Year 3, Day 312: 2 Chronicles 12

Shishak

Today we learn that Rehoboam’s attempt to fortify the cities of Jerusalem just wasn’t enough.  The Pharaoh Shishak comes forth out of Egypt and attacks Judah.  Not only does he attack, he wreaks havoc against them.  We know that this happens in only the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign.

Here’s some neat information about this story.  Pharaoh Shishak (called a king in the Bible) was the founder of Egypt’s 22^nd dynasty.  He ruled from 935 – 914 BC.  While Solomon ruled the Hebrew people, Shishak had given asylum to Jeroboam, the rival king of Israel who rose to power during Rehoboam’s reign in Judah. But perhaps the most interesting historical fact is that in a temple to Amon at Karnak, Shishak inscribed a list of the Hebrew cities that he conquered in the land of Canaan.  Isn’t it neat to know that there are actual stone temple walls that we can still see to this day that were carved as a result of this story!

So what exactly is happening here in this story?  Shishak had harbored Jeroboam in Egypt.  When the kingdom split and much of the Hebrew might was divided, Shishak no doubt saw his opportunity.  Shishak also likely knew that he could count of Jeroboam to not come to Rehoboam’s aid.  This is absolutely a calculated political move on Shishak’s part in order for him to increase his fame and reputation.

However, this is also a very much a spiritual effort on behalf of God.  The Hebrew people begin to rebel. In fact, we are told that it was when Rehoboam stood up and was strong that he fell from the Lord.  Rehoboam had strengthened his borders and began to lean upon his own might.  God would make a point early in the rebellion of the Hebrew people.  When we learn to lean upon our own might things will go poorly.  There is always a bigger fish out there that is waiting for the opportunity to bring us down.  When we lean upon our own strength and not the strength of the Lord, then we have little protection from those who have stronger might than we have.

Rehoboam’s Repentance

Rehoboam repents.  The hand of the Lord’s wrath is stayed.  Shishak is not allowed to conquer all of the land of Judah.  Instead, Shishak is allowed to march up to Jerusalem and pillage the city.  The temple has much of its wealth stripped from it.  A good portion of the wealth of Solomon was taken out of Jerusalem merely five years after Solomon’s death.  Wealth is fleeting indeed.

In all of this, we see the Rehoboam’s repentance is not actually genuine.  Rehoboam’s epithet says that he did evil in the sight of the Lord.  Rehoboam was allowed to reign for another 12 years after Shishak’s invasion, but we are told that he did not seek the Lord.  God may have spared him, but he is not spared because his repentance was true.

So why would God spare Rehoboam?  I think God is teaching a lesson to the Hebrew people of Rehoboam’s day and all those who would follow him.  I think the chronicler is attempting to convey this same lesson as he writes this story.  God wants to demonstrate the power of repentance.  God had every right to let the Hebrew people fall.  God had every just reason to let the Hebrew people of Judah fall into the hands of Egypt.  They had forsaken him and their pride was swelling.  God could have let them go into captivity and it would have been just.

However, God has mercy upon them.  Rehoboam has a brief moment of sorrow and that is all it takes to stay God’s hand of wrath.  Rehoboam has a slight moment of humbleness and God responds.  Repentance and humbleness are powerful tools in the life of a human being.  Repentance and humbleness before God are powerful dynamics in our relationship with God.

I think God is also making another point.  God is trying to demonstrate how harsh human beings are to one another.  He is trying to demonstrate to Rehoboam how difficult life would be should he become a vassal state of Egypt.  God is trying to teach Rehoboam and the other Hebrew people that life is easier in submission to Him than in submission to anyone else.  This lesson seems to go unlearned.

Plunder

I’ve already mentioned that Shishak took much of the wealth of Solomon with him and carted it back to Egypt.  So what is it that Rehoboam does?  Rehoboam makes bronze shields to replace all of the gold ones that Solomon had constructed.  Don’t get me wrong.  Bronze can be just as pretty as gold.  But bronze is a poor imitation of gold.  Instead of truly repenting and accepting what God would bring into his life, Rehoboam attempts to replace what was lost through his own might.  Instead of settling for what God brought into his life, through his own power Rehoboam tries to recreate what was lost.

No, there is little humbleness within Rehoboam.  There is little repentance.  Even after an act of humbling such that a foreign king could bring upon him, Rehoboam is still focused on his greatness and his reign and his reputation.  Can there be any wonder that the chronicler tells us that he did evil and did not seek the ways of the Lord?

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