20 and Zaham. And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and 21 Shelomith. And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; (for he took eighteen wives, and three score concubines; and begat twenty 22 and eight sons, and three score daughters.) And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, [to be] ruler among 23 his brethren: for [he thought] to make him king. And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.

CHAP. XII.

Rehoboam, forsaking God, is punished by Shishak's invasion; an account of Rehoboam's reign and death.

ND it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the

2 law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass, [that] in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed 3 against the LORD, With twelve hundred chariots, and three score thousand horsemen and the people [were] without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, 4 and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which [pertained] to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and [to] the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand 6 of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel, and the king, humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD [is] righteous. 7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves, [therefore] I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured 8 out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the 9 service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all he carried away also the shields of gold which Sol10 omon had made. Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed [them] to the hands of the chief of the 11 guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house. And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber. *12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned

18

from him, that he would not destroy [him] altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned for Rehoboam [was] one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name [was] 14 Naamah an Ammonitess. And he did evil, because he prepared 15 not his heart to seek the LORD. Now the acts of Rehoboam,

first and last, [are] they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And [there 16 were] wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

:

CHAP. XIII.

In 1 Kings xv. at the beginning, we have a general account of Abijah's reign and character. His heart was not perfect like David's; he made a fair show, but wanted sincerity. We have here a larger account of Abijah; his war with Jeroboam, and his victory over him.

1

NOW

TOW in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abi 2 jah to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also [was] Michaiah the daugh ter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam; in which probably Jeroboam was the aggressor. 3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, [even] four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, [being] mighty men of valour. These were prodigious armies, consisting of the whole strength of each kingdom.

4

And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which [is] in mount Ephraim; a parley was agreed upon, to see if the matter could be accommodated, and Abijah stood so as Jeroboam and the captains might hear him, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and 5 all Israel; Ought ye not to know, to consider and acknowledge, that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, [even] to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt a perpetual covenant, as salt preserves from corruption; or rather, a solemn covenant made by sacrifices, which were always salted, Lev. ii. 13. He does not exhort them to return to the house of David, because God had otherwise determined it, but not to fight 6 against it. Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his 7 lord. And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial; this was the character of his subjects, especially the commanders of them, who easily changed their religion and forsook VOL. III. - Kkk

God; and they have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender hearted, and could not withstand them; when he was young and unexperienced in state matters, and especially in war, and was 8 tender hearted, or cowardly.* 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; or, though you be a great multitude, ye have golden calves among you, and therefore 9 your numbers will not save you. 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, without any regard to their country or family ? 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. 10 But as for us, the LORD [is] our God, and we have not forsaken him, as you have done; (1 Kings xii. 28.) and the priests which minister unto the LORD [are] the sons of Aaron, and the Levites [wait] upon [their] business; his worship is maintained 11 and his service performed by them in an orderly manner: And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shew bread also [set they in order] upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening; we omit nothing which the law has required, by day or night. It was politic to recite the several parts of the temple worship, and it was all the good he had to say for himself for we keep the charge of the LORD our God, those rules and directions which he has given us 12 in charge; but ye have forsaken him. And behold, God himself [is] with us for [our] captain, and his priest with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord GoD of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper; we pay a strict regard to his laws in war as well as *peace, therefore ye do not fight so much against me as against Jehovah.

13

But Jeroboam, who came not so much to argue as to fight, and was determined that the longest sword should carry it, caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before 14 Judah, and the ambushment [was] behind them. And when Judah looked back, hearing a noise behind them, behold, the battle [was] before and behind and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets, imploring the divine aid, and encouraging their expectations from God, according to his 15 promise, Numb. x. 9. Then the men of Judah gave a shout, to

This was wrong to reflect on his father, as it does not appear that he wanted courage, for he raised an army, and would have attacked them, but God forbade him. It was most to his purpose to put it on this footing, intimating, that he durst not have done it at any other sime, and that his conduct was disingenuous and impious.

He was probably so much moved as not to trust to his numbers, without recourse to a stratagem, which he thought was worth all Abijah's fine speeches, and would soon give an answer to all his arguments. If a parley had been agreed upon, it was base to take this ad vantage.

terrify the enemy, and express their confidence in God; and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah: he terrified 16 the Israelites so that they fled without a stroke. And the children of Israel fled before Judah and God delivered them into their 17 hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great

slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thou18 sand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, but did not become subject to Judah; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord 19 Gop of their fathers, and not upon their own valour. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah and Ephraim with the 20 towns thereof.* Neither did Jeroboam recover strength aga n in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died. Jeroboam never recovered this blow; the Lord struck him wi h some painful disease, under which he languished for near two years, and then died miserably.

But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and 22 begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, or wise sentences, [are] written in the story of the prophet Iddo: they were worth recording in the commentary of the prophet Iddo, of whom we read chap. xii. 15.

3.

L

REFLECTIONS.

ET us adore the goodness and mercy of God, in overlooking the infirmities and pardoning the transgressions of his people. 1 Kings xv. 5. David had many infirmities not mentioned there; the matter of Uriah is forgiven; the manner in which he is spoken of is remarkably gracious; and is an encouragement to There repentance, and to earnest endeavours to serve God with sincerity, and not turn aside from any thing which he commands us. is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

2. It is a sign of true wisdom to try reason before force; so Abijah did. He proposed terms of peace, before he entered on action, which, whoever gained, must be attended with prodigious slaughter. Force is the last refuge of a king; and those who are wise and good are always tender of the lives of their subjects, and do not delight in war.

3. It is common for those who want real religion to boast much of the profession and external forms of it. How eloquently Abijah talked of the regular order of the priests, and the exactness of the service of the temple, when his heart was not right with God, but followed the vices of his father. So the Pharisee said, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men. Too many christians thus boast of

It is likely that the calf was carried with them, and secured by some who fled, or was removed from Bethel for safety; for we can scarce suppose that when Abijah took the city, he would bave left it there.

their zeal, the regularity of their attendance on divine worship, and exactness in all points of form and ceremony, while their hearts are far from God, and strangers to the life of religion : they think themselves better than others, when, perhaps, they are really more criminal in the sight of God. Be not deceived, God will not be mocked. If the heart be not upright, all profession is in vain; they are hypocrites in heart let them be ever so exact in the rites of worship, or talk ever so fluently, or eloquently, or confidently of their own goodness; they are an abomination in the sight of God.

CHAP. XIV. and CHAP. XV.

In this and the following chapter we have an account of Asa's piety and prudence; his great success' over the army of the Ethiopians ; the message God sent by the prophet, and the happy effect it had upon the prince and people,

1

:

O Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In 2 his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did [that which was] good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, and began 3 a reformation in the land: For he took away the altars of the

strange [gods,] and the high places of strange gods, (for other high places were left, chap. xv. 17. 1 Kings xv. 14.) and brake 4 down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah, by a royal edict, to seek the Lord God of their fathers, 5 and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him; so that no one made any 6 opposition to his attemfit. And he built fenced cities in Judah : for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because 7 the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities and make about [them] walls, and towers, gates, and bars, [while] the land [is] yet before us, let us prepare for war before the enemy attack us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought [him,] and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered; they had no disturbance from the Israelites or other neighbours, while they were thus fortifying themselves.

8

And Asa had an army [of men] that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and four score thousand all these [were] mighty men of valour.

9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian,* with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; 10 and came unto Mareshah, a frontier town. Then Asa went out

This should be the Arabian, the Ethiopians being too far off; the circumstance of the tents and cattle, v. 15. confirms this.