It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been warned. They had. Clearly. Concisely. In an eloquent speech, Judah’s king, Abijah, stood on Mount Zemaraim and listed Israel’s sins. Some of them, at least. Their entirety was likely longer than he had time to detail. They had divided the kingdom of David. They had rebelled against God and His appointed king. The people had banished the priests of the Lord and chosen new priests to preside over the worship of the golden calves their newly chosen king had created for them to worship. And now they had come against Judah as if they could win a war against the Lord’s kingdom. (II Chronicles 10)
Maybe they could. In theory. By the numbers, it wasn’t impossible. Judah had four hundred thousand warriors. Israel had twice as many. Measured in physical strength alone, Israel clearly had the advantage. Any other kingdom would be terrified to face an army of such magnitude. Any other people would be worried for the lives of their friends and family. Any other king would have scoured the countryside for more men to enlist, more kingdoms to unite with, more people to engage in the battle. Not Judah. Not Abijah. They weren’t worried. At all. Not even a little. They didn’t need to be.
All of Judah knew who their God was. They knew His power. They knew His consistency. They knew they could trust Him. They had been doing it for a while now. Having chosen God as their Lord, they had never abandoned Him. Every command He issued was followed with diligent accuracy. Every requirement He set forth was their delight to fulfill. They had dedicated themselves, their hearts, their lives to be God’s alone. He was their leader. In everything. They wouldn’t march into battle on the flimsy hope to somehow come out on top. No. They would confidently stride out to face an army twice their size, knowing God went before them. He would deliver them. God would never abandon the people who had not abandoned Him.
This was the warning Abijah issued before the ambush was set, before the first battle cry rang out, before the first sword was drawn, before the priests of the Lord blasted their trumpets. He begged Jeroboam and the army of Israel to listen up. Evaluate their choices. Consider the consequences. Decide if this action was in their own best interest. Because it wasn’t. Fighting against God never was. It would never be successful. Those who chose not to follow the requirements God had explicitly laid out for them would never succeed in a battle against Him. God would always win. His people would always be victorious. Choosing to start a fight with them was pointless. Yet Jeroboam refused to listen.
No one knows why Jeroboam chose to proceed with the battle. Arrogance? Ignorance? Purposeful obtuseness? Regardless of the reason, he pushed Israel’s army ahead. Dividing his men, he strategically surrounded Judah’s army. The visible army faced them. The ambush approached from the rear. Judah had nowhere to turn. No space was free from impending battle. Fear gripped their hearts. Panic clawed at their throats. Concern for the outcome of the battle teased the corners of their minds. Then they remembered the choice they had made. The one to follow God. Always. Obey God. Consistently. Dedicate themselves to the service of the Lord. Forever. And they remembered His promises to those who did so. Victory. Looking around that battlefield, seeing the opposition on every side, knowing they were grossly outnumbered and the odds were severely stacked against them, Judah did the only thing they could do. They called in the heavy artillery. They cried out to the Lord. (Deuteronomy 28:1-13)
We don’t know what they said to God. There is no record of their pleas. There is no indication of how long they prayed or how quickly God answered. We have no way to know how much time elapsed between the first frisson of fear and the triumphant blast of the priests’ trumpets. Those things aren’t really important. What we need to know is written in the account. When things got tough, when it looked impossible, when they were hugely outnumbered by the enemy, Judah had such a committed relationship with God that they called on Him and He answered. Their commitment to and dependence on God is the reason they succeeded. The only reason. It wasn’t strength or cunning. They had neither. They weren’t blessed with the most strategic military minds. Their weapons weren’t advanced or superior. The reason they won, the cause of their success, was because they chose God to be their Lord. They chose obedience to Him when it wasn’t popular or easy. They chose to depend on God’s strength rather than their own, and they felt comfortable in doing so, because they knew from historical records, if not personal experience, that no one wins against the Lord.
Five hundred thousand warriors of Jeroboam’s original eight hundred thousand died that day. It was unnecessary. There was absolutely no reason for those men to lose their lives. They had every chance to change their minds. They were warned. Not just with a single sentence warning, but with facts and evidence that highlighted their inevitable defeat. If they chose to come against the people who had chosen God as their Lord, defeat was unavoidable. And it wasn’t just a blow to the army of Israel. It was a blow to their chosen king as well. Jeroboam found his power slipping away. Eventually, the Bible tells us, God struck him and he died. (II Chronicles 13)
None of that had to happen. Not one man had to die. No one had to lift a sword against another. If they had all simply decided to make the Lord their God, the skirmish would never have occurred. We wouldn’t read about it. Wouldn’t even consider it. They could all have lived to a ripe old age. If they had listened when they were warned. If they had made the right choice. If they had chosen God as their Lord.
Abijah tried to warn them. In carrying out the commands and requirements of God, he attempted to put them on the right path. Warning them of the dangers of creating other gods and appointing priests to treat them like God. He carefully adhered to the words written in Deuteronomy. He kept his own house clean. No idols. No false priests. No worship of anything that wasn’t God. He challenged Jeroboam to do the same. He tried to watch for Jeroboam’s soul. He admonished him and his people to stay true to God and bear good fruit. He warned them of the consequences and offered them the option of changing their minds. When it was all said and done, they opted out. But Abijah and the people of Judah didn’t. They held to what they knew to be true. They chose to follow God rather than running off down a nicer path, an easier route, a justifiable detour. And God blessed them with victory. (Deuteronomy 29:9, 16-21)
It is such a familiar tale. Perhaps not this exact account, but the concept. Nearly every day, I hear another report, read another article, watch another broadcast underscoring just how closely our day relates to Abijah’s. Everyone is divided. Countries. Communities. Churches. That one worries me the most. The people who claim to be God’s are divided among themselves. They are all choosing their own truth. Determining their own god. Forging their own path. The commands and principles of God, written by His own hand and inspired by His Holy Spirit, are up for discussion and subject to re-interpretation. That frightens me. Because God’s words, His truths, His rules don’t bend or break. His word doesn’t change. Nor does God Himself. He is always the same. (II Peter 1:21; Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6; Isaiah 40:8)
We are the ones who change. When our hearts turn aside to the thing we love more. When our eyes fix on something we want more. When our souls yearn for something instant and earthly. It is then we begin to finagle God’s word to say what we want it to mean. Unfortunately for us, no amount of verbal maneuvering or theological manipulation will change the meaning and intent of God’s original commands. God’s word stands. Alone, if necessary. And we are called to do the same. Called to stand with Judah and Abijah. Called to stand up for right and truth in a world constantly altering its perceptions of those things. Called to firmly plant our spiritual feet and proclaim, “As for us,” we refuse to abandon the words and teachings of God. We won’t change them to be more palatable. We won’t give them new meaning that better fits society’s desires. We won’t engage in the dangerous business of adding or taking away from them. For us, right now, today, we choose the Lord as our God. Forever. (Psalm 119:89, 160; Numbers 23:19; Proverbs 30:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 5:18)
Are you there? Have you made your choice? Popular or unpopular. Comfortable or uncomfortable. Have you taken your stand, planted your feet, and proclaimed your intentions? Have you purposefully chosen to follow God? Is He your Lord? Are you meticulously adhering to His requirements? No matter what friends or family choose. Regardless what society says. No matter how persuasive the pundits are. Do your actions and words unmistakably reflect your choice? As for you, have you chosen the Lord as your God? Forever. (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:19, 31:6; Exodus 19:5-6; II Peter 2:1-3; I Corinthians 15:58; James 1:12; II Thessalonians 2:15; Ephesians 4;14-19; Colossians 2:8; Jude 1:4, 12-13, 19)