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[274]
Yet did not Jeroboam lay any of these things to heart, but he brought
together a very numerous army, and made a warlike expedition against Abijah,
the son of Rehoboam, who had succeeded his father in the kingdom of the
two tribes; for he despised him because of his age. But when he heard of
the expedition of Jeroboam, he was not affrighted at it, but proved of
a courageous temper of mind, superior both to his youth and to the
hopes of his enemy; so he chose him an army out of the two tribes, and
met Jeroboam at a place called Mount Zemaraim, and pitched his camp near
the other, and prepared everything necessary for the fight. His army consisted
of four hundred thousand, but the army of Jeroboam was double to it. Now
as the armies stood in array, ready for action and dangers, and were just
going to fight, Abijah stood upon an elevated place, and beckoning with
his hand, he desired the multitude and Jeroboam himself to hear first with
silence what he had to say. And when silence was made, he began to speak,
and told them, - "God had consented that David and his posterity should
be their rulers for all time to come, and this you yourselves are not unacquainted
with; but I cannot but wonder how you should forsake my father, and join
yourselves to his servant Jeroboam, and are now here with him to fight
against those who, by God's own determination, are to reign, and to deprive
them of that dominion which they have still retained; for as to the greater
part of it, Jeroboam is unjustly in possession of it. However, I do not
suppose he will enjoy it any longer; but when he hath suffered that punishment
which God thinks due to him for what is past, he will leave off the transgressions
he hath been guilty of, and the injuries he hath offered to him, and which
he hath still continued to offer and hath persuaded you to do the same:
yet when you were not any further unjustly treated by my father, than that
he did not speak to you so as to please you, and this only in compliance
with the advice of wicked men, you in anger forsook him, as you pretended,
but, in reality, you withdrew yourselves from God, and from his laws, although
it had been right for you to have forgiven a man that was young in age,
and not used to govern people, not only some disagreeable words, but if
his youth and unskilfulness in affairs had led him into some unfortunate
actions, and that for the sake of his father Solomon, and the benefits
you received from him; for men ought to excuse the sins of posterity on
account of the benefactions of parent; but you considered nothing of all
this then, neither do you consider it now, but come with so great an army
against us. And what is it you depend upon for victory? Is it upon these
golden heifers, and the altars that you have on high places, which are
demonstrations of your impiety, and not of religious worship? Or is it
the exceeding multitude of your army which gives you such good hopes? Yet
certainly there is no strength at all in an army of many ten thousands,
when the war is unjust; for we ought to place our surest hopes of success
against our enemies in righteousness alone, and in piety towards God; which
hope we justly have, since we have kept the laws from the beginning, and
have worshipped our own God, who was not made by hands out of corruptible
matter; nor was he formed by a wicked king, in order to deceive the multitude;
but who is his own workmanship, 1
and the beginning and end of all things. I therefore give you counsel even
now to repent, and to take better advice, and to leave off the prosecution
of the war; to call to mind the laws of your country, and to reflect what
it hath been that hath advanced you to so happy a state as you are now
in."
1 This is a strange expression in Josephus, that God is his own workmanship, or that he made himself, contrary to common sense and to catholic Christianity; perhaps he only means that he was not made by one, but was unoriginated.
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