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CHAPTER 14 (ESV)

 

21 Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 24 and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

 

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

 

29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Abijam his son reigned in his place.

 

REFLECTION

1. When Rehoboam became king, Israel was a great nation. Obviously he didn’t realize how the wealth and power came about and became wicked and turned from worshipping God. God allowed the Egyptian King Shishak to attack Judah. Though his military force wasn’t strong enough to defeat Judah, they surely weakened it. It had only been five years since the death of Solomon, and the Temple and palace were ransacked by foreign soldiers. The glory, power and wealth of Rehoboam and his nation were diminished quickly. When people are spiritually and morally corrupted, all their glory and fame will fly away also.
2. Rehoboam didn’t heed God’s word “the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”(Deut 6:4-5). Deut explains: “so be careful not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol…. For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. (Deut 4:23- 24).
3. What’s the core of my life? Is God present in my decision making process? How do I live out my daily life that honors God as my Lord?

 

PRAYER

Read Deut 6:4-5, 4:23-24. Make a prayer of commitment to God that will acknowledge Him as my one and only Lord.