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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Second Chronicles, Chapter XIII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D C H R O N I C L E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We have here a much fuller account of the reign of Abijah, the son of
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Rehoboam, than we had in the Kings. There we found that his character
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was no better than his father's--he "walked in the sins of his father,
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and his heart was not right with God,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+15:2,3">1 Kings xv. 2, 3</A>.
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But here we find him more brave and successful in war than his father
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was. He reigned but three years, and was chiefly famous for a glorious
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victory he obtained over the forces of Jeroboam. Here we have,
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I. The armies brought into the field on both sides,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:3">ver. 3</A>.
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The remonstrance which Abijah made before the battle, setting forth the
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justice of his cause,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:4-12">ver. 4-12</A>.
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III. The distress which Judah was brought into by the policy of
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Jeroboam,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.
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IV. The victory they obtained notwithstanding, by the power of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:15-20">ver. 15-20</A>.
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V. The conclusion of Abijah's reign,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:21,22">ver. 21, 22</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abijah's Reign over Judah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 957.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to
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reign over Judah.
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2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also
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<I>was</I> Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war
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between Abijah and Jeroboam.
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3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant
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men of war, <I>even</I> four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam
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also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred
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thousand chosen men, <I>being</I> mighty men of valour.
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4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which <I>is</I> in mount
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Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;
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5 Ought ye not to know that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel gave the
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kingdom over Israel to David for ever, <I>even</I> to him and to his
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sons by a covenant of salt?
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6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son
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of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.
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7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of
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Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son
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of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could
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not withstand them.
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8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in the
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hand of the sons of David; and ye <I>be</I> a great multitude, and
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<I>there are</I> with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for
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gods.
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9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the sons of
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Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the
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manner of the nations of <I>other</I> lands? so that whosoever cometh
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to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, <I>the
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same</I> may be a priest of <I>them that are</I> no gods.
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10 But as for us, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> our God, and we have not
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forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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<I>are</I> the sons of Aaron, and the Levites <I>wait</I> upon <I>their</I>
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business:
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11 And they burn unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> every morning and every evening
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burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the showbread also <I>set they
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in order</I> upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with
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the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God; but ye have forsaken him.
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12 And, behold, God himself <I>is</I> with us for <I>our</I> captain, and
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his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O
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children of Israel, fight ye not against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of your
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fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Abijah's mother was called <I>Maachah,</I> the daughter of Absalom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+11:20"><I>ch.</I> xi. 20</A>;
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here she is called <I>Michaiah,</I> the daughter of Uriel. It is most
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probable that she was a grand-daughter of Absalom, by his daughter
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Tamar
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+14:27">2 Sam. xiv. 27</A>),
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and that her immediate father was this Uriel. But we are here to attend
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Abijah into the field of battle with Jeroboam king of Israel.</P>
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<P>
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I. God gave him leave to engage with Jeroboam, and owned him in the
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conflict, though he would not permit Rehoboam to do it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+11:4"><I>ch.</I> xi. 4</A>.
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1. Jeroboam, it is probable, was now the aggressor, and what Abijah did
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was in his own necessary defence. Jeroboam, it may be, happening to
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survive Rehoboam, claimed the crown of Judah be survivorship, at least
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hoped to get it from this young king, upon his accession to the throne.
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Against these impudent pretensions it was brave in Abijah to take up
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arms, and God stood by him.
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2. When Rehoboam attempted to recover his ten tribes Jeroboam was upon
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his good behaviour, and there must be some trial of him; but now that
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he had discovered what manner of man he was, by setting up the calves
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and casting off the priests, Abijah is allowed to chastise him, and it
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does not appear that he intended any more; whereas Rehoboam aimed at no
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less than the utter reduction of the ten tribes, which was contrary to
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the counsel of God.</P>
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<P>
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II. Jeroboam's army was double in number to that of Abijah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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for he had ten tribes to raise an army out of, while Abijah had but
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two. Of the army on both sides it is said, they were <I>mighty men,
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chosen men,</I> and <I>valiant;</I> but the army of Judah consisted
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only of 400,000, while Jeroboam's army amounted to 800,000. The
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inferior number however proved victorious; for the battle is not always
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to the strong nor the cause to the majority.</P>
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<P>
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III. Abijah, before he fought them, reasoned with them, to persuade
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them, though not to return to the house of David (that matter was
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settled by the divine determination and he acquiesced), yet to desist
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from fighting against the house of David. He would not have them
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<I>withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hands of the sons of
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David</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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but at least to be content with what they had. Note, It is good to try
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reason before we use force. If the point may be gained by dint of
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argument, better so than by dint of sword. We must never fly to violent
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methods till all the arts of persuasion have been tried in vain. War
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must be the <I>ultima ratio regum</I>--<I>the last resort of kings.</I>
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Fair reasoning may do a great deal of good and prevent a good deal of
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mischief. <I>How forcible are right words!</I> Abijah had got with his
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army into the heart of their country; for he made this speech upon a
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hill in Mount Ephraim, where he might be heard by Jeroboam and the
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principal officers, with whom it is probable he desired to have a
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treaty, to which they consented. It has been usual for great generals
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to make speeches to their soldiers to animate them, and this speech of
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Abijah had some tendency to do this, but was directed to Jeroboam and
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all Israel. Two things Abijah undertakes to make out, for the
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satisfaction of his own men and the conviction of the enemy:--</P>
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<P>
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1. That he had right on his side, a <I>jus divinum</I>--<I>a divine
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right:</I> "You know, or ought to know, that <I>God gave the kingdom to
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David and his sons for ever</I>"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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not by common providence, his usual way of disposing of kingdoms, but
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by a covenant of salt, a lasting covenant, a covenant made by
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sacrifice, which was always salted; so bishop Patrick. All Israel had
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owned that David was a king of God's making, and that God had entailed
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the crown upon his family; so that Jeroboam's taking the crown of
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Israel at first was not justifiable: yet it is not certain that Abijah
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referred chiefly to that, for he knew that Jeroboam had a grant from
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God of the ten tribes. His attempt, however, to disturb the peace and
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possession of the king of Judah was by no means excusable; for when the
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ten tribes were given to him two were reserved for the house of David.
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Abijah shows,
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(1.) That there was a great deal of dishonesty and disingenuousness in
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Jeroboam's first setting himself up: He <I>rebelled against his
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lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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who had preferred him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+11:28">1 Kings xi. 28</A>),
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and basely took advantage of Rehoboam's weakness in a critical
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juncture, when, in gratitude to his old master and in justice to his
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title, he ought rather to have stood by him, and helped to secure the
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people in their allegiance to him, than to head a party against him and
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make a prey of him, which was unworthily done and what he could not
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expect to prosper in. Those that supported him are here called <I>vain
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men</I> (a character perhaps borrowed from
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+11:3">Judg. xi. 3</A>),
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men that did not act from any steady principle, but were given to
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change, and men of Belial, that were for shaking off the yoke of
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government and setting those over them that would do just as they would
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have them do.
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(2.) That there was a great deal of impiety in his present attempt;
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for, in fighting against the house of David, he fought <I>against the
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kingdom of the Lord.</I> Those who oppose right oppose the righteous
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God who sits in the throne judging right, and cannot promise themselves
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success in so doing. Right may indeed go by the worst for a time, but
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it will prevail at last.</P>
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<P>
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2. That he had God on his side. This he insisted much upon, that the
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religion of Jeroboam and his army was false and idolatrous, but that he
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and his people, the men of Judah, had the pure worship of the true and
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living God among them. It appears from the character given of Abijah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+15:3">1 Kings xv. 3</A>)
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that he was not himself in this war chiefly from the religion of his
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kingdom. For,
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(1.) Whatever he was otherwise, it should seem that he was no idolator,
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or, if he connived at the high places and images
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+14:3,5"><I>ch.</I> xiv. 3, 5</A>),
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yet he constantly kept up the temple-service.
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(2.) Whatever corruptions there were in the kingdom of Judah, the state
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of religion among them was better than in the kingdom of Israel, with
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which they were now contending.
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(3.) It is common for those that deny the power of godliness to boast
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of the form of it.
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(4.) It was the cause of his kingdom that he was pleading; and, though
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he was not himself so good as he should have been, yet he hoped that,
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for the sake of the good men and good things that were in Judah, God
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would now appear for them. Many that have little religion themselves
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yet have so much sense and grace as to value it in others. See how he
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describes,
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[1.] The apostasy of Israel from God. "<I>You are a great
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multitude,</I>" said he, "far superior to us in number; but we need not
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fear you, for you have that among yourselves which is enough to ruin
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you. For," <I>First,</I> "You have calves for your gods
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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that are unable to protect and help you and will certainly cause the
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true and living God to oppose you. Those will be Achans, troublers of
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your camp." <I>Secondly,</I> "You have base men for your priests,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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You have cast off the tribes of Levi, and the house of Aaron, whom God
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appointed to minister in holy things; and, in conformity to the custom
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of the idolatrous nations, make any man a priest that has a mind to the
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office and will be at the charge of the consecration, though ever so
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much a scandal to the office." Yet such, though very unfit to be
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priests, were fittest of all to be <I>their</I> priests; for what more
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agreeable to gods that were no gods than priests that were no priests?
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Like to like, both pretenders and usurpers.
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[2.] The adherence of Judah to God: "<I>But as for us</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
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<I>we have not forsaken God.</I> Jehovah is our God, the God of our
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fathers, the God of Israel, who is able to protect us, and give us
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success. He is with us, for we are with him." <I>First,</I> "At home in
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his temple: We <I>keep his charge,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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We worship no images, have no priests but what he has ordained, no
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rites of worship but what he has prescribed. Both the temple service
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and the temple furniture are of his appointing. His appointment we
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abide by, and neither add nor diminish. These we have the comfort of,
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these we now stand up in the defence of: so that upon a religious as
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well as a civil account we have the better cause. <I>Secondly,</I>
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Here in the camp; he is our captain, and we may therefore be sure that
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he is with us, because we are with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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And, as a token of his presence, we have here with us his priests,
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sounding his trumpets according to the law, as a testimony against you,
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and an assurance to us that in the day of battle we shall be
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<I>remembered before the Lord our God</I> and <I>saved from our
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enemies;</I>" for so this sacred signal is explained,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+10:9">Num. x. 9</A>.
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Nothing is more effectual to embolden men, and put spirit into them,
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than to be sure that God is with them and fights for them. He
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concludes with fair warning to his enemies. "<I>Fight not against the
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God of your fathers.</I> It is folly to fight against the God of
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almighty power; but it is treachery and base ingratitude to fight
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against your fathers' God, and you cannot expect to prosper."</P>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch13_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeroboam Defeated by Abijah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 957.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them:
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so they were before Judah, and the ambushment <I>was</I> behind them.
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14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle <I>was</I> before
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and behind: and they cried unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the priests sounded
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|
with the trumpets.
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|
15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah
|
|
shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel
|
|
before Abijah and Judah.
|
|
16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God
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|
delivered them into their hand.
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|
17 And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter:
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|
so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen
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|
men.
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|
18 Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time,
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|
and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the
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|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of their fathers.
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|
19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him,
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|
Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns
|
|
thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.
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|
20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of
|
|
Abijah: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> struck him, and he died.
|
|
21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and
|
|
begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
|
|
22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his
|
|
sayings, <I>are</I> written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We do not find that Jeroboam offered to make any answer at all to
|
|
Abijah's speech. Though it was much to the purpose, he resolved not to
|
|
heed it, and therefore he heard it as though he heard it not. He came
|
|
to fight, not to dispute. The longest sword, he thought, would
|
|
determine the matter, not the better cause. Let us therefore see the
|
|
issue, whether right and religion carried the day or no.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Jeroboam, who trusted to his politics, was beaten. He was so far
|
|
from fair reasoning that he was not for fair fighting. We may suppose
|
|
that he felt a sovereign contempt for Abijah's harangue. "One
|
|
stratagem," thinks he, "is worth twenty such speeches; we will soon
|
|
give him an answer to all his arguments; he shall soon find himself
|
|
overpowered with numbers, surrounded on every side with the instruments
|
|
of death, and then let him boast of his religion and his title to the
|
|
crown." A parley, it is probable, was agreed on, yet Jeroboam basely
|
|
takes the advantage of it, and, while he was treating, <I>laid his
|
|
ambushment behind Judah,</I> against all the laws of arms. What honour
|
|
could be expected in a <I>servant when he reigned?</I> Abijah was
|
|
<I>for peace,</I> but, <I>when he spoke, they were for war,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+120:7">Ps. cxx. 7</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Abijah and his people, who trusted in their God, came off
|
|
conquerors, notwithstanding the disproportion of their strength and
|
|
numbers.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. They were brought into a great strait, put into a great fright, for
|
|
<I>the battle was before and behind.</I> A good cause, and one which is
|
|
designed to be victorious, may for a season be involved in
|
|
embarrassment and distress. It was David's case. <I>They compassed me
|
|
about like bees,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:10-12">Ps. cxviii. 10-12</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. In their distress, when danger was on every side, which way should
|
|
they look but upwards for deliverance? It is an unspeakable comfort
|
|
that no enemy (not the most powerful or politic), no stratagem or
|
|
ambushment, can cut off our communication with heaven; our way
|
|
thitherward is always open.
|
|
|
|
(1.) <I>They cried unto the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
We hope they did this before they engaged in this war, but the distress
|
|
they were in made them renew their prayers and quickened them to be
|
|
importunate. God brings his people into straits, that he may teach them
|
|
to <I>cry unto him.</I> Earnest praying is crying.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They <I>relied on the God of their fathers,</I> depended upon his
|
|
power to help them and committed themselves to him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prayer of faith is the prevailing prayer, and this is that by which
|
|
we overcome the world, <I>even our faith,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+5:4">1 John v. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The <I>priests sounded the trumpets</I> to animate them by giving
|
|
them an assurance of God's presence with them. It was not only a
|
|
martial but a sacred sound, and put life into their faith.
|
|
|
|
(4.) They shouted in confidence of victory: "The day is our own, for
|
|
God is with us." To the cry of the prayer they added the shout of
|
|
faith, and so became more than conquerors.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. Thus they obtained a complete victory: <I>As the men of Judah
|
|
shouted</I> for joy in God's salvation, <I>God smote Jeroboam</I> and
|
|
his army with such terror and amazement that they could not strike a
|
|
stroke, but fled with the greatest precipitation imaginable, and the
|
|
conquerors gave no quarter, so that they put to the sword 500,000
|
|
chosen men
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
more, it is said, than ever we read of in any history to have been
|
|
killed in one battle; but the battle was the Lord's, who would thus
|
|
chastise the idolatry of Israel and own the house of David. But see the
|
|
sad effect of division: it was the blood of Israelites that was thus
|
|
shed like water by Israelites, while the heathen, their neighbours, to
|
|
whom the name of Israel had formerly been a terror, cried, <I>Aha!</I>
|
|
<I>so would we have it.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. The consequence of this was that the children of Israel, though they
|
|
were not brought back to the house of David (which by so great a blow
|
|
surely they would have been had not the determinate counsel of God been
|
|
otherwise), yet, for that time, were <I>brought under,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Many cities were taken, and remained in the possession of the kings of
|
|
Judah; as Bethel particularly,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
What became of the golden calf there, when it came into the hands of
|
|
the king of Judah, we are not told; perhaps it was removed to some
|
|
place of greater safety, and at length to Samaria
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+8:5">Hos. viii. 5</A>);
|
|
|
|
yet in Jehu's time we find it at Bethel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+10:29">2 Kings x. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Perhaps Abijah, when it was in his power to demolish it, suffered it to
|
|
stand, for <I>his heart was not perfect</I> with God; and, not
|
|
improving what he had got for the honour of God, he soon lost it all
|
|
again.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> The death of both of the conquered and of the conqueror,
|
|
not long after.
|
|
|
|
1. Jeroboam never looked up after this defeat, though he survived it
|
|
two or three years. He could not recover <I>strength again,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Lord struck him either with some bodily disease, of which he
|
|
languished, or with melancholy and trouble of mind; his heart was
|
|
broken, and vexation at his loss brought his head, probably by this
|
|
time a hoary head, with sorrow to the grave. He escaped the sword of
|
|
Abijah, but God struck him: and there is no escaping his sword.
|
|
|
|
2. Abijah waxed mighty upon it. What number of wives and children he
|
|
had before does not appear; but now he multiplied his wives to fourteen
|
|
in all, by whom he had thirty-eight children,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of those arrows. It seems,
|
|
he had ways peculiar to himself, and sayings of his own, which were
|
|
recorded with his acts in the history of those times,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
But the number of his months was cut off in the midst, and, soon after
|
|
his triumphs, death conquered the conqueror. Perhaps he was too much
|
|
lifted up with his victories, and therefore God would not let him live
|
|
long to enjoy the honour of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
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