II
C H R O N I C L E S
CHAP. XII.
This chapter gives
us a more full account of the reign of Rehoboam than we had before in Kings
and it is a very melancholy account. Methinks we are in the book of Judges
again; for, I. Rehoboam and his people did evil in the sight of the Lord, ver.
1. II. God thereupon sold them into the hands of Shishak, king of
Egypt
, who greatly oppressed them, ver. 2-4. III. God sent a prophet to them, to
expound to them the judgment and to call them to repentance, ver. 5. IV. They
thereupon humbled themselves, ver. 6. V. God, upon their repentance, turned
from his anger (ver. 7, 12) and yet left them under the marks of his
displeasure, ver. 8-11. Lastly, Here is a general character of Rehoboam and
his reign, with the conclusion of it, ver. 13-16.
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Abijah's
Reign over
Judah.
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B.
C. 970.
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1 And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had
established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of
the LORD,
and all Israel with him. 2 And it came to pass, that in the
fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem,
because they had transgressed against the LORD,
3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the
people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims,
the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fenced cities
which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then
came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah,
that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto
them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and
therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6 Whereupon
the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD
is righteous. 7 And when the LORD
saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD
came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I
will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath
shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and
the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 9 So Shishak king of
Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of
the LORD,
and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the
shields of gold which Solomon had made. 10 Instead of which king
Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the
chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house. 11
And when the king entered into the house of the LORD,
the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard
chamber. 12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD
turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in
Judah things went well.
Israel was very much disgraced and weakened by being divided into two
kingdoms; yet the kingdom of Judah, having both the temple and the royal city,
both the house of David and the house of Aaron, might have done very well if
they had continued in the way of their duty; but here we have all out of order
there.
I. Rehoboam and his people left God: He forsook the law of the Lord,
and so in effect forsook God, and all Israel with him, v. 1. He
had his happy triennium, when he walked in the way of David and Solomon (ch.
xi. 17), but it expired, and he grew remiss in the worship of God; in what
instances we are not told, but he fell off, and Judah with him, here called Israel,
because they walked in the evil ways into which Jeroboam had drawn the kingdom
of Israel. Thus he did when he had established the kingdom and strengthened
himself. As long as he thought his throne tottered he kept to his duty,
that he might make God his friend; but, when he found it stood pretty firmly,
he thought he had no more occasion for religion; he was safe enough without
it. Thus the prosperity of fools destroys them. Jeshurun waxed fat and
kicked. When men prosper, and are in no apprehension of troubles, they are
ready to say to God, Depart from us.
II. God quickly brought troubles upon them, to awaken them, and recover them
to repentance, before their hearts were hardened. It was but in the fourth
year of Rehoboam that they began to corrupt themselves, and in the fifth year
the king of Egypt came up against them with a vast army, took the fenced
cities of Judah, and came against Jerusalem, v. 2, 3, 4. This great
calamity coming upon them so soon after they began to desert the worship of
God, by a hand they had little reason to suspect (having had a great deal of
friendly correspondence with Egypt in the last reign), and coming with so much
violence that all the fenced cities of Judah, which Rehoboam had lately
fortified and garrisoned and on which he relied much for the safety of his
kingdom, fell immediately into the hands of the enemy, without making any
resistance, plainly showed that it was from the Lord, because they had
transgressed against him.
III. Lest they should not readily or not rightly understand the meaning of
this providence, God by the word explains the rod, v. 5. When the
princes of Judah had all met at Jerusalem, probably in a great council of war,
to concert measures for their own safety in this critical juncture, he sent a
prophet to them, the same that had brought them an injunction from God not to
fight against the ten tribes (ch. xi. 2), Shemaiah by name; he told
them plainly that the reason why Shishak prevailed against them was not
because they had been impolitic in the management of their affairs (which
perhaps the princes in this congress were at this time scrutinizing), but
because they had forsaken God. God never leaves any till they first leave him.
IV. The rebukes both of the word and of the rod being thus joined, the king
and princes humbled themselves before God for their iniquity, penitently
acknowledged the sin, and patiently accepted the punishment of it, saying, The
Lord is righteous, v. 6. "We have none to blame but ourselves;
let God be clear when he judgeth." Thus it becomes us, when we are under
the rebukes of Providence, to justify God and judge ourselves. Even kings and
princes must either bend or break before God, either be humbled or be ruined.
V. Upon the profession they made of repentance God showed them some favour,
saved them from ruin, and yet left them under some remaining fears of the
judgment, to prevent their revolt again.
1. God, in mercy, prevented the destruction they were now upon the brink of.
Such a vast and now victorious army as Shishak had, having made themselves
masters of all the fenced cities, what could be expected but that the whole
country, and even Jerusalem itself, would in a little time be theirs? But when
God saith, Here shall the proud waves be stayed, the most threatening
force strangely dwindles and becomes impotent. Here again the destroying
angel, when he comes to Jerusalem, is forbidden to destroy it: "My
wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem; not at this time, not by
this hand, not utterly to destroy it," v. 7, 12. Note, Those that
acknowledge God righteous in afflicting them shall find him gracious. Those
that humble themselves before him shall find favour with him. So ready is the
God of mercy to take the first occasion to show mercy. If we have humbled
hearts under humbling providences, the affliction has done its work, and it
shall either be removed or the property of it altered.
2. He granted them some deliverance, not complete, but in part; he gave them
some advantages against the enemy, so that they recruited a little; he gave
them deliverance for a little while, so some. They reformed but partially,
and for a little while, soon relapsing again; and, as their reformation was,
so was their deliverance. Yet it is said (v. 12), in Judah things
went well, and began to look with a better face. (1.) In respect of piety.
There were good things in Judah (so it is in the margin), good
ministers, good people, good families, who were made better by the calamities
of their country. Note, In times of great corruption and degeneracy it is some
comfort if there be a remnant among whom good things ar found; this is a
ground of hope in Israel. (2.) In respect of prosperity. In Judah things went
ill when all the fenced cities were taken (v. 4), but when they
repented the posture of their affairs altered, and things went well. Note, If
things do not go so well as we could wish, yet we have reason to take notice
of it with thankfulness if they go better than was to have been expected,
better than formerly, and better than we deserved. We should own God's
goodness if he do but grant us some deliverance.
3. Yet he left them to smart sorely by the hand of Shishak, both in their
liberty and in their wealth.
(1.) In their liberty (v. 8): They shall be his servants (that
is, they shall lie much at his mercy and be put under contribution by him, and
some of them perhaps be taken prisoners and held in captivity by him), that
they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
They complained, it may be, of the strictness of their religion, and forsook
the law of the Lord (v. 1) because they thought it a yoke to hard,
too heavy, upon them. "Well," saith God, "let them better
themselves if they can; let the neighbouring princes rule them awhile, since
they are not willing that I should rule them, and let them try how they like
that. They might have served God with joyfulness and gladness of heart,
and would not; let them serve their enemies then in hunger and thirst
(Deut. xxviii. 47, 48), till they think of returning to their first Master,
for then it was better with them," Hos. ii. 7. This, some think, is
the meaning of Ezek. xx. 24, 25. Because they despised my statutes, I gave
them statutes that were not good. Note, [1.] The more God's service is
compared with other services the more reasonable and easy it will appear. [2.]
Whatever difficulties or hardships we may imagine there are in the way of
obedience, it is better a thousand times to go through them than to expose
ourselves to the punishment of disobedience. Are the laws of temperance
thought hard? The effects of intemperance will be much harder. The service of
virtue is perfect liberty; the service of lust is perfect slavery.
(2.) In their wealth. The king of Egypt plundered both the temple and the
exchequer, the treasuries of both which Solomon left very full; but he took
them away; yea, he took all, all he could lay his hands on, v.
9. This was what he came for. David and Solomon, who walked in the way of God,
filled the treasuries, one by war and the other by merchandise; but Rehoboam,
who forsook the law of God, emptied them. The taking away of the golden
shields, and the substituting of brazen ones in their place (v. 9-11),
we had an account of before, 1 Kings xiv. 25-28.
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Jeroboam
Defeated by Abijah.
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B.
C. 965.
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13 So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and
forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in
Jerusalem, the city which the LORD
had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was
Naamah an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he prepared not
his heart to seek the LORD.
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in
the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies?
And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of
David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
The story of Rehoboam's reign is here concluded, much as the story of the
other reigns concludes. Two things especially are observable here:-- 1. That
he was at length pretty well fixed in his kingdom, v. 13. His
fenced cities in Judah did not answer his expectation, so he now strengthened
himself in Jerusalem, which he made it his business to fortify, and there
he reigned seventeen years, in the city which the Lord had chosen to put
his name there. This intimates his honour and privilege, that he had his
royal seat in the holy city, which yet was but an aggravation of his
impiety--near the temple, but far from God. Frequent skirmishes there were
between his subjects and Jeroboam's, such as amounted to continual wars,
(v. 15), but he held his own, and reigned, and, as it should seem, did
not so grossly forsake the law of God as he had done (v. 1) in
his fourth year. 2. That he was never rightly fixed in his religion, v.
14. He never quite cast off God; and yet in this he did evil, that he prepared
not, he engaged not, his heart to seek the Lord. See what the fault is
laid upon. (1.) He did not serve the Lord because he did not seek the Lord. He
did not pray, as Solomon did, for wisdom and grace. If we prayed better, we
should be every way better. Or he did not consult the word of God, did not
seek to that as his oracle, nor take directions from it. (2.) He made nothing
of his religion because he did not set his heart to it, never minded it with
any closeness of application, and never any hearty disposition to it, nor ever
came up to a steady resolution in it. What little goodness he had was
transient and passed away like the morning cloud. He did evil because he was
never determined for that which is good. Those are easily drawn by Satan to
any evil who are wavering and inconstant in that which is good and are never
persuaded to make religion their business.
Contents
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