Dr Paul Allen

2 Chronicles 13: 12 “Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed." Not long after the division of the united kingdom of Israel into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, war nearly broke out between the two nations. King Rehoboam of Judah gathered an army to fight King Jeroboam I of Israel, but the intervention of the prophet Shemaiah prevented military conflict (1 Kings 12:21–24). Yet, that would not be the end of fighting between Israel and Judah. First Kings 15:6–7 reports that war took place between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Rehoboam’s reign, and even Rehoboam’s son and successor, King Abijam of Judah, fought against Jeroboam. 2 Chronicles tell us about one fight between Jeroboam and Abijam. We are in the Chronicler’s account of Abijam’s reign and note th

Map showing the Kingdoms of Israel (blue) and Judah (orange), ancient levant borders and ancient cities such as Urmomium and Jerash. The map shows the region in the 9th century BCE. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God , follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing ( 1 Kings 18:21). When God set up the kingdom in Israel , He made a condition for the kings: They were always to hearken to the words of the prophets , the emissaries of the true High King of Israel. In a more general way, the prophets were also the ambassadors of God to the people. God always gave the people the kind of king they deserved, so that if there was to be reformation in the land, the people, as well as the king, had to repent. When the kings of Israel and Judah were unfaithful, it was a reflection on the moral condition of the people. The kingdom of northern Israel was separated fr

English: Infant smiling (1 month old) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) First what does the Old Testament say about the death of children and their destiny. 1) Infants belong to God in a special and particular way. In Ezekiel, God describes the slaughter of children born into pagan families as a slaughter of “my children” (Ezek 16:21). This expression of ownership by God over children born into idol worshiping families is stark, and implies God’s care for those children in a personal way. 2) God describes children as “having no knowledge of good and evil” (Deut 1:39). They have a sin nature, but they sin in the way that gravity works: they are pulled down. They do not sin in the way that adults do: adults love sin. Children default to sin, while adults run there. 3) God refers to Gentile children as unable to discern the difference between right and wrong (Jonah 4:11). Children are born with a sin nature, and even babies love to sin. But they do so without appreciating why they are doi

English: Ahias-silonites was a prophet of Shiloh (1 Kings 11:29; 14:2) in the days of Rehoboam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) By the time Rehoboam became king, the northern tribes had grown weary of Solomon 's oppressive forced labor policy (see 1 Kings 5:13-18 ; 12:4 ). They asked Rehoboam to lighten their burden; but rather than following the wise counsel of the elders who had served under Solomon, Rehoboam listened to his young peers and pledged to intensify the burden of labor (see 1 Kings 12:6-14 ). This prompted the ten northern tribes to secede (see 1 Kings 12:16 ). Their new leader was Jeroboam , himself a former overseer of forced labor for the "tribes of Joseph," the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see 1 Kings 11:28 ). In a final effort to resolve the crisis, Rehoboam dispatched Adoniram , the official in charge of forced labor, to broker a settlement. Adoniram was experienced in these matters, having served as national overseer of forced labor under both Da

Image via Wikipedia We need wisdom when applying scriptures. Take tender-heartedness, for example. I think one of the most practical and important passages in the whole Bible is Ephesians 4:31–32. God put that there for me. It is one of the most important mandates in my life. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. There are dozens of situations where I should be more tenderhearted than I am. But what about 2 Chronicles 13:7? Jeroboam and “certain worthless scoundrels” — this is already not sounding tenderhearted — defied Solomon ’s son Rehoboam and broke the kingdom in half.  Why did that rebellion succeed? Multiple reasons. Here’s one. “Rehoboam was young and  tenderhearted , and could not withstand them” (2 Chronicles 13:7, KJV ). That’s a good literal translation. Image via Wikipedia So there is a  tenderheartednes