was a custom (and is still so among the Fellaheen in Palestine ) to keep a lamp constantly burning in the tent. The extinction of the lamp signified the removal of the family. The Lord remembered the house of David and his covenant and on account of that covenant the deserved judgment was held back. The war he fought with Jeroboam is not given in Kings but in Chronicles. We shall follow his history with the text in Chronicles.

ABIJAH'S reign was a brief one. He outlived his father Rehoboam by only three short years. His mother Maachah was a daughter (or granddaughter) of Absalom. Abijah was thus descended from David on both his father's and his mother's side. His mother, however, turned out to be an idolatress (1 Kings 15:13). The form of her name Maachah, which means oppressor, is altered in Chronicles, in the account of Abijah's reign, to Michaiah — Who is like God? She is said here, too, to be a daughter of Uriel, meaning light, or fire of God. The reason for this will be understood by referring to the Author's Introduction. There is, also, no account of Abijah's wickedness in Chronicles. In Kings, on the other hand, there is nothing recorded of him but his sin. "He walked," it says there, "in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father" (1 Kings 15:3).

Abijah had a very short reign of three years, and “he walked in all the sins of his father…and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father” (1 kings 15:3). Still, there was reliance upon the Lord, for in the war with Jeroboam, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 13, Abijah speaks of his kingdom as being “the kingdom of the Lord,” (verse 8), and added “the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him” (verse 10). Although the heart of the king was not perfect with the Lord his God, he nevertheless relied, in some measure, on the Lord, and the Lord intervened to help him and his people in their time of need.

Although Abijah had a woman of Israel for his mother instead of an Ammonitess, (like his father Rehoboam), yet this woman was, as we have just seen, one who worshipped idols. We need not, then, be surprised to read of him: "He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem."

Jereboam outlived Rehoboam, though not for long (v. 20). He died after reigning 22 years (1 Ki. 14:20), five years longer than Rehoboam. But Abijah, son of Rehoboam, reigned only for three years in Judah (v. 2). 1 Kings 15:3 tells us that Abijah walked in all the sins of his father and his heart was not loyal to the Lord. Yet Chronicles does not mention this, but emphasizes rather what was this credit in regard to overcoming Jereboam in battle. The guilt of Jereboam was far greater than that of Abijah.

We are not told what occasioned the great battle between Judah and the ten tribes, but Abijah gathered an army of 400,000 to fight against 800,000 chosen warriors of Israel (v. 3).Then Abijah took the opportunity of standing on Mount Zemaraim in Ephraim to address Jereboam and his men. He must have had a loud voice, and called upon them to hear what he said (v. 4).

Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set those aside in favor of Abijah the son of Maachah, whom he preferred above Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against such an arrangement, saying that a man "must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn." Perhaps Rehoboam did not know this scripture, but he ought to have, for a king in Israel was responsible to provide himself with a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). Nevertheless, the grace of God transcended the failure of Rehoboam, for Abijah is confirmed in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1:7.