Rehoboam Worshiped God at First but Fell Into Idolarty
March 12, 2020
Commentary
Rehoboam acted wisely at first as he welcomed those who came to worship God. He established the Southern kingdom and strengthened his personal position as a monarch. But after three years he forsook the law of God and led his people into idolatry and corruption (v. 1). At this time, it became apparent that Rehoboam’s border fortification was not adequate to guard Judah against the Egyptian Army under king Shilshak (v. 2).
The Lord allowed Shilshak to invade Judah as a punishment for Rehoboam’s sin of abandoning the law of the Lord (vv. 3-8). At this point the prophet Shemaiah told Rehoboam that the Egyptian invasion was a divine retribution for Judah’s sin and that only sincere repentance would turn it aside. The king and his princes repented, and God in His mercy spared them (vv. 6-12).
Before Shilshak withdrew from Jerusalem, he ransacked the temple and the royal place of all the gold which King Solomon had in it (v. 9). Later Rehoboam regained some of his wealth and power. He died at the age of 58 and was buried in Jerusalem (the city of David) with his kingly ancestors (v. 16). He reigned 17 years and was characterized by an evil heart towards God and a persistent war with Jeroboam (vv. 13-15). Rehoboam started out great, but he did not finish well.
Application
I can look around us today and see men who started out by honoring the Lord as Rehoboam did. However, as power and influence came into their life, I can see them begin to worship things and forsake the law of God. It is my desire that I may finish my life well.
2 Chronicles 12:1– 16 (NET)
1 After Rehoboam’s rule was established and solidified, he and all Israel rejected the law of the Lord. 2 Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 3 He had 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and an innumerable number of soldiers who accompanied him from Egypt, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and marched against Jerusalem.
5 Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.’” 6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.” 7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will deliver them soon. My anger will not be unleashed against Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 Yet they will become his subjects, so they can experience how serving me differs from serving the surrounding nations.”
9 King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.
12 So when Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord relented from his anger and did not annihilate him; Judah experienced some good things. 13 King Rehoboam solidified his rule in Jerusalem; he was forty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. 14 He did evil because he was not determined to follow the Lord.
15 The events of Rehoboam’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer that include genealogical records. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16 Then Rehoboam passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah replaced him as king.