For the first three years of Rehoboam’s rule as King, he had done well to walk in the way of David and Solomon (2 Chronicles 11:17) and the people set their hearts to seek the Lord, God of Israel (2 Chronicles 11:16). But chapter 12 verse 1 tells us that the moment Rehoboam was established and became a strong nation, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and as the king, he led the entire nation to abandon the Lord too.

What were they thinking? The verses following tells us four times that the nation “humbled” themselves. The reason why they abandoned the law of the Lord was because they swelled and were blinded with pride. Rehoboam trusted in God in those days where he needed God, but with the increase in his power and riches, he grew independent of God instead of becoming more reliant on Him. Rehoboam’s pride led him to believe that he is fine and could live his life without God.

The result? God abandoned Israel to the hands of Shishak, the king of Egypt. The bible tells us that the reason why Shishak was able to come up against Jerusalem was because they were unfaithful to the Lord. The Lord had given them into the hands of their enemies and as a result, Shishak took away the treasures in the house of the Lord and the king’s house. He took away everything including the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

In the reign of Solomon, he had left behind great wealth to his son Rehoboam. Yet, because Rehoboam and his people had abandoned the law of the Lord, after only five years, the wealth was gone. When Shishak took the gold shields from the king’s palace, King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place. One can only imagine how drastic the decline had been. Solomon’s court had so much gold that silver was despised in the court, yet now his son had to be content with bronze.

However if you think about it, the evil should have warranted a total extermination of the nation, but God only allowed Shishak to take away the wealth of the nation. God sent his own prophet Shemaiah to remind them of their sinful nature, and because Rehoboam and his leaders humbled themselves after hearing His words, God did not destroy them. Instead, God delivered them from the hands of Shishak and prevented them from facing the calamity of a total extermination.

Dear brothers and sisters, there are two reminders we can take away from the chronicler’s intention. Firstly, do not let our sense of sufficiency, anchored in our own establishments, blind us to think that we can do things on our own. Always humble ourselves before our mighty king and saviour. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Secondly, the chronicler’s intention is also to remind the readers that there is hope for those who humbles themselves before God. If God can be merciful even to the king who led the entire nation astray, then we as the children of God, can be confident that our Father will forgive us, we who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, there is hope for those who are willing to humble themselves before God, and to walk under the rule of Christ. What areas of our lives are we not willing to let Christ take the throne. What have we not surrender to fully to Him? Would we ask God to reveal to us so we can take active steps of humility and surrender.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I humbly come before you and ask that you reveal in my heart areas that I am not willing to surrender to you. Like Rehoboam, it is so easy for me to be blinded by my own pride, would you send your own people to remind me and help me to constantly have a soft heart ready to be changed by you. In Jesus name I pray, amen.