11:1 11:2-4 11: :13, Chronicles 11, 12

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Lambert Neal
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1 2 Chronicles 11, 12 11:1 Rehoboam- the son of Solomon who succeeded his father as king. Jeroboam had been made king in the north, identified as Israel. God had purposely taken the kingdom from Rehoboam because of Solomon s sins and Rehoboam s sins. 11:2-4 Wisely, Rehoboam listened to Shemaiah. Rehoboam realized that him losing the kingdom to Jeroboam was by God s design. This prevented a civil war. Shemaiah had the courage to confront Rehoboam, and the result was that lives were saved. Shemaiah only appears in this brief portion of the history of God s people. He has but a short ministry that we know of. Yet he speaks convincingly enough to stop an army from attacking their brethren. 10 s of thousands of lives are saved b/c this man shows up for a moment, obeys God and then is gone from the nation s history. May we realize that we are called to be obedient. We do not determine the course or length of God s calling upon us. We hear and we obey. 11:5-12 Instead of attacking Jerobaom in the north, he turned his efforts to strengthening his own kingdom against attack. The cities mentioned are along Judah s southern and western border, as if defending against possible invasion from Egypt. 11:13, 14 Read 1 Kings 12:26-33 Jeroboam set up an idolatrous system of religion in order to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem to worship God. His motive was to lord over people. He made religion convenient to them, and appeased to their carnal desires. True worship of God was to take place in Jerusalem, at the Temple. Instead, he set up alternate places of worship to keep the people nearby. There were priests and Levites living in the north, but they did not want to go along with Jeroboam s idolatrous religion.

2 The Levites had land appointed to them by God. Their lands were spread throughout the entire nation. When Jeroboam took leadership of the north, he rejected the priests and Levites, and they naturally returned to Jerusalem. 11:15 Jeroboam now begins to lead Israel into idolatry. High places were outdoor places of worship on hills, and in groves on top of hills. 11:16 The people who were faithful to Jehovah God did not want to be under the idolatrous leadership of Jeroboam. When the chosen Levites of God were rejected, many of the people left also. They wanted to worship God, and they rejected the idolatry of Jeroboam. There was now a godly remnant from the north that moved into the south, where true worship of God was taking place. Essentially, the idea of making religion easy for the people resulted in the true worshippers departing. Whereas Jeroboam sought to strengthen himself and the northern kingdom of Israel, the result was that he weakened it. Godly people left him and his idolatry. Not just the priests and the Levites departed, but regular citizens left. Perhaps they had been willing to rebel against the announced harshness of rule that Rehoboam made about himself. But they would not forsake the true worship of God. He ended up weakening his position. NOTE- To follow God in spirit and in truth will cost you something. These people were willing to forsake their homes and their lands in order to embrace true worship of the true God. 11:17 The people who left the north and came south to worship God also were those who strengthened Rehoboam. The godly people helped fortify the king. However, after three years, Rehoboam began to walk in an ungodly manner.

3 11:18-21 Rehoboam had a lustful heart as did his father Solomon. He did not have nearly as many wives and concubines, but he still violated the law. Deuteronomy 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 11:22, 23 Abijah was probably not the oldest son, but the favorite son of his favorite wife. 2 Chronicles 12 12:1 People are often more dependent upon God when they are struggling to be established or are in need. When success comes, people often forget God, and lean on their own accomplishments and natural abilities. The inertia of God s previous blessings can carry a rebellious man for quite some time. EXAMPLE- The steam engine locomotive is propelled by a wood burning fire. You can quit feeding the engine, and the train will keep rolling forward for a while, moved by the previous energy. But eventually it will stop. Proverbs 30:7-9 7 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, Who is the LORD? Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God. 1 Kings gives us more insight into what Rehoboam began to do. Rehoboam affected the entire country with his idolatry. 1 Kings 14: And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. 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. 22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

4 12:2-4 We are clearly told that this was the judgment of God against them. This happened because they had forsaken God. The cities that Rehoboam had previously strengthened were now conquered and taken. The modern day parallel for the Christian is found in Hebrews 12: :5 Essentially, God gave Rehoboam what he wanted. He wanted to live a life apart from the rule of God. He wanted to direct his own affairs, and rule the kingdom however he wanted. So, God gave Rehobaom his unspoken, and perhaps unconscious wish. He pulled back his hand, and left Rehoboam to himself. Keep in mind, that this was after a long time of rebellion on the part of Rehoboam. It wasn t after some quick mistake. Rehoboam led Judah into national apostasy. NOTE- You don t want to say to God, Leave me alone. That would be the worst thing that could happen to a person. Shemaiah once again speaks with truth and boldness. He is sent to correct a king, and essentially to correct a nation. All the leaders were gathered to the king because of this invasion. Shemaiah was able to speak to them all at once. 12:6 They humbled themselves- This means that they went from being self directed to being God directed. They went from pride to humility. They went from self sufficiency to relying upon God. 12:7, 8 God spared them from complete destruction, but He did not spare them from no consequences. They would need to learn from this apostasy that they had committed. This discipline from God could end up to be a huge blessing if they will learn from it. God s people need to learn to distinguish the difference between serving God and serving self. Unfortunately, we sometimes need to feel, smell, and taste the harshness of this world before we are convinced that serving God is the better choice.

5 While they were pious, they found the service of the Lord to be perfect freedom; when they forsook the Lord, they found the fruit to be perfect bondage. A sinful life is both expensive and painful. (Clarke) 12:9 Because Rehoboam turned from God to idolatry, he forfeited much of what God had blessed his father with. Sin brings loss of one sort or another. Romans 3:23 The wages of sin is death 12:10 The wealth of Solomon s shields was lost because of sin. It was a loss of about $33 million. It now seems like Rehoboam is trying to keep up an appearance of prosperity. When Solomon was king, he made shields of gold. Silver was considered as nothing. Now Rehoboam can t even make silver shields, but has to settle for bronze. 12:11 Previously, Solomon s shields were on display 24/7. Solomon s kingdom was secure. Now under Rehoboam, the shields were kept guarded except on special occasions. Now that security is gone. 12:12 There was a direct correlation between obedience and blessing. Rehoboam had led the nation into idolatry, and yet God did not destroy him, but disciplined him for his good and the good of the nation. 12:13 Rehoboam was able to strengthen himself because God was merciful to him. His reign was not cut short when Egypt attacked. Humility brought length of life for him.

6 12:14 Prepared- to be firmly established, to be prepared, to be ready. (Spurgeon) - You see how readily Rehoboam went, first towards God, then towards idols, and then back again, towards God; he was always ready to shift and change, he wrought no great reforms in the land; we do not read that, he held a great passover, as Hezekiah did, or that the high places were taken away; but, as soon as Shishak was gone, he felt perfectly content. There was not anything real and permanent in his religion; it did not hold him. He held it sometimes, but it never held him. 12:15, 16 Rehoboam did have some redeeming qualities, though he was inconsistent and suffered much loss that was not necessary. Obedience to the prophetic word (2 Chronicles 11:1-4) Strengthening the kingdom through building work (2 Chronicles 11:5-12) Activities of priests, Levites, and those who seek God (2 Chronicles 11:13-17) An expanding royal family (2 Chronicles 11:18-21) Humble repentance (2 Chronicles 12:5-12)

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