Second Chronicles 11:5

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 11:5-16, “And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.[6] He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,[7] And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam,[8] And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,[9] And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,[10] And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.[11] And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.[12] And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.[13] And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.[14] For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:[15] And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.[16] And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.” In spite of Rehoboam’s great failures, he still did some things that were right. That can probably be said of almost every human being. God will be fair at the judgment. Rewards in heaven will be based upon a fair analysis of our Christian lives and what we did or did not do for the Lord Jesus Christ. Punishments in hell will be fairly based upon how much evil someone has done. The more evil that a non-believer does, the more they will suffer in hell.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 11:17-23, “So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.[18] And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;[19] Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.[20] And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.[21] And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)[22] And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.[23] And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.” This passage makes it clear that Rehoboam did fairly well his first three years as king. And then things started changing. What changed that made him start going downhill? For one thing, he chased women. Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty concubines. Undoubtedly, he was spending time with women instead of with the Lord. It says at the end of verse twenty-three, “he desired many wives.” We should desire the Lord above all other things.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 12:1-4, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.[2] And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,[3] With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.[4] And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.” If you are a believer and depart from the Lord, you are in big trouble. It says in verse one that Rehoboam “forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” Sure enough, trouble came to the Israelites, not really from Egypt, but from the Lord. Repent of your sins daily, and you will never get into such a situation. The Lord will always forgive you no matter how bad you have been or how far you have strayed. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 12:5-8, “Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.[6] Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.[7] And 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; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.[8] Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” God is very forgiving. He has to be: otherwise, no one would get to heaven. When you are a believer and you sin and do not confess right away, God will chastise you, not to punish you but to bring you back to Him. In these last days, our Savior is so very forgiving to all of us. He did not allow Egypt to destroy Jerusalem, but God did allow Egypt to have a certain dominance over Judah and Jerusalem. The reason that God left Egypt with that kind of control over the Israelites is found in verse eight where God said, “Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” The Israelites needed to learn something if they were going to serve God. They needed to learn to serve. They needed to learn what service was all about. That is what children are supposed to learn under the authority of their parents: how to obey and to serve. I think the Lord is probably working in the lives of every believer to teach us how to serve because we need to learn what it means to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to serve others.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 12:9-16, “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 all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.[10] Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.[11] And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.[12] And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.[13] So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, 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. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.[14] And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.[15] Now 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 continually.[16] And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.” Notice that at the end of verse thirteen it says, “his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.” Of course, his mother was one of Solomon’s many wives. Many of Solomon’s wives were heathen women who were not true believers. Of course, that would cause big problems, and it did. What were those women going to teach their children? They are going to teach the religion of their native country. Right after telling us who his mother was, it says in verse fourteen, “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” Seek the Lord each day: that is imperative. Do it first thing in the morning and throughout the day As Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 13:1-3, “Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.[2] He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.[3] And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.” These verses show us that even after Rehoboam was gone and there was a new king in Judah, nothing had changed. The terrible decision of Rehoboam that angered the ten northern tribes was a permanent decision that caused permanent damage. We now see hundreds of thousands of Israelites facing each other in civil war and ready to kill each other. Be careful what decisions you make. We really need the Lord.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 13:4-12, “And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;[5] Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?[6] Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.[7] And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.[8] And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.[9] Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.[10] But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:[11] And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.[12] And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.” These verses show us that Abijah was one of the good kings of Judah. Abijah kept the true Jewish religion in Judah and did not make the mistake of Jeroboam who brought false religion into the northern ten tribes of Israel. Abijah also knew God’s plan as revealed through the prophets. God has a plan for Israel that will come through the lineage of King David. Nothing can stop that plan from being brought into effect. A wise person finds out which way God is going, and gets in line and goes with him. Jesus was born in the lineage of king David because Jesus is the fulfillment of all the great promises and prophecies about the Messiah. Jesus will be king in Israel and over the whole earth. Bow down to the king, believe on him, and serve him.

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