2 Chron 12 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 2 Chron 12:1-11

1 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.”’

6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ‘The Lord is just.’

7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: ‘Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.’

9 When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterwards they returned them to the guardroom.

A. Find Out:

1. Who did what, when? v.1
2. So what then happened? v.2-4
3. Who brought what word to them? v.5
4. What response did this get? v.6
5. What was the Lord’s response to that? v.7,8
6. What was the outcome? v.9-11

B. Think:

1. What was the folly that now ensued?
2. How did the Lord deal with it?
3. How was grace and mercy yet seen?

C. Comment:

     Rehoboam has become established in his reign from Jerusalem and thinks he is impregnable and can therefore do what he likes. He is a fool (see Psa 14:1) because he is in the privileged position of overseeing the covenant people of God and, despite what he may think, God is still overseeing him! God doesn’t just abandon His wayward people; He disciplines them in a way that will drive them back. In this case He lifts off His hand of protection and the king of Egypt invades. It’s that simple!

     The only problem is that Rehoboam is stupid and ignorant and doesn’t realise what is going on and so the Lord has to send him one of His prophets to tell him. When the word comes it produces a good response and the king and his leaders are humbled to acknowledge their position and their folly.

     This, in turn, produces a grace and mercy response in the Lord who sends His prophet again. Very well, you will not be destroyed, merely disciplined. Egypt will still prevail but will leave you intact. The result is clearly visible: the gold goes and bronze replaces it. What a graphic visual sign of how Judah has been demoted. The glory of Solomon has now gone for good. How terrible, but that had only come with the blessing of God. That is now removed.

D. Application:

1. God’s discipline. Sin blinds to the truth. God does discipline nations.
2. Beware complacency. You cannot take God for granted.

Passage: 2 Chron 12:12-16

12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.

13 King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

15 As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.

A. Find Out:

1. Why was Rehoboam spared? v.12
2. How long did he reign? v.13
3. How did he do evil? v.14
4. What happened throughout his reign? v.15
5. Who succeeded him as king? v.16

B. Think:

1. What good points were there about Rehoboam?
2. Yet how did he fail?
3. How would you summarise him in your own words?

C. Comment:

     These are really simple summary words about the reign of Rehoboam. Note first of all in verse 12, that so often king and country are identified as one by the writers of the history of Israel. The state of the king was so often reflected in the state of the nation. There was some good, but that’s not a very good summary, it is rather begrudging!

     Well, at least he humbled himself before the Lord, is what the writer seems to be saying, but that’s about all you can say for him, and so God didn’t destroy him. We’re then told that he was middle aged when he came to the throne and reigned seventeen years and must have died when he was fifty eight. His mother was an Ammonite, a gentle reminder of Solomon’s disobedience. Fancy having a wife from those who Israel should have put out of the land? Perhaps that explains his weak relationship with the Lord.

      Every king in the records is summarised spiritually. The summary for Rehoboam was that “he did evil”. Why? Because “he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.” That seems both the reason he went on to do evil, and a description of the evil. He abandoned the Law (12:1) and then even after humbling himself before God, he never really sought the Lord. Therefore his reign was very half hearted and never received the blessing of God, and he constantly had trouble with the northern half of Israel. All these things go together. What a challenge!

D. Application:

1. My life? How would I be summarised?
2. Half-hearted or whole-hearted? God looks for whole-heartedness in His people.