2 Chronicles 12:1–16
12 When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. 2 12:2In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem 3 12:3with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. 4 12:4And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 12:5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” 6 12:6Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” 7 12:7When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 12:8Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”
9 12:9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 10 12:10and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 11 12:11And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. 12 12:12And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good 1 in Judah.
13 12:13So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 14 12:14And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.
15 12:15Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer? 2 There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 12:16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and Abijah 3 his son reigned in his place.
Section Overview
The success summarized in the preceding chapter was due to king and people seeking the Lord and walked “in the way of David and Solomon,” but that lasted only three years (2 Chron. 11:16–17). The tragedy was that, subsequently, Rehoboam “abandoned the law of the Lord and all Israel with him. . . . They had been unfaithful to the Lord” (12:1–2a).
The Kings account of Shishak’s invasion and its aftermath is very brief and matter-of-fact (1 Kings 14:25–28). The Chronicler’s expanded account provides his first opportunity to tell how defeat and loss occurred because people “abandoned” (ʻazab, “forsook”) the Lord (2 Chron. 12:1; cf. comment on 1 Chron. 28:9–10), but mitigation followed when people “humbled themselves” (2 Chron. 12:6, 7, 12; cf. comment on 7:13–16). It is poignant that both responses (forsaking and humbling) occur as soon as the first generation, the first king, after David and Solomon. The people had for a brief time acted like David and Solomon (11:17), but now were like Saul in being “unfaithful” (maʻal, “break faith”; 12:2; 1 Chron. 10:13; cf. comment on 1 Chron. 2:4–8). This outcome was different from Saul’s in that king and leaders responded appropriately to the Lord’s message spoken by the prophet Shemaiah (2 Chron. 12:6–7, 12).
Section Outline
- III.A. Rehoboam: Division, Defeats, and Successes (10:1–12:16) . . .
- 3. Shishak of Egypt Attacks: “Abandoning” and “Humbling” (12:1–16)
Response
Warnings of how being “strong” can turn to the arrogance of self-sufficiency and a turning away from God, who has enabled the blessing, and to other gods are seen elsewhere in Scripture. In the preaching of Deuteronomy, the people are warned that, once they have settled in the land where God has given so much, they must “beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut. 8:17–18). Such “wealth” can be extended to matters such as abilities, family background, physical beauty, knowledge, or spiritual experience. The prophets proclaim God’s anguish as people ascribe and give to other gods what he has given (Ezek. 16:1–22; Hos. 2:1–13). Later, Jesus warns of the self-confidence of the builder of “larger barns,” leading to the alternative of seeking God’s kingdom, for “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:13–34).
Beyond the warnings, however, is hope. The account of Rehoboam is a reminder that even when there has been a turning from trust and humble service of God, often with grave consequences, the grace of God is seen as we “humble ourselves.” Consequences of the wrongdoing may remain and be mitigated, but the relationship is restored, and we look forward to the new heavens and new earth when all will be put right (Rom. 8:18–25; 2 Pet. 3:13).
1 For an illustrated discussion of the Karnak Temple inscription and the biblical record, see Yigal Levin, “Did Pharaoh Sheshonq Attack Jerusalem?” BAR 38/4 (2012): 42–52, 66.
2 The equivalence is heightened by additional pronouns “you” and “I.”
3 Used here is a more common reflexive form of the verb khazaq, “show oneself strong” (cf. 1:1, “established himself”; 13:21, “grew mighty”; 17:1, “strengthened himself”; etc.).