Faith of our Father's Holy Faith

Abijah, King of Judah, lined up with 400,000 men to fight against the army of Israel, led by King Jeroboam.  He could see that Israel’s army was twice the size of his, but he was not discouraged.  He called over to the enemy army and made this bold declaration:

You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do…

“As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them.  Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord...  we are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him.

God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”

Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them.  Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the Lord.  The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry.  At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.  The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.  Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel's able men.

The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.  (2 Chronicles 13:8-18 NIV)

Abijah firmly believed in one simple thing.  His nation had fulfilled their part of the covenant, and so God would fulfill His.

He and the people of Judah worshipped the true God, and he knew that Jeroboam and the nation of Israel worshipped golden calves. 

So on this day, even though it looked like an impossible fight because his army was outnumbered 2 to 1,  Abijah’s faith never wavered. 

And he was right; God was on his side and he won the battle that day.

When Abijah died, his son Asa became king over Judah and followed in his father’s footsteps.  Asa revealed his beliefs in verse 7:

“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.  (2 Chronicles 14:7 NIV)

Like his father before him, Asa believed that because Judah had fulfilled their part of the Covenant, God would fulfill His.  

Later, when an enemy marched against him, he prayed a powerful prayer that would have made his father proud.  He said,

“Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”  (2 Chronicles 14:11 NIV)

And what happened?

The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah… Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.  They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there… (2 Chronicles 14:12-14 NIV)

Asa and Abijah have me thinking this morning...  

They lived under the Old Covenant and we live under the New.  While our requirements are a little different, the promise is the same:  We fulfill our part of the Covenant, and He will fulfill His.

What is our part in the New Covenant?  Loving and seeking God, of course.  And then, making the decision to receive our blessings by believing and declaring our promises, even when it looks like the odds are stacked heavily against us.  

For more on this, see the blog called "Covenant of Life" 

 

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.