The Bible is full of gems – beautiful pearls of wisdom and desirable jewels of joy. Some are hidden gems. One such gem is in 2 Chronicles 13, all about a forgotten king. His grandfather Solomon, his father Rehoboam, and even his son Asa are well known, but not Abijah.
Abijah only reigned three years, and 1 Kings 15:3 says he committed all the sins his father committed and that his heart was not fully devoted to God, as David's had been. Nevertheless, what the chronicler does (as elsewhere) is to search out something good to say.
Abijah was not saved, but in 2 Chronicles 13 he shows us how to live. One old writer says the chapter is 'most interesting... a striking revelation of the readiness with which God ever responds to a genuine cry to him for help, even on the part of those who are far from worthy.'
Abijah models how to conduct oneself in time of war. All Christians are at war. In his majestic tome Holiness, J. C. Ryle says of the child of God that he is known 'by his inward warfare, as well as by his inward peace'. Christians daily face three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. They must fight the good fight and wear the whole armour of God. 2 Chronicles 13 can help in this. There are at least four lessons.
When our circumstances are not trying, we can be tempted to rely on ourselves, but we must always rather depend on God.
