5.2 2 Chronicles 10-12

2 Chronicles 10-12

Transcript

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Hello, friends and neighbors. Welcome to the Sunny Side of Life Bible in a Year Experience. Join me each day as I read the Bible from start to finish. I'm reading from the Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation, published by Tyndale House Publishers. I pray this daily reading will bless you as much as it does me. So let's get started. May 2nd, 2nd Chronicles, chapters 10 through 12. Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. Your father was a hard master, they said. Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects. Rehoboam replied, Come back in three days for my answer. So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. What is your advice? he asked. How should I answer these people? The older counselors replied, If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects. But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. What is your advice? he asked them. How should I answer these people who want to lighten the burdens imposed by my father? The young men replied, This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden. My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions. Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam's decision, just as the king had ordered. But Rehoboam spoke harshly to them, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors and followed the counsel of his younger advisors. He told the people, My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I am going to make them even heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions. So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the Lord's message to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded, Down with the dynasty of David. We have no interest in the son of Jesse. Back to your homes, O Israel, look out for your own house, O David. So all the people of Israel returned home. But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who live in the towns of Judah. King Rehoboam sent Adaniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. And to this day, the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David. When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand select troops to fight against Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. But the Lord said to Shemiah, the man of God, say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, King of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, this is what the Lord says. Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing. So they obeyed the message of the Lord and did not fight against Jeroboam. Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various towns for the defense of Judah. He built up Bethlehem, Edom, Tokoah, Bethzur, Soko, Adolam, Gath, Marishah, Ziph, Adoram, Lakish, Azaka, Zora, Aijalan, and Hebron. These became the fortified towns of Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure, so only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control. But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam. The Levites even abandoned their pasture lands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests. Jeroboam appointed his own priest to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam, son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon. Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David's son, Jeremoth, and of Abihal, the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. Mahalath had three sons, Jaush, Shemariah and Zaham. Later Rehoboam married another cousin, Makah, the granddaughter of Absalom. Makkah gave birth to Abijah, Ati, Ziza, and Shalomith. Rehoboam loved Makkah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty eight sons and sixty daughters. Rehobam appointed Maka's son Abijah as leader among the princes, making it clear that he would be the next king. Rehoboam also wisely gave responsibilities to his other sons, and stationed some of them in the fortified towns throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin. He provided them with generous provisions, and he found many wives for them. But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all of Israel followed him in this sin. Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehobam's reign. He came with one thousand two hundred chariots, sixty thousand horses, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukites, and Ethiopians. Shishek conquered Judah's fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem. The prophet Shemeah then met with Rehoboam and Judah's leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishek. Shemeah told them, This is what the Lord says, You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shish. Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, The Lord is right in doing this to us. When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemeah. Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them, and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shish to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers. So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord's temple and the royal palace. He stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the temple of the Lord, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guard room. Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord's anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah. King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam's mother was Nama, a woman from Ammon. But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart. The rest of the events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in the record of Shemeah the prophet and the record of Edu the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the city of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king. That's it for today, friends. Feel free to read ahead on your own. Before I go, let's share the Lord's Prayer together. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, power, and glory forever.