II Chronicles Chapter 12
Please read: II Chronicles 12 –
A pattern amongst the Israelites as well as all of humanity, is that when things are going well, there is a tendency to forget God and go about life on one’s own personal wisdom and strength. The danger with this falling away is that often humans will fall deeper into a spiral of not wanting God in their life at all. Such was the case with the king of Judah. Rehoboam had experienced great success and then turned his back on God which also led to the people of Judah turning their back on God. There is indication that they reverted to idol worship and possibly cult prostitution being a part of their worship.
When we in essence tell God that we do not need Him, there is a danger that He will give us what we want. This is the case in Rehoboam’s kingdom. God allowed the Pharaoh of Egypt to come in and plunder their wealth. To understand the Egyptian side of this attack please read the quote below.
“Known in Egyptian history as Sheshonk I, he was the founder of the Twenty-Second Dynasty and its most energetic Pharaoh. This particular campaign is documented by a list of conquered Palestinian cities that stands to this day carved on the wall of his temple of Amon at Karnak, Thebes.” [Payne]
Let's Reflect
1. The temple, as you may recall, was guarded at all times by the Levites. According to verse 2, why was the temple invaded?
2. What reason did the prophet Shemaiah give to King Rehoboam why the invasion happened?
3. According to verse 6 the king and the people humbled themselves in such a way that proved to God they understood they had sinned. What did they say?
4. So, it bears to reason that Egypt came with intent to destroy and capture the kingdom of Judah. Instead, they only plundered the city. Why did the Egyptians change their minds?
5. What does the Bible say about the amount of plunder the Egyptians took from Judah?
6. To replace the items that were taken that were made of gold, King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze ones. What did they do with these new bronze items?
7. The plundering of the Egyptians ended because King Rehoboam humbled himself before God. What does it say about the rest of his reign?
