2 Chronicles · chapter 12 of 36
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2 Chronicles 12 tells how Rehoboam, once established, abandons the law of the Lord and all Israel follows him. In the fifth year, Shishak, king of Egypt, invades Judah, takes the fortified cities and reaches Jerusalem. The prophet Shemaiah announces that it is a consequence of their abandonment, the king and princes humble themselves, and God does not destroy them although Shishak carries off the temple treasures.
The previous chapter showed Judah strong for three years because it walked in the way of David and Solomon. This chapter shows what happens when that faithfulness cools. The chronicler uses a pattern that will repeat in the book: unfaithfulness brings judgment, humility brings mercy.
When Rehoboam's kingdom is established and strong, he abandons the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, comes up against Jerusalem because they had been unfaithful to the Lord. He comes with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, and with a countless people of Libyans, Sukkiim and Cushites. He takes the fortified cities of Judah and comes as far as Jerusalem.
The prophet Shemaiah comes to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah, gathered in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and tells them that, as they abandoned the Lord, the Lord has abandoned them into the hand of Shishak. The king and the princes humble themselves and say that the Lord is righteous. When the Lord sees that they humble themselves, the word comes to Shemaiah: he will not destroy them, and will grant them some deliverance; his wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. Nevertheless, they will become his servants so that they may learn the difference between serving the Lord and serving the kingdoms of other lands.
Shishak comes against Jerusalem and takes the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's palace, including the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam makes bronze shields in their place and entrusts them to the officers of the guard. When he humbles himself, the Lord's anger turns from him and he is not destroyed completely, for there was still some good in Judah. Rehoboam reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem; he was forty-one when he began. His mother was Naamah the Ammonite. He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. He died, and his son Abijah reigned in his place.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
When Rehoboam saw himself established and strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. The chronicler warns that security and prosperity can be a spiritual trap.
Shemaiah explains that the invasion is a consequence of abandonment: as they left the Lord, he has left them in Shishak's hand. The chronicler wants his people to understand that the disasters of their history have to do with their relationship with God.
The king and princes humble themselves and acknowledge that the Lord is righteous. That humility is the turning point of the chapter and anticipates the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. The final verdict on his reign is not about one great crime but about a heart that was not directed toward God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. — 2 Chronicles 12:1
Answer: Shishak, king of Egypt, with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. — 2 Chronicles 12:2-3
Answer: That, because they had abandoned the Lord, he had abandoned them into the hand of Shishak. — 2 Chronicles 12:5
Answer: They humbled themselves and said the Lord is righteous. — 2 Chronicles 12:6
Answer: The treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's palace, including the gold shields Solomon had made. — 2 Chronicles 12:9
Answer: Because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. — 2 Chronicles 12:14
Rehoboam's story reminds us that many falls begin in times of stability. When all is going well it is easy to stop seeking God consistently. In a small group we can ask which spiritual habits we neglect when life is calm.
It also shows that humility opens the door to mercy. The king and the princes do not defend themselves; they acknowledge that the Lord is righteous, and God responds. Although they suffer consequences, they are not destroyed. Christians can return to God in humility, knowing that his discipline aims to restore.
2 Chronicles 12 ends with Rehoboam's death and the accession of his son Abijah. In 2 Chronicles 13 Abijah faces a war with Jeroboam and proclaims from a mountain why Judah trusts in the Lord.
Shishak was a king of Egypt who invaded Judah in the fifth year of Rehoboam. Historians usually identify him with the pharaoh Sheshonq I of the Twenty-second Dynasty, whose inscription about the campaign survives at Karnak. The chronicler presents him as the instrument of God's correction.
According to Shemaiah, because Rehoboam and the princes had abandoned the Lord. God also wanted them to learn the difference between serving him and serving kings of other lands. The invasion is a painful lesson, but it stops when the people humble themselves.
Shishak took them along with the other treasures. Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to the guard. The change from gold to bronze is a picture of how Solomon's glory was fading.