Then
Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered
at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You
have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.’ ” (v.5)
From the
time Rehoboam became king, he spent the majority of his rule preparing for war
against the other 10 tribes of Israel. He built cities of defense in Judah,
fortified them with strongholds, put captains in them, and stores of food, oil,
and wine. In every city he put shields and spears making them very strong, and
he had Judah and Benjamin on his side as well. (2 Chronicles 11:5-13). However,
he had become so focused on preparing for an attack from the outside, he
neglected to defend from one within his own countrymen’s hearts. Therefore, slowly
over five years, the nation fell away from God and the “covenant obedience”
(v.1).
1 Kings
tells us that, Judah had built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and
wooden images. That they practiced pagan worship, immoral religious sexual
rituals, and did according to all the abominations of the nations which the
Lord had cast out before the children of Israel (vv.22-24). Now, because Rehoboam had allowed the nation to stray from God's covenant, He allowed Judah to be defeated in battle by Shishak, king of Egypt
(12:1-2). However, because Rehoboam humbled himself and said, "The Lord is righteous", God's wrath was not poured out on Jerusalem (v. 6).
Just as God taught Rehoboam a humbling lesson by allowing him to
be defeated in battle and making him watch foreigners cart away some of the treasures
from Solomon's temple, so he teaches us through discipline as
well when we go astray. Hopefully, we won’t have to learn our lessons by seeing something of value stripped away from us. Therefore, repent, seek the Lord, put Him first, defend your soul from evil - then He will
not forsake you, nor turn you over to your own folly.
The Truth
“Those
who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken
those who seek You.” (Psalm
9:10)
