Which is it?
Was Abijah’s mother a daughter of Uriel (13:2) or a daughter of Absalom (11:20)?
It’s hard to tell. “Son of” or “daughter of” may also mean “descendant of.” And so, Maacah may actually be Absalom’s grand daughter.
But also significant in chapter thirteen is this war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
The Chronicler does not give us the detail the writer of Kings gives. Kings maintains that the division of Israel and Judah was God’s doing (2 Kings 11:29ff), and the Chronicler, while not expressly stating that fact, alludes to it in 2 Chronicles 11:4. There, God forbids them to fight one another. So why the war here?
In 2 Chronicles 11 the war was Rehoboam’s idea. It would appear that the war in chapter 13 was Jeroboam’s idea. It would have certainly been foolish for Abijah to be the challenger when, first, the Lord had forbidden such a conflict of his father, and second, when Jeroboam had an army twice Abijah’s size.
God may have forbidden Judah to fight Israel, but Israel was certainly not listening to God and felt no reluctance to oppress her brethren. Judah, then, would have to defend herself. But the real lesson is that it doesn’t matter if God’s people are outnumbered and surrounded, if they have relied on the Lord, and continue to rely on Him, God will provide deliverance and protection.
The ancestry of Abijah’s mother may be confusing and in doubt, but this is a minor point. The main thing is for God’s people to trust God. When we major in minor things, we lose sight of the major things that are most relevant for our lives.