I. What's in a name? King David's great grandson's name was changed to "My Father is Yahweh" (ʾabiyyāh/ʾabiyāhû, אֲבִיָּה/אֲבִיָהוּ) in 2 Chronicles 13:1 from "My Father is Yam" (ʾabiyyām, אֲבִיָּם) in 1 Kings 15:1.
II. We must not underestimate the impact of King Solomon's apostasy on his son Rehoboam and grandson Abijam (1 Kings 11:1-11).
III. Yam was the mythical sea-god known from Ugaritic literature, as can be illustrated from Psalm 74:13-14: "It was you who split open the sea (yām, יָם) by your power; you broke the heads of the monster (tanniyn, תַּנּין) in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan (liwyātān, לִוְיָתָן) and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert."
III. We do not know whether Abijam truly changed in his heart, but he does take a stand for the LORD (2 Chronicles 13:10-12), and God delivered his enemies into his hand against overwhelming odds "because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers" (2 Chronicles 13:18).
IV. God may use people to serve him, and even perform miracles, but that is not proof that the LORD knows that person (Matthew 7:21-23).
Does the LORD know you? You can answer this question with another: Do you know the LORD?
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Bob Vincent
King Abijam Bible Characters Sermons by Bob and Others
After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
