Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Chapter 13: They Relied Upon the LORD God of Their Fathers
Outnumbered two to one, Abijah of Judah stands before Jeroboam's army and makes his appeal not to arms but to God: 'as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him... God himself is with us for our captain.' Then, ambushed on both sides, Judah cries out to the LORD, and God routs the vast northern army. The victory is credited to one thing: they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Chronicles chapter 13. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The LORD Is Our God (2 Chronicles 13:10-12)
Abijah contrasts Judah's true worship with the north's counterfeit, and declares God is with them.
God Himself Is With Us For Our Captain
"But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper."
Word Study
"captain," Hebrew ro'sh (רֹאשׁ), head, chief, leader. Standing before a far larger enemy, Abijah makes his case on spiritual, not military, grounds. He contrasts two worships. Judah keeps the true worship God commanded: "the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him"; the God-appointed priests, the sons of Aaron, minister; the morning and evening sacrifices, the incense, the shewbread on the pure table, and the golden lampstand all continue, "for we keep the charge of the LORD our God." Jeroboam's north, by contrast, had "forsaken him" for golden calves and self-made priests. Then Abijah names Judah's true advantage: "God himself is with us for our captain (ro'sh, head)." Their commander was not Abijah but God. And so he warns the north, "fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." To war against a people whose head is God is to war against God Himself, and no one prospers in that. Abijah understood that the deciding factor in the battle was not the size of the armies but which side had God with them, and God is with those who keep His charge and have not forsaken Him.
Explanation
Facing Jeroboam's much larger army, Abijah appealed to the true worship of God as Judah's real strength. He pointed out that Judah still worshipped the LORD faithfully, with the proper priests, the daily sacrifices, the incense, the shewbread, and the golden lampstand, keeping God's commands, while the northern kingdom had forsaken God for idolatry and false priests. Therefore, Abijah declared, God Himself was Judah's leader, their "captain," and he warned the northerners not to fight against the LORD, the God of their fathers, because they could not succeed against Him. Judah's confidence rested on having God on their side.
Gospel Focus
Abijah's confidence, "God himself is with us for our captain," is the confidence of all who are on the LORD's side. The decisive question in any conflict is not how large our forces are but whether God is with us: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). Judah's advantage was that they had "not forsaken" God and kept His worship; nearness to God, faithfulness to His truth, is the true strength of His people. The image of God as "captain" points to Christ, "the captain of their salvation" (Hebrews 2:10), who leads His people to victory. And Abijah's warning, "fight ye not against the LORD... for ye shall not prosper," is a solemn word to all who set themselves against God, like Gamaliel's caution, "lest haply ye be found even to fight against God" (Acts 5:39). No one prospers who fights against the LORD. This is not a call to trust in our own righteousness, for Judah's kings were far from perfect, but to be found on God's side, keeping His truth, relying on Him as our captain. Make sure you are with God and God is with you; keep His charge, do not forsake Him, and go into every battle knowing that the true Captain of salvation, Jesus Christ, leads His people to certain triumph.
Because They Relied Upon the LORD (2 Chronicles 13:15-18)
Ambushed on both sides, Judah cries to God, and He gives a great victory to those who relied on Him.
They Relied Upon the LORD
"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. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers."
Word Study
"relied," Hebrew sha'an (שָׁעַן), to lean upon, to rest one's weight on, to depend. Though Jeroboam had set an ambush and Judah was surrounded "before and behind," the men of Judah "cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets" (verse 14), and then "gave a shout." At that cry of faith, "God smote Jeroboam and all Israel." The victory is emphatically God's doing: "God smote... God delivered them into their hand." And the Chronicler states the reason with a single, weighty word: "the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied (sha'an) upon the LORD God of their fathers." To "rely" is to lean the whole weight of one's trust on another, to rest on God as a man leans on a staff. This is the same word behind "lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). Judah did not prevail because they were stronger, they were outnumbered two to one, but because they leaned on God rather than themselves. When God's people, keeping His truth and calling on Him, lean their full weight on the LORD, He fights for them. Reliance, not resources, was the secret of the victory.
Explanation
Even though Jeroboam's forces had surrounded Judah with an ambush, the men of Judah cried out to God, the priests sounded the trumpets, and the army gave a great shout. God then struck down Jeroboam and the entire northern army, which fled before Judah, and Judah won an overwhelming victory. The Chronicler makes the reason unmistakable: Judah prevailed "because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers." Despite being outnumbered, they won because they depended on God rather than on their own strength, and God fought for them.
Gospel Focus
"The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers" is the whole lesson of the battle, and the pattern of the victorious life of faith. To "rely" is to lean the full weight of our trust on God, not on ourselves, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). Judah was outnumbered, ambushed, and surrounded, yet they won, because the outcome depends not on our strength but on the God we lean upon. This is the opposite of Rehoboam's earlier self-reliance in prosperity; here is a people who cast their whole weight on the LORD and were not disappointed. The New Testament calls us to the same dependence: "we should not trust in ourselves, but in God" (2 Corinthians 1:9), and "when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10), for God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Our battles, against sin, against the powers of darkness, are won not by our resources but by leaning wholly on Christ, our Captain, who has already overcome. Cry out to God, lean your full weight on Him, and you will find, like Judah, that those who rely upon the LORD prevail, for the battle is His.
Chapter in Review
Second Chronicles 13 tells how Abijah of Judah, outnumbered two to one by Jeroboam, won a great victory by relying on God. Rather than boast of arms, Abijah appealed to true worship: Judah had "not forsaken" the LORD but kept His appointed priesthood, sacrifices, and worship, while the north had turned to calves and false priests. Therefore, "God himself is with us for our captain," and he warned the enemy not to fight against the LORD. When Judah, ambushed on both sides, cried out to God and shouted, "God smote Jeroboam and all Israel," and Judah prevailed, the Chronicler says plainly, "because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers." The chapter teaches that the decisive factor in any battle is whether God is with us, that faithfulness to His truth is our real strength, and that those who lean their whole weight on the LORD, our Captain Christ, prevail against every odds.
Key Takeaways
- God with us is the decisive advantage. "God himself is with us for our captain"; if God be for us, who can be against us?
- Faithfulness to God's truth is our strength. Judah had "not forsaken" the LORD but kept His worship.
- Do not fight against God. No one prospers who sets himself against the LORD.
- Rely on the LORD, not yourself. Judah prevailed, outnumbered, "because they relied upon the LORD."
- Christ is our Captain. The Captain of our salvation leads His people to certain victory.
Questions for Reflection
- In your conflicts, do you weigh the size of the odds, or whether God is with you?
- Are you keeping faithful to God's truth, or drifting toward a convenient counterfeit?
- Is there any way you are, in effect, fighting against God rather than yielding to Him?
- Are you leaning your whole weight on the LORD, or trusting your own strength?
- Do you go into your battles following Christ, the Captain of your salvation?
References
- Scripture: 2 Chronicles 13:1-22, King James Version (commentary focuses on verses 10-12 and 15-18).
- Cross-references: Proverbs 3:5; Acts 5:39; Romans 8:31; 2 Corinthians 1:9; 12:10; Hebrews 2:10.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for ro'sh ("captain") and sha'an ("relied"); background on Abijah's war with Jeroboam.