1004 - Egypt Invades Judah

Egypt Invades Judah

Because Rehoboam loved  Maacah more than any of his other wives, he appointed her 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 Israel, unfortunately, followed him in this sin. 

Because the Jews were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. 

He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. 

Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns, and then advanced to attack Jerusalem. 

The prophet, Shemaiah, then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, ….who had all fled to Jerusalem, because of Shishak. 

Shemaiah told them, 

“This is what the Lord says: 

You have abandoned Me, so I am abandoning you, to Shishak.” 

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 Shemaiah: 

“Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them …and will soon give them some relief. 

I will not use Shishak 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 that 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 guardroom. 

Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned away, and the Lord did not destroy Rehoboam 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 that the Lord had chosen, from among all the tribes of Israel, as the place to honor His name. 

Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, 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 Shemaiah the Prophet, and The Record of Iddo 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. 

2 Chronicles 11:22–12:16 (NLT)

Praise be to God!