I. THE CONTENDING ARMIES. (Ver. 3.)

1. Their leaders. Of the army of Judah, Abijah; of the host of Israel, Jeroboam - both capable generals, and each the inspiring spirit of his troops.

2. Their numbers. Of Judah, four hundred thousand men - one hundred thousand fewer than Joab numbered to Judah; of Israel, eight hundred thousand - exactly the number Joab counted to Israel (2 Samuel 24:9).

3. Their quality.

(1) Abijah's troops were

(a) heroes of war, veterans experienced in former campaigns under Rehoboam, and

(b) chosen or picked men, literally, "men of youth," whose powers were at their best (Jeremiah 18:31).

(2) Jeroboam's soldiers were also

(a) chosen men and

(b) mighty men of valour. Thus both armies were well matched.

4. Their position. Over against each other, in the vicinity of Mount Zemaraim, near Bethel (Joshua 18:22) - "probably the large ruin Samrah, north of Jericho" (Condor, 'Handbook to the Bible,' p. 427), and perhaps at that time the northern limit of Abijah's territory (Ewald); obviously so close to one another that to them the words of Shakespeare ('King Henry V.,' act

4. chorus) may be fitly applied -

"From camp to camp, thro' the foul womb of night,
The hum of either army stilly sounds,
That the fix'd sentinels almost receive
The secret whispers of each other's watch:
Fire answers fire: and through their paly flames
Each battle sees the other's umber'd face:
Steed threatens steed, in high and boastful neighs

Piercing the night's dull ear; and from the tents,
The armourers, accomplishing the knights,
With busy hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation."

II. THE SPEECH OF ABIJAH. (Vers. 4-12.)

1. Whence spoken, From Mount Zemaraim, in Ephraim, as Jotham had formerly spoken to the Shechemites from Mount Gerizim (Judges 9:7).

2. To whom addressed. To Jeroboam and all Israel. Generals commonly harangue their troops before going into action (1 Samuel 4:9; 2 Samuel 10:11, 12; 2 Chronicles 18:30; cf. 'King Henry V.,' act 4. sc. 3); Abijah directs his speech to his foes, as David did to Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45), and Rabshakeh to the envoys of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:28-35; cf. 'Richard II.,' act 3. sc. 3).

3. Of what composed. Of a long, earnest argument, dissuasive, and appeal, for the purpose of inducing Jeroboam and his warriors to desist from their mad enterprise of attempting to conquer Judah. According to Abijah they could not succeed, for a variety of reasons.

(1) Their rebellion was a sin against their own better knowledge (ver. 5) - a sin against the light. They knew, or might have known, that Jehovah the God of Israel had given the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt, i.e. by a perpetual covenant (Numbers 18:19). This promise had been made to David (2 Samuel 7:12-16), confirmed to Solomon (1 Kings 9:4, 5), and reported to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31-38), who must have known that whatever sanction he had from Jehovah to ascend the throne of Israel, he had none to aspire after that of Judah. Abijah's statement was true only of the throne of Judah; the sovereignty of undivided Israel was guaranteed to David and his sons on conditions which had not been fulfilled. Jehovah's language concerning David's throne has been realized in Christ, to whom the absolute and unbroken supremacy over God's spiritual Israel has been committed for ever by a covenant of salt (Psalm 2:6; Psalm 72:17; Daniel 7:13, 14). Hence rebellion against the authority of Christ cannot prosper.

(2) Their rebellion was a revolt against their rightful lord (ver. 6). Though Jeroboam had beforehand been informed of Jehovah's intention to wrest ten tribes from Rehobeam, it was none the less an act of insubordination on the part of Jeroboam and the Israelites to raise the standard of revolt against the son of Solomon. So the Divine foreknowledge that men will sin, reject Christ, and continue in unbelief, does not render it the less culpable on their part so to do. Christ, the Son of David, is their rightful Sovereign (Acts 10:36), and to disown his regal authority is to be guilty of spiritual high treason.

(3) Their rebellion was promoted and fostered by wicked men (ver. 7). Jeroboam had collected round him an army of vain men - light persons like those Abimelech on a former occasion had hired to follow him (Judges 9:4); children of Belial, or of worthlessness, of the stamp of Nahal (1 Samuel 25:17), or of those who followed David when he rescued his wives from the spoilers of Zigiag (1 Samuel 30:32); "lewd fellows of the baser sort" like those who assaulted the house of Jason (Acts 17:5); "men of the most abandoned principles and characters, or men without consideration, education, or brains" (Adam Clarke). Hence it was impossible their nefarious project could thrive (Proverbs 3:35; Psalm 1:6).

(4) Their rebellion was aggravated by the time when it had been conceived and carried out, viz. at a time when Solomon's son had not been able to withstand them, having but newly ascended the throne, and as a consequence been unprepared when the mine, as it were, was sprung beneath his feet (ver. 7). Abijah speaks of Rehoboam as having been at the time of Jeroboam's rebellion "young and tender-hearted;" but, as Rehoboam was then forty-one years old, Abijah may have purposed by the expression to allude to his inexperience as a king, which laid him open to be misled by designing men, or to the instability of his throne, which would naturally invite the attacks of watchful adversaries.

(5) Their rebellion was supported only by human warriors and golden calves (ver. 8). But vain is the help of man, even when the battle is against a fellow (Psalm 60:11; Psalm 108:12), and much more when against God (Psalm 2:1). "There is no king saved by the multitude of an host" (Psalm 33:11), as Israel afterwards often came to know (Hosea 10:13); and they that trust in golden calves or idols of silver and gold are like unto them (Psalm 115:8; Psalm 135:18), and shall eventually be put to shame (Isaiah 42:17; Hosea 8:5).

(6) Their rebellion was being maintained in the interest of idolatry (ver. 9). Although Jeroboam had been expressly informed that Solomon's apostasy had been the cause of the division of his kingdom (1 Kings 11:33), and that the permanence of his own throne depended on his steadfast adherence to the religion of Jehovah (1 Kings 11:38), yet had he wickedly ejected the priests of Jehovah from their offices, and instituted a new order of priesthood for the golden calves and other idols he had set up (1 Kings 12:28-31). Nay, as if to pour contempt upon the true religion, he followed the fashion of heathen nations both in the kind of persons he admitted to the sacerdotal Office, and in the rites of initiation with which these were installed. The former were selected from the lowest of the people, and the latter were of the simplest description. Any one who could bring the necessary offerings for consecration, "a young bullock and seven rams" (cf. Exodus 29:1), was admitted to the new hierarchy, and no questions were asked. This was all the recognition Jeroboam made of the true worship of Jehovah.

(7) Their rebellion was being prosecuted against those who adhered to the true worship of Jehovah (ver. 10). Abijah in this verse gives a better account of himself than the writer of the Kings does (1 Kings 15:3) - a natural and common, if not altogether justifiable, weakness. The probable explanation is that, while clinging to the idolatrous abominations introduced by Solomon and Rehoboam, Abijah had not abandoned the forms of the Mosaic cultus (vers. 10, 11). Like multitudes before and since, he and Ms people conceived it might be possible to do homage on equal terms to Jehovah and heathen divinities, which it was not (Isaiah 42:8); just as many in the present day fancy they can serve God and mammon, which they cannot (Matthew 6:24).

(8) Their rebellion was directed against Jehovah himself (ver. 12), who was present in the camp of Judah as Captain, as he had been in the days of the conquest (Joshua 5:14), and as he still is, in the Person of Christ, in the army of the New Testament Church (Matthew 28:20). This constituted the hopelessness of Jeroboam's attack (Exodus 15:3-7; 1 Samuel 2:10; Job 41:10), as it does still of every assault upon the Church of Christ (Acts 5:39; Acts 23:9). No weapon that is formed against her shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17; Matthew 16:18). That Jehovah remained in Judah in the midst of so much corruption was entirely owing to his gracious covenant with David (1 Kings 12:36); that Christ continues in the New Testament Church even when overrun with errors in doctrine and worship, as well as marred by defects in practice, is owing solely to his own faithfulness and truth (Matthew 28:20).

(9) Their rebellion was foredoomed to failure, because the alarm-trumpets of Jehovah's priests were against them (ver. 12). Those alarm-trumpets were "the divinely appointed pledges that God would remember his people in war, and deliver them from their enemies" (Numbers 10:9). Against the Midianites Moses sent into the field, along with twelve thousand warriors, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy instruments and the trumpets to blow in his hand" (Numbers 31:6). So the duty of Christian ministers is to sound an alarm in God's Name against every thing and person that would injure Christ's Church. Were this always done, timeously and earnestly, ultimate victory for the Church would be ensured (Acts 20:31; 1 Corinthians 4:14; Colossians 1:28).

III. THE AMBUSHMENT OF JEROBOAM. (Vers. 13, 14.)

1. Skilfully prepared.

(1) By Jeroboam. Wicked men often possess high talent, and, though not pious, make splendid generals, eminent statesmen, successful merchants, etc.

(2) While Abijah was orating. Neither praying nor preaching will suffice without watching. While performing every duty earnestly and thoroughly (Ecclesiastes 9:10), it must not be imagined that prudence, foresight, and vigilance are not duties. The Christian, while praying always with all prayer and supplication, must take unto himself the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-18).

(3) Round about Judah. That Abijah had not perceived the stratagem of his opponent is explicable - he had been preoccupied with his harangue; that his generals and soldiers were not on the alert was hardly to their credit, even if they were listening to their monarch's eloquence. At any rate, as Jeroboam circumvented Abijah and his army, while engaged in what might be termed a religious duty, an attempt to avert the calamity of war and to promote the interests of peace, so does the prince of the power of the air commonly select the moment when Christ's soldiers are engaged in some religious service to cast around them his snares.

2. Courageously met. Though surprised, the men of Judah were not thrown into panic. Realizing their danger, they confronted it:

(1) With faith: "they cried unto Jehovah," whom they believed to be their Captain (ver. 12) - an excellent lesson for the Church (collectively and individually), which, though professing to regard Christ as her Captain, does not always turn to him for help in duty or relief in difficulty, but often repairs to worldly policy, human wisdom, or material props and defences.

(2) With hope: "The priests sounded with their trumpets," thus showing they anticipated victory. So should the Church of Christ never enter the field against her adversaries in a doubtful, but always in a confident, spirit (Psalm 60:12; Psalm 108:13), expecting to be victorious (Romans 8:37).

(3) With spirit: "The men of Judah gave a shout" - not merely sounded with their war-trumpets (Bertheau, Keil), but shouted like men contending for the mastery (Exodus 32:18), as soldiers do when rushing into battle (Joshua 6:20; Judges 15:14; 1 Samuel 17:20). So should the Church give expression to her confident anticipations of victory in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Psalm 132:9; Psalm 149:3, 5; Ephesians 5:19).

IV. THE VICTORY OF JUDAH. (Vers. 15-18.)

1. The source of it. God. Not Abijah or Judah, but Eiohim smote Jeroboam and all Israel. "Safety ['victory,' Revised Version] is of the Lord" (Proverbs 21:13), and "it is he that giveth salvation [or, 'deliverance '] unto kings" (Psalm 144:10). "Jehovah is a Man of war," sang Miriam (Exodus 15:3); while David owned, "He teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight" (Psalm 18:34; Psalm 144:1).

2. The time of it. "As the men of Judah shouted." So "the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him" (Psalm 145:18); and "whosoever shall . call upon the Name of the Lord shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), even while they are calling (Isaiah 65:24). Cf. the rescue of Jehoshaphat at Ramoth-Gilead (2 Chronicles 18:31).

3. The ground of it. "Because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers' (ver. 18). That Jehovah should prove a Buckler to them that trusted in him accorded exactly with the representations of the Divine character furnished by Scripture (Genesis 15:1; Deuteronomy 20:1; Joshua 1:9; Psalm 17:7; Psalm 115:9), and had frequently Been verified in the experience of both sections of the kingdom-Joshua's soldiers at Jericho (Joshua 6:12, etc.), and Gideon's at the well of Harod (Judges 7:1, 21), because they trusted in the sword of Jehovah more than in their own weapons. So David prevailed over the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:45), Hezekiah over the Assyrian king, and the Philistines (2 Kings 18:5, 8) and the Reubenites over the Hagarites (1 Chronicles 5:20). Confidence in God the strongest guarantee a Christian can have of emerging triumphantly from any moral or spiritual conflict (Psalm 26:1; Psalm 33:20, 21; Isaiah 12:2; 2 Corinthians 1:10; Romans 8:38).

4. The extent of it.

(1) Jeroboam's army was routed (vers. 15, 16).

(2) Five hundred thousand chosen men were slain. A slaughter so terrific suggests that the numbers must have been exaggerated; and certainly nothing like it can be cited from either ancient or modern warfare. If, therefore, fifty thousand should not be read instead of five hundred thousand (Rawlinson), the figures may be regarded as a popular expression of the opinion of contemporaries of the war that Jeroboam lost more than half of his troops (Keil). Cf. Shakespeare's description of a routed army: "The king himself, of his wings destitute, the army broken," etc. ('Cymbeline,' act 5. sc. 3).

(3) The kingdom of Israel was completely prostrated (ver. 18). Their power to harass Israel was seriously impaired, which confirms the preceding statement that no ordinary blow had been inflicted on Jeroboam's army.

(4) Several cities with their surrounding domains were captured - Bethel, the present-day Beitin, an old patriarchal settlement (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 28:19; Genesis 35:1, 6), and one of the seats of Jeroboam's idolatrous worship (1 Kings 12:29, 33), with the townships or villages in the district; Jeshanah, probably the Isanas of Josephus ('Ant.,' 14:15.12) and the Jesuna of the LXX., occurring only here, and identified with the modern 'Ain Sinia north of Bethel, with many rich springs and rock-tombs in the vicinity FConder, 'Handbook,' p. 416; Riehm, 'HandwSrterbuch,' 1:705); and Ephraim, or phron (LXX., Vulgate), the former Of which points to the Ephraim near Bethel (Josephus, 'Wars,' 4:9. 9), whither Jesus retired (John 11:54), while the latter can hardly be connected with Mount Ephron on the south-west border of Benjamin (Bertheau), but must also be sought in the neighbourhood of Bethel.

(5) Jeroboam never again recovered strength (ver. 20). He outlived the war by several, and Abijah by two, years; but the decisive defeat he had sustained left him ever afterwards a crippled and comparatively feeble sovereign.

LESSONS.

1. The sinfulness of unjustifiable rebellion.

2. The horrors of war.

3. The political value of religion.

4. The power of faith.

5. The reward of sin. - W.

I.A MYSTERIOUS DOCTRINE.

II.A COMFORTING TRUTH.

III.A SOLEMN FACT.

(Bp. Montagu Villiers.)