The Reign Of Abiyam of Judah c. 913-911/910 BC (1 Kings 15:1-8).
The reign of Abiyam was very short, possibly cut off by illness, and during it he made no effort to improve the nation's attitude towards YHWH, although nothing is said about his condoning it. He may well therefore himself have been faithful to the worship of the Temple, without having revealed a wholehearted response towards YHWH by seeking to reform the people.
All his life he had known a continual attitude of war towards Jeroboam and Israel, and it continued on during his own short reign. But because of YHWH's covenant with David, YHWH set up his son (the Davidic heir) after him as a lamp in Jerusalem, because David had done what was right in His eyes, and had not turned aside from His commandments, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. Thus the dynasty continued for David's sake.
Analysis.
a Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abiyam to reign over Judah (1 Kings 15:1).
b He reigned for three years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom (1 Kings 15:2).
c And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him, and his heart was not perfect with YHWH his God, as the heart of David his father (1 Kings 15:3).
d Nevertheless for David's sake YHWH his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:4-5).'
c Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life (1 Kings 15:6).
b And the rest of the acts of Abiyam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abiyam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:7).
a And Abiyam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned instead of him (1 Kings 15:8).
Note that in ‘a' Abiyam began his reign over Judah, and in the parallel he died and was buried, with his son reigning instead of him. In ‘b' he reigned for three years in Jerusalem and in the parallel how he reigned could be found in the state records of Judah. In ‘c' his heart was not right towards God, and in the parallel it was caught up in the continual antagonism between Judah and Israel. Centrally in ‘d' his dynasty would continue for David's sake.
‘ Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abiyam to reign over Judah.'
The synchronisation between the reigns of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel will continue on until Israel ceased to exist. It can mainly now be reconciled as a result of exhaustive studies by scholars. Abiyam came to the throne after eighteen years of continued belligerence between Judah and Israel (1 Kings 15:6). The eighteenth year of Jeroboam was the seventeenth year of Rehoboam because Israel counted in the initial part of the reign prior to the first New Year as one year. Judah ignored that initial part of the year.
We are never told the age of Abi-yam, but the Chronicler tells us that he had fourteen wives, twenty two sons and sixteen daughters (2 Chronicles 13:21), so that he was well matured when he began to reign, possibly approaching forty. (Rehoboam died at around sixty - 41 plus + 17 plus). Thus he grew to manhood during the second half of Solomon's reign, and was in his twenties when his father bought off Shishak. He had known the splendour of the days of Solomon, and had seen it all disappear because of Solomon's folly. (He did not see his father as at fault - 2 Chronicle 1 Kings 13:7).
‘ He reigned for three years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.'
In the usual introduction we learn that he reigned ‘for three years' in Jerusalem. The calculation of the reigns of kings of Judah usually ignored the initial part of the reign prior to the first New Year, so that he reigned for at least two full years, and two partial years. And he reigned in Jerusalem, ‘the city which YHWH had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there' (1 Kings 14:21) because of His love for David. The YHWH/David partnership continued.
His mother's name was ‘Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom' confirming that he was a true ‘son of David'. Some see Maacah as the granddaughter of Absalom, David's son (Absalom being an abbreviation of Abi-shalom). However, the author of Kings always refers to Absalom as Absalom (1Ki 1:6; 1 Kings 2:7; 1 Kings 2:28) so that others consider Abi-shalom to be some else. But the fact that Asa is also identified as having ‘Maacah the (grand-)daughter of Abishalom' as queen mother may mean that the Davidic connection is being stressed. On the other hand the mention in the case of Asa may be due to the fact that because Abiyam died prematurely in his forties, Maacah continued as ‘queen mother, keeping out Asa's mother, regardless of who Abi-shalom was. The question remains open.
‘ And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him, and his heart was not perfect with YHWH his God, as the heart of David his father.'
Like his father Rehoboam, Abiyam appears to have himself worshipped at the Temple, remaining true to Yahwism, while at the same time not seeking to do anything about the worship of many Judaeans at the syncretised high places. Like his father his own faith was nominal, and not spiritually alive like David's.
In a period of open warfare between Judah and Israel he would point to his own religious orthodoxy in contrast to Jeroboam's unorthodoxy, thereby hoping to dishearten Jeroboam with the thought that YHWH was against him (2 Chronicles 13:9-10). But it was a largely nominal faith and not real enough to cause him to want to purify the faith of Judah. He was thus a disappointment to YHWH.
‘ Nevertheless for David's sake YHWH his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.'
However for David's sake YHWH promised the continuing of his dynasty in Jerusalem, and to establish Jerusalem, giving him a son to be a lamp in Jerusalem which kept alive his name and the lamp of the Davidic house (compare 1 Kings 11:36; 2 Kings 8:19 where it was specifically the lamp of the Davidic house). This was because David had done what was right in YHWH's eyes, and had been continually obedient, except during the sad episode of Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11).
The qualification ‘except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite' is given only here. As with ‘the city which YHWH had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there' (1 Kings 14:21) it was in future to be ‘read in' without being repeated. The prophetic author was not so stereotyped that he wanted to bore his readers with needless repetition.
‘ Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.'
Virtually repeating 1 Kings 14:30 the prophetic author brings out that Abiyam had been brought up to continual belligerence between Judah and Israel all the days of his adult life, during the reign of his father. He had thus become inured to it and did not seek to make peace when he became king, thus hindering the possibility of Israelites returning to worship at the Central Sanctuary.
‘ And the rest of the acts of Abiyam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abiyam and Jeroboam.'
Apart from the fact that the state of war between Judah and Israel was continued, there was nothing further about Abiyam's life that the prophetic author thought worthy of mention. All those interested in what Abiyam had done could consult the court records. The Chronicler records open warfare between the two in which Judah was victorious, and gained land and cities in Israel. But the author did not see that as significant. As far as he was concerned Abiyam was no better than Rehoboam.
“And there was war between Abiyam and Jeroboam.” At first sight this seems to have slipped into the text, and we expect it prior to the closing summary, but if we compare the following kings we will find a similar unexpected final comment at the end of their reigns which also comes in an ‘unexpected' place. See 1 Kings 15:23 b; 1 Kings 15:32; 1 Kings 16:7. It is a trait of the author which he eventually conquers.
‘ And Abiyam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned instead of him.'
Abiyam died prematurely but peacefully, probably in his forties, and was buried in the city of David. He was thus an accepted Davidide. And his dynasty continued in that Asa his son reigned instead of him. The promise to David of a continuing house was being fulfilled.
Nadab's life is a warning to us of the danger of being merely nominal in our Christian lives. Rather we must ensure that we keep alive the ‘lamp' that God has lit within us so that it continues to shine brightly (Matthew 5:16).