2 Chronicles 12:1-16
Q.1. Why did God send an enemy to invade Judah? How did God use Shemaiah the prophet to humble Judah and protect Jerusalem? – (2 Chr.12:1-8)
As so often happens, success can lead to complacency. It is recorded – When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord (2 Chr.12:1). Because of this, God raised up a huge army under Shishak, king of Egypt, to invade Judah (2 Chr.12:2-3). Again God used this amazing prophet, Shemaiah to call the nation to repentance, with dramatic results – When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak (2 Chr.12:7 c.f. 2 Chr.11:1-4).
Q.2. Why did God chasten Judah and the king? What difference did Rehoboam’s response to chastening make? – (2 Chr.12.8-12)
God would use Judah’s servitude to drive home His message – But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” (2 Chr12:8). The treasures of the king were ransacked, so Rehoboam had to replace the golden shields with ones made of brass. These reversals broke the king – And when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions were good in Judah (2 Chr.12:12).
Q.3. What kind of a king was Rehoboam and what was his reign like? What was special about Jerusalem? How was the history of God’s people recorded? – (2 Chr.12:13-16)
Rehoboam was an enterprising king who was able to maintain the southern kingdom – … Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there… (2 Chr.12:13). However, he was not well remembered since – He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord (2 Chr.12:14). The prophets were educated men who were used by God to form the Scriptures – Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrolment? … (2 Chr.12:15 c.f. 2 Pet.1:20-21).