Abijam called Abijah (Judah) (2 Chronicles 13:1 ). He knew that victory in battle comes only through loyalty to God, and used this in routing Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13 ), yet his heart was not right toward the Lord.

1 Kings 15:3 "And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. "

Note the charges against him:

	Walked in all the sins of his father.
	His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God.

Why God gave Judah victory and spared Abijah:

	Because of the Lord's promise to David (1 Kings 15:4 ).
	Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (Except in the matter of Uriah).

The heart is the motivating part of man - loyalty to God springs from the Lord being enthroned on the heart. Christ must be completely at home in our heart (Ephesians 3:17 ). Then the loyal heart will be revealed in faithfulness to God.

"CHRONOLOGY OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOM: The date of the Division of the Kingdom is variously placed between 983 B C and 931 B C, the low date being now more generally accepted. There are difficulties in the chronology of the period; and apparent discrepancies, which may, in part, be accounted for by "overlapping reigns," "associated sovereignty, "intervals of anarchy," and "parts of years as years."
RELIGION OF THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM: God-Worship: though most of the kings served idols, and walked in the evil ways of the kings of Israel; but some of Judah's kings served God, and at times there were great reformations in Judah. On the whole, however, in spite of the repeated and fearful warnings of the prophets, Judah sank lower and lower in the horrible practices of Baal worship and other Canaanite religions, till there was no remedy. Some of the reigns were, in part, not concurrent. ... All the kings of Israel served the Calf; the worst served Baal. Most of the kings of Judah served idols; a few served Jehovah. Some bad kings were partly good; some good kings partly bad." Halley's Handbook

Asa (Judah) was loyal to God as David was:

	He banished male prostitutes used in idol worship (1 Kings 15:12 ).
	He removed the idols made by his father.
	He deposed the queen mother for idolatry (1 Kings 15:13 ).
	He burnt her obscene image.
	His heart was loyal to the Lord.
	His restoration was incomplete (1 Kings 15:14 ).
	He restored treasures to the Lord's house (1 Kings 15:15 ).
	He made a treaty with the king of Syria (1 Kings 15:16-22 ).

In the face of God's past faithfulness instead of trusting the Lord, he put his trust in an alliance with a foreign king. It is good to begin well, but God wants us to end well also. Look up some New Testament examples of those who did not finish well, and take heed (Galatians 5:7, 3:3, 2 Timothy 4:10 ). A disciplined life lived for God will finish well, and won't suffer loss of reward (1 Corinthians 9:26-27, 2 John 8 ).

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QUESTIONS FOR GROUP INTERACTION

1. What are the named sins of Abijam? (1 Kings 15:3 ).
2. Why did God spare Abijam and Jerusalem? (1 Kings 15:4 ).
3. Is Christ completely at home in your heart? (Ephesians 3:17 ).
4. What are similarities of the state of the nation under the kings to those of the times of the judges?
5. In what was Asa faithful, and what was his failure? (1 Kings 15:12-22; 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 ).