When God chose David to sit on the throne, something new began. David was a man after God’s own heart. From youth to old age, he displayed a life of faith. Even when he failed through tremendously offensive sins, he made no excuses but genuinely repented. Centuries later, the days of David were still a reference point for God’s people (Neh. 12:46).

Solomon took the throne next. He asked God for understanding, and his kingdom prospered. His wisdom, riches, and fame exceeded all the stories that were told about him. Yet later his heart turned away from the Lord, influenced by relationships and a sense of self-will.

His son Rehoboam then introduced a definite shift in the spiritual atmosphere. He ruled harshly by demand and decree, and the kingdom was divided. He strengthened himself but forsook the Lord (2 Chr. 12:1). In his days, the royal treasures of gold were replaced with display items of bronze—similar in luster, perhaps, yet of much less value (1 Ki. 14:26–28).

His son Abijah (or Abijam) followed. He won a great victory by declaring the name of the Lord (2 Chr. 13), but he had no personal devotion. He walked in the sins of his father, and “his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God” as David’s was (1 Ki. 15:3). It had taken only four generations for a steep spiritual decline to set in. The truths David enjoyed by faith had become only historical tradition for Abijah. This pattern is repeated over and over in the Scriptures.

And which generation are we? Do we enjoy the promises of God by faith, or have we been led astray by our passions, self-confidence, and pride of position? Though we might look back upon faithful generations of the past, let us beware lest we live in the same empty declarations of Abijah’s day.