2 Chronicles 13

Son of David (Davidic covenant)

Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 2 Chronicles 13:5–8

Jehovah covenanted that David's kingdom would last forever through his sons, an unbreaking 'covenant of salt.' No earthly king kept that throne forever; the promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David, whose kingdom has no end.

• alludes to 2 Samuel 7:16 — Nathan's promise that David's throne shall be established for ever.
• alludes to Numbers 18:19 — Another 'covenant of salt for ever', an enduring covenant.
• fulfilled by Luke 1:32-33 — Gabriel: the Lord God shall give Jesus the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Sacrifice as a similitude of Christ

But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: 2 Chronicles 13:10–11

The authorized Aaronic priests offered the morning and evening burnt offerings. Those daily sacrifices were a likeness of the Savior's atoning sacrifice, which is why the true priesthood and true sacrifice mattered so much.

• interpreted by Moses 5:7 — Sacrifice is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten.
• interpreted by Alma 34:14 — The law points to the great and last sacrifice, the Son of God.

Bread of Life

And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. 2 Chronicles 13:11

The shewbread, the 'bread of the presence,' was always set before the LORD in the holy place. Christians have long seen it as a type of Jesus, the Bread of Life who sustains those who come into God's presence.

• a type of what is in John 6:35 — Jesus: I am the bread of life.

Light of the World

And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. 2 Chronicles 13:11

The golden lampstand gave the only light inside the holy place. It is traditionally read as a type of Christ, the Light of the World, the light by which we find our way to God.

• a type of what is in John 8:12 — Jesus: I am the light of the world.

Captain (of the LORD's host / of salvation)

Captain — the leader who goes before His people into battle

And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. 2 Chronicles 13:12

Abijah declares that God Himself leads Judah as their captain. Jehovah appeared to Joshua as captain of the LORD's host, and the New Testament calls Jesus the captain of our salvation.

• the same title in Joshua 5:14 — As captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.
• the same title in Hebrews 2:10 — The captain of their salvation made perfect through sufferings.

Jehovah

LORD (Jehovah) — the covenant name; the premortal Christ

And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 2 Chronicles 13:14–18

Surrounded front and back, Judah cried to Jehovah and He delivered them. They won not by strength but because they relied on Him, the same reliance on Christ's power that saves us.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4)