Rehoboam… did what was evil, because he did not try to find the Lord’s will.
May I do good, Father, ever seeking to find and do your will (Romans 12:1-2).
“Anybody who comes along with a bull or seven sheep can get himself consecrated as a priest of those so-called gods of yours.”
What corruption and futility. May what I do succeed and endure, Lord (Psalm 90:17).
King Abijah went up Mount Zemaraim and called out to Jeroboam and the Israelites. …Meanwhile Jeroboam had sent some of his troops to ambush the Judean army from the rear, while the rest faced them from the front.
Do protect us, Lord, from the schemes of evil men (Psalm 91).
Abijah and his army dealt the Israelites a crushing defeat—half a million of Israel’s best soldiers were killed. And so the people of Judah were victorious over Israel, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
In 1 Kings 15:1-8, Abijah ruled for only 3 Years with a checkered evaluation. It is also highly unlikely killing half a million soldiers in a battle. And more formulas…
An Ethiopian named Zerah invaded Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and advanced as far as Mareshah.
There is no mention of such an invasion in 1 Kings. I think it likely that this was an event confused with Shishak’s invasion (2 Chronicles 12:1-3).