Abijah and Totality
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam (also Abijah) over Judah.Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And 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. 1 Kings 15:1-3
Do you ever wonder how someone who gets things mostly right can still be so wrong? It is mind-boggling if we do not consider that God judges man in totality. From our text above, it is hard to see anything good that can be said about Abijam (Abijah) son of Rehoboam. After all, it is evident that 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.
So where do we learn the details? 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 gives us further evidence of Abijah’s issues. We know he is an evil king. We find he had issues with plural marriages, fourteen wives in all. Yet, Abijah did say some true things every once in a while. Consider what he said in 2 Chron 13:8-9.
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. Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
Was he wrong? No! Abijah pointed out that Jeroboam was wrong in making idols (that are not gods), casting out legitimate Levitical priests, and making priests who were not qualified to be priests. He even pointed out that true worship was still to be carried out by the sons of Aaron in Jerusalem according to the approved pattern. Abijah also wins victories over the armies of the Northern Kingdom.
I write this to point out that when we look at this part of Abijah’s life we might be tempted to think of Abijah as a good king. Yet, the Word of the Lord testifies he was evil. He did the evil of his fathers, and his reign was but three years. It is so easy to romanticize political leaders and accept their faults. It is rather easy to romanticize people that preach a different gospel (which is not a gospel cf. Gal 1:6-10). We say, oh look what good works they did, look at how they thought about Jesus, taught about Jesus. Will the Lord judge them according to the totality of their life or just the good parts? Did God give Abijah the victory because he was a righteous king? The answer is obviously no. Jesus said, not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt. 7:13. Let us use each day to take into account the totality of our lives. How are we using these precious moments to grow in the Lord and to take the message of salvation to the lost? There are many Abijah's out there that believe they are right with God that will be surprised to learn they are not. It is our responsibility to bring that message, for we will all be judged by the Word of Christ and held accountable for our actions and even every word (cf. John 12:48; Matt. 12:36; Rom 14:12).
Grace and Peace,
Ryan
