2 Chronicles 12: 1 – 16
He will never forsake You
12 Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. 2 And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ 6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The LORD is righteous.” 7 Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.” 9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. 12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah. 13 Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. 15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.
Have you ever felt like God has totally forgotten you and your problems, needs, and deepest desires? I think we all do this at some point in our lives. Do you ever feel rejected by Him? Have you ever made the mistake of taking the actions of people, human beings incapable of the perfect love of our Heavenly Father, and assuming these reactions represent the attitude of God? Sometimes we entertain these very destructive and heretical thoughts that God has forgotten about us. Somehow, even after every proof of His sure and steady love, we doubt His promises.
So, when we have allowed I our thoughts to develop unbiblical statements, we need to get back to the truth. We must answer the question, “Is God even able to forsake me?” The bible is always right so what we read in the book of Hebrews chapter 13 must also therefore be correct, “In light of this verse we must conclude that the answer to that question is a resounding and final ‘no’ remembering that when God makes a promise He always, always, always keeps it.
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So, we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5-6
He will never leave you…”— not for any reason; not because of your sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have you really let God say to you that He will never leave you?
When I decide to let the behaviors and choices of men cancel out the truths that God so strongly emphasizes in His Word, I am making a grave error. I am giving myself over to heretical thinking. Just because man has rejected me does not mean that God will. If brothers and sisters in the faith forsake me, that does not mean that God will. The truth that I need to remember, recite, and allow to reverberate throughout my being is that God has promised NEVER to leave me nor forsake me. This is not a conditional promise, “I will never leave nor forsake you as long as…” or “I will never leave nor forsake you if you do these things…” It is not a conditional statement. It is a declarative. Then in verse 6 it gets even better because we see that God Is our helper. God! The same One that created the entire universe. The same Father that sent His Son to die on the cross—such a heavy price—so that you and I could be with Him forever. And this verse ends with this important reminder which we all clearly need, “What can man do to me
This humbling reminder emphasizes that if God is going to do it, man can’t undo it. Does God want to provide for the needs of my family? Yes, of course! Does God need men to accomplish that provision? -No! It’s my wrong thinking that gets me into trouble. Whether or not I feel rejected by people, I know that I will not be rejected by God because of my Lord, Savior, King, and Master Jesus Christ.
This is a painful thing to face, and it can create a hole in your heart that only Jesus is capable of filling. Therefore, understanding what God means when He says He will never leave or forsake you is so important.
When God says He will never leave you or forsake you, He is saying that He will continually be there for you in heart, mind, and spirit. He will constantly, if you are open, pour out His heart, His grace, His love, His joy, His wisdom, His health and His freedom to you, all for your sake alone.
God isn’t just “there” in a physical sense because He must be. He Is 100%, wholeheartedly dedicated to doing things for your sake, as any good father is.
The question is... Do we feel the same way toward him?
We may go to church, pray, and read our Bibles (although many Christians don’t even do that!), but is it for His sake or our own? Is it to make ourselves feel better, or for Christ to be glorified?
If our Lord Jesus has saved us, set us free, delivered us, given us wisdom, increased us, regulated our minds, mended our hearts, comforted our spirits, provided for us, fixed our relationships, rescued our soul, and made us whole like we boast about...then why are we so hesitant, as a Church, to give ourselves fully to Him?
I believe it is because we’ve forgotten that our relationship with God was never intended to be one-sided. Just as God does things for our sake, we should be giving God our whole selves, flaws and all, for His sake.
It’s not about repaying God for His goodness or trying to be perfect. We could never do that! It’s about recognizing the depth and width of who He is. It’s about realizing that, because of all He has done, the least we can do is give Him our hearts – live our life for His sake, and not our own.
With this said I get scared when I read how people like Solomon and others who have had some personal direct experience with our Holy God forsake Him. Oh, Holy Lord please help me to never walk away from You. You are my very life. Today we are going to see the direct example of someone just walking away from our Holy and Loving God. When things were going well the king of Judah, Rehoboam forsook Adoni Yahweh. Because of his act many people followed his lead and went after other gods.
Now you might say, ‘Hey Tom, how can what you said be true since we are going to find out that God is going to ‘forsake’ Rehoboam? Let me fill you in with something about our Great God. In His Great Love He doesn’t forsake Rehoboam. He will allow the Egyptians to discipline the people of Judah for their acts of rejection, but He will not really forsake them. His allowance of the Egyptians to come against Judah is to get them to wake up just like He allows the same discipline to come against us. We will read that Rehoboam and the leaders humble themselves before Him and give Him a reason to extend His Mercy. What a Great God we have folks.
In the time of Solomon, the comparatively weak Pharaoh Siamun of the 22nd dynasty was on the throne of Egypt. He ruled over Lower Egypt (the Delta area), and nominally over Upper Egypt, but in Upper Egypt he was very much dependent on the cooperation of the High Priest of Amun, who almost independently ruled it ‘under him’. Whilst carrying out ‘policing action’ against belligerent Philistines to preserve his borders, Siamun was mainly content to be in a treaty relationship with the powerful Israelite empire, and not to interfere in Israel, hence the marriage of one of his daughters to Solomon. This kept safe his northern border.
But in the later years of Solomon’s reign a new stronger dynasty arose in Egypt which brought the two parts of Egypt together under the new Pharaoh, who began to look for ways of destabilizing the Israelite empire and taking over some of the trade routes. This was under Pharaoh Sheshonq I (Shishak), a Libyan tribal chieftain who peacefully succeeded to the Egyptian throne, commencing the 22nd dynasty, and consolidated his position by appointing his sons to important positions, including that of High Priest of Amun. To him Solomon was a powerful political and commercial rival, and while he was not strong enough to attack him, he harbored fugitives such as Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, from Solomon. And once Solomon died it was no doubt with his blessing that Jeroboam returned to Israel and fomented trouble. The plan was so successful that the Israelite empire collapsed, leaving Rehoboam comparatively defenseless in terms of the might of Egypt, and Jeroboam ruling over the northern kingdom, as one from whom Shishak no doubt expected favors. This was no doubt why Rehoboam hastily reinforced his frontier cities and established his sons in them as their commanders. Once that was accomplished he felt much safer. He was soon to learn, however, how wrong he was.
12 Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him.
Coming to the throne as a new king, and having seen his empire fall apart, Rehoboam was no doubt very perturbed about the safety of Judah. He was not even sure how secure his border fortresses would be. So, when a large influx of Israelites from the northern kingdom, who were true worshippers of YHWH God, came across the border with the intention of settling in Judah he could only have been pleased. And recognizing that he owed this to YHWH he seemingly wholeheartedly joined in that worship, whilst at the same time strengthening the border cities and installing his sons in them as their commanders. That accomplished he felt stronger, and therefore less dependent on YHWH. Consequently, he ceased to be so responsive to the Law of YHWH, something in which the majority of his people joined with him. Possibly they felt that Baal was more reliable than YHWH for daily living, and certainly nearer, for he could be found on every high hill and under every green tree. Thus, while nominally carrying on the worship at the Temple, something of which Rehoboam made a great show (verses 10-11), he may well have commenced worshipping his mother’s gods, the gods of Ammon. Morally they were far less demanding.
Please note that Judah, with its sprinkling of Israelites living among them, were now seen as ‘all Israel’. But we must not see this statement as all embracing. Many in Judah, and certainly those who had come from Israel because of their faithfulness to YHWH, continued to worship YHWH truly. It was simply that most of the people, now that they felt safer, followed Rehoboam. In their eyes their fortresses looked firm and solid. They felt able to relax their response to YHWH’s demands.
2 And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,
Rehoboam and those dwelling in his kingdom are going to experience a rude shock. Having ceased to look to YHWH, and having commenced freely breaking the covenant, they discovered that YHWH removed His protecting hand from over them. For in Rehoboam’s fifth year Shishak king of Egypt arrived on the scene. He took the fortified cities which belonged to Judah and ‘came up against Jerusalem’ which, on hearing news of his massive forces, seemingly surrendered without a fight. There is no suggestion at any point of a siege.
3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians.
The size of the force that brought about Rehoboam’s submission is described. It consisted of twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and numberless footmen. These last consisted of Sudanese troops, Libyan troops, and Sukkites. The Sukkites were from the oases of the western deserts of Libya and spoken of in Egyptian records as Tjukten primarily during the 13th and 12th centuries BC.
4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.
In his own record of his campaign, written on the wall of the temple of Amun at Karnak, over 150 towns are named, but Jerusalem was not one of them, presumably because it bought him off with tribute without a fight. There was no military glory for Shishak in that. To him Jerusalem was peripheral. It was only to Judah that it was all important. These 150 towns are depicted in terms of the figure of a chained captive with the name of the town inscribed on it. Cities and towns which surrendered without resistance would be treated differently. (It was ancient practice to treat towns which submitted differently from towns which resisted. Deuteronomy 20.10-14). His main conquests appear to have been in the Negeb, and in northern Israel, which appears to have been his prime target. He may well have felt snubed that Jeroboam had not sworn loyalty to him and sent him tribute. It was probably from Gibeon (mentioned as captured in the inscription), six miles from Jerusalem that he sent a deputation calling for the submission of Jerusalem and its fortified cities, and received the submission and tribute of Rehoboam, who seemingly ‘bought him off’. It will be noted that neither 1 Kings nor the book of Chronicles suggest that Jerusalem was attacked or destroyed in anyway (note verse 7). All the emphasis is on the treasures that were lost. He obtained all its treasures without a fight. Of course, had it not surrendered it might have been attacked.
5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ 6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The LORD Is righteous.”
Meanwhile Rehoboam and the princes of Judah met in emergency session in Jerusalem. ‘The princes of Judah’ probably included the royal princes who were governing the fortified cities, and possibly also the tribal leaders of Judah and Benjamin and the remnants of Israel. They had gathered ‘because of Shishak’. There was no doubting what he could do, and they knew that they were no match for him. Their only hope would have been to look to YHWH. But Shemaiah the prophet soon nixed that hope, declaring that this was YHWH’s decision because they had forsaken Him. He was leaving them in the hands of Shishak.
On learning this the princes of Israel, together with Rehoboam, humbled themselves and declared that YHWH was ‘in the right’. They admitted that they deserved what appeared to be coming on them.
7 Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore, I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
We read a great verse in chapter 7 verse 14 where our Holy Father YHWH had declared to Solomon, ‘’if My people Who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land’. So, when He saw that they had indeed humbled themselves before Him He declared through Shemaiah the prophet, that He would not destroy their land by the hand of Shishak but would grant them some deliverance. His wrath would not be poured out on Jerusalem. This makes it crystal clear that Jerusalem did escape disaster, even though it would be at a cost. It was neither besieged nor destroyed.
The idea of God responding to men’s repentance in this way is one of the themes of Chronicles, as indeed it is for all of us who call upon His Holy Name.
8 Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”
Nevertheless, they would not get off scot free. Rather they would become Shishak’s servants, having to pay him tribute and acknowledge his lordship, so that, having experienced YHWH’s service, and the service of the kingdoms of other countries, they would, by the contrast, know the difference.
9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made.
In obedience to YHWH’s words Rehoboam sent and made his submission to Shishak, and Shishak came up to Jerusalem to receive the tribute promised. He ‘took away the treasures of the house of YHWH, and the treasures of the king’s house. He took all away. He took away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.’ It should be noted that this was the offered tribute and was not looting. They had offered him all the gold that they could lay their hands on, including especially the shields of gold which Solomon had made which were of immense value. It is probable that the Temple furniture was itself exempt, or at least the Ark of the covenant of YHWH, as a reward for yielding peaceably. Shishak would not want to anger their God.
10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.
Because it had surrendered peaceably Jerusalem was neither destroyed nor looted. Rehoboam was thus able to replace the golden shields with shield of bronze. They would shine in the sun as the shields of gold did so that the people would hardly notice the difference (if at all). And this was no doubt important to Rehoboam. The shields were the one aspect of his treasures that the people saw regularly, for whenever the king entered the house of YHWH his guard would line up holding the shields of gold. By replacing them with shields of bronze he maintained his self-respect. They were committed into the hands of the guard commanders who guarded the door of the king’s house, to be brought out whenever the king entered the house of YHWH.
11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom.
The shields were kept in the guard chamber rather than needing to be stored in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. They were no longer of enough value to require special safeguards. So, whenever the king entered the house of YHWH the guards would collect the shields and line up so that Rehoboam could pass between them, hoping that the common people at least would not realize the difference. To such a strait had sin brought him.
12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.
Because of his repentance and obedience to YHWH’s command to yield to Shishak good things were still found in Judah, including the change in his own heart and the hearts of his sons. And this probably also had in mind the truly righteous who had remained faithful to YHWH who had by this been preserved.
The remaining verses summarize his reign, indicating his age when he began to reign, the length of his reign, and the name of the queen mother who apparently had an influential position in Judah. It sums up his reign as ‘evil’ because he did not set his heart to seek YHWH, and points to prophetic literature as a source for further information concerning him. It then makes clear that there were continuing wars between Judah and Israel. It finishes by describing his death, burial and the name of his successor.
13 Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. 15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.
Please take note the description of Jerusalem as ‘the city which YHWH had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there.’ There is no hint previously that YHWH chose Jerusalem as being special. Prior to David’s conquest of it, it was a pagan city, and David seems to have captured it for political reasons as it was within the territory of none of the tribes of Israel and on the borders of Judah and Benjamin. It was thus very suitable as an independent capital of all the tribes of Israel, removing any likelihood of jealousy. Its choice by YHWH was a consequence of the fact that David brought the Ark of the Covenant there out of its obscurity, the Ark which bore YHWH’s Name. It was that which made it the chosen place of YHWH. YHWH chose it
Our Holy Spirit highlights this fact – “And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days” This was a sad reflection on his reign, and on the behavior of both kings, demonstrating that Rehoboam finally ignored the warning he had received from YHWH (11.4). After all they were still his brothers with whom he was fighting, and it badly weakened both kingdoms. No further information is given concerning these wars. They were truly wars of brother against brother.
The life of Rehoboam ends with a standard description of the death of a king of Judah. He slept with his fathers, where he was buried, and the fact that his son succeeded him.
