Chronicles Part I

MINISTER, Rev. Thomas Scarborough.

King Rehoboam. II Chronicles 9-12.

Sermon Outline.

 

King Rehoboam. II Chronicles Chapters 9-12.

A. Introduction

B. Rehoboam's pride brings major disaster for Israel (10:1-19)

1. Pride is hateful to God (Prov. 8:15)

2. Pride skews our decision-making ability

3. Such major turns of events are actually from God (10:15)

C. Shishak king of Egypt brings repentance to Rehoboam (12:1-12)

1. A situation brought by God because of sin (12:1-2)

2. Rehoboam reacts in the only right way before God (12:6)

3. This saves the situation (12:7-8)

D. A curious section about the shields of Solomon (12:9-11)

1. A symbol and sign of what had happened to Israel

2. Without the Lord, the glory is gone

We are beginning a new exegetical series this morning -- which means that we shall again be taking a book of the Bible, and we shall try simply to let the Bible speak for itself.

The Bible is a powerful book, and all you really need to do is to allow it to speak for itself, and it is a strength and inspiration and spiritual challenge for our lives.

What I have decided to do is to look at the times of Israel and Judah following the death of King Solomon. We have a tremendous story after the death of Solomon -- and we shall be looking at this story in the book of 2 Chronicles -- which is a spiritual history of God's people.

I preached on this section of the Bible nearly ten years ago -- but in case you have a memory like an elephant, I am not going to preach the same as I preached back then.

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Now something important to understand about the chapters that we are going to look at in 2 Chronicles is that they are not just plain history. It’s interesting that the Bible says, again and again in these chapters -- if you want to read the history, go and look at such and such a book. For instance, if you want to know the events of Rehoboam's reign -- we are going to loom at Rehoboam this morning -- then go and look at the histories written by Shemaiah and Iddo.

Those histories have now been lost in time -- but what has remained is the Biblical account -- and that is because the Bible highlights some of the great things God did during those years.

That is the story that the Israelites treasured, and faithfully handed down from generation to generation -- but the secular histories -- the worldly histories -- of Shemaiah and Iddo -- and others -- are gone.

Now this morning, we shall be looking at three big incidents during the reign of king Rehoboam -- who was the first king to be inaugurated after David and Solomon.

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The first incident in the reign of Rehoboam is a disaster. It is the second-biggest disaster that ever happened to Israel.

You may remember that Rehoboam's father Solomon was a very humble man. He stood before the Lord, and he said: "Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child, and do not know how to carry out my duties." (1 Kings 3:7).

The King James version -- I quoted it last Sunday -- is more accurate, where Solomon says: "I know not how to go out or come in." "I don't know how I should walk in the door, or walk out."

That was Solomon. He was a humble man -- and as a result of this, we read that "God was pleased", and He blessed him with wisdom and prosperity.

Now Solomon had groomed Rehoboam to take over the throne -- but Rehoboam had one big spiritual problem -- and that was pride. And in just three days, his pride led to the division of the great Israelite empire.

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Solomon had ruled with an iron hand -- and some of his subjects rebelled against him -- and they were forced to flee to Egypt to seek refuge.

But now that Solomon was dead, these rebels returned to Israel, to see whether there might be a new beginning for them under King Rehoboam. The chief rebel was called Jeroboam -- but I’ll just call him the Chief Rebel today, so that we don’t get confused.

So in chapter 10 verse 3, we read that all Israel -- that is all the northern tribes -- appeared before King Rehoboam, under the leadership of this Chief Rebel -- and they said: "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labour and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."

Notice those words: "We will serve you."

And King Rehoboam should have rejoiced to hear that. Here was an opportunity for new unity and peace in the kingdom -- a chance for a new beginning.

And King Rehoboam started in a wise way -- he asked for three days to consider the matter. And the old advisers of king Solomon said, in verse 7: "Rehoboam, treat these people kindly, and they will be your servants forever."

But the young advisers -- the advisers of Rehoboam's generation -- we read in verse 10 that they grew up with him -- they said: "Tell the people ... My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions."

And we read from verse 12 that Rehoboam followed the advice of the young men he had grown up with -- and he answered The Rebel and the people of Israel harshly.

And the result was a declaration of independence. The people of Israel -- those northern tribes -- said, in verse 16: "To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David."

Israel was the north -- David was the South -- the south was also called Judah -- and so began the tragic story of hundreds of years of separation and wars between Israel and Judah.

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What was Rehoboam's mistake?

His mistake was pride. “My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier."

And notice that he is talking about I and my -- he is not talking about the kingdom, or the good of the people.

The Bible makes it clear that pride is a sin that is particularly hateful to God. "I hate pride and arrogance," says the Lord. (Proverbs 8:13). "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud." (Proverbs 16:18-19).

If you are proud, you can be sure that you will run into serious trouble -- because God -- says the Bible, will oppose you.

Pride has been called the root sin. And as Christians, we need to be very aware of the danger of pride. It was pride that ruined the decision of King Rehoboam. It was his pride that just skewed his judgement so badly that it brought division and misery to Israel for hundreds of years.

Pride is basically to not see the greatness of God, and to only see the greatness of me.

Notice also that it was the young men who gave proud advice -- rash advice. This is something especially that young men should be aware of. Older Christians tend to be more humane. Younger Christians tend to be more brash. I’m about in the middle, so I get to see those who are ahead of me as well as those who are behind me.

And notice, incidentally, that king Rehoboam -- in making his crucial decision -- didn't ask the counsel of God. He didn't say: "Lord God, what do You want me to do in this situation? How can I submit my life to You?"

If he had done that, it should have been impossible for him to react with pride.

But he didn’t take time out to ask the Lord. Let’s not make that our mistake when we face an important decision for the future.

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Notice also in verse 15 that these things happened so that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled.

Verse 15 tells us: "The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events was from God."

God Himself had a purpose in what happened here.

When we look about us, and we see proud people ruining nations, or bringing misery and division to people's lives, God has not left that situation -- but rather that turn of events is from God -- it is part of His eternal purpose.

Praise God, because He is doing a mighty thing in the nations.

And don't worry about you in such situations -- don’t worry about Rehoboams and all that they do -- and what their advisors do -- the Lord has you tightly in His care. If you have come into a covenant relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, then there is a special plan and a special protection over you.

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The next great event of king Rehoboam's life -- the next great spiritual event -- occurs in chapter 12.

And the reason for it we find in verse 1: "After Rehoboam's position as king was established, and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord."

And then verse 2: "Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of king Rehoboam."

And then in verse 5, the prophet Shemaiah comes to king Rehoboam, when he is gathered together with all his leaders in Jerusalem -- and the prophet says: "This is what the Lord says: 'You have abandoned Me -- therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak."

Now the prophets of God commanded tremendous respect in those days -- people knew that these prophets were not pretenders -- they were the real thing.

And when the prophet Shemaiah comes to king Rehoboam, and tells him he is judged, Rehoboam knows that this man is a true prophet of God, and this is something to be taken very seriously indeed.

Let’s see what Rehoboam and the people do when they hear the words of the prophet.

In verse 6: "The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves, and said: 'The Lord is just.'"

And when the Lord saw that the people humbled themselves before Him, He showed them mercy. The Lord said, in verse 7: "My wrath will not be poured out."

But, even so, Jerusalem became a vassal to king Shishak, and its gold and treasures were carried away.

But let us appreciate what is happening here from a spiritual point of view.

It actually began long before the prophet appeared on the scene. God wanted not just to put fear into Rehoboam -- God wanted to give Rehoboam the gift of repentance -- this proud man who divided the kingdom through his pride -- God wanted to bring him to contrition. The Bible says that God wants all people to come to repentance.

Rehoboam is faced with his sin, and he says: "It's true -- I have sinned. We have sinned. The Lord is just."

And notice that once the repentance had been worked by God, Rehoboam’s situation turns around. Repentance is something that turns God’s plan for you -- in fact every act of humility and repentance changes things in the way God works out your future.

And so God spares the king and all the people.

Rehoboam could have laid the blame on someone else. "It wasn't my fault -- it was the fault of that person over there." He could have laid the blame on his circumstances: "It's not my fault -- it's because of my rotten upbringing, or my unfortunate circumstances." He could have laid the blame on the prophet: "How dare he accuse me of sin?"

But this passage shows us the reaction that really pleases God. That is the reaction of repentance -- of full acceptance that the sin is mine -- of humbling myself and saying: "O Lord, I have sinned. I don't hide it -- I don't deny it -- I have sinned before You, and I bow before You."

That is the only healthy way to react to sin.

Do you have a heart that is ready to admit: "Lord, I am at fault -- in my marriage -- at my work -- in my Church -- as a mother, or a father -- in my heart -- and I pray for your forgiveness and mercy?"

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Notice that King Rehoboam still had to live with the consequences of his sin. God didn’t return all his treasure. But God did give him the precious gift of repentance, and God did save him from destruction.

In the same way, someone might turn from a selfish lifestyle, or might turn from drugs, or might turn from the ruin they are causing in relationships -- and there might be damage -- and yet God in His mercy spares them from the worst of damage.

And even the damage that there is can be used by God in wonderful ways. Paul said that he would boast of his weaknesses -- because God, in His love, can use those things.

King Rehoboam repented before God when he had sinned -- and that was his saving grace.

The Bible says: "He who conceals his sins does not prosper -- but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." (Proverbs 28:13).

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Notice again that this invasion of Shishak was God's doing. In verse 2: "...because they had been unfaithful to the Lord."

All too often we don't see the Lord's hand in the things that befall us.

The Bible shows us that every event in our lives is the hand of God.

Of course God does not always bring hardship upon us because we have sinned -- we know that from the story of Job -- but one thing we know, and that is that every situation of our lives has to do with the Lord our God, and because He wants to be glorified through it.

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The next incident from the life of king Rehoboam that I would like to look at this morning -- and the last one -- is a rather curious one -- and I shall just look at this very briefly.

This incident also has to do with the invasion of Shishak, the king of Egypt.

Now there must have been a thousand things that happened during the invasion of Shishak -- but one of them -- seemingly an almost irrelevant event -- is given a lot of attention -- it is in chapter 12 verses 9 to 11.

Shishak, we read, carried away the golden shields that Solomon had made, and he took them away to Egypt.

And so -- in verse 10 -- king Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them, and assigned these shields to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the Lord's temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

Why are these shields given such prominence?

Well the shields were the visible sign of the splendour of Israel. All the other treasures were treasures the people usually did not see. But these shields they saw virtually every day.

And the shields are a symbol of what had happened to Israel.

Outwardly, not much had changed. The commanders of the guard still marched through the streets with shields -- they still walked the same route, and they still fulfilled the same function -- but what had happened was that the glory was gone.

It is a symbol of what sin does in our lives. It is a symbol of what happens when we have forsaken the Lord.

Not much may be different in our lives. Everything functions pretty much the same.

But the glory has gone. It’s not like it was. It’s the same city or the same job or the same people -- but the glory is gone.

Sin is not always something that is nasty and obvious. A life without God is not always a life that is wicked, or corrupt.

Sometimes one notices that God is not there simply because the glory has gone.

In Jerusalem, everything still functioned the same -- but the glory had gone out of it.

Perhaps you recognise in your life this morning that the glory is not there.

God can give you that glory when you give your life to Him -- when you come into a personal relationship with Him.

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And I would like to invite you, in closing, to come into a personal relationship with the Lord -- to leave behind you your brash ways -- to uncover your sin before Him -- and to ask His forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and to open the door of your heart for Him to rule in your heart -- to begin a new life by the power of His Holy Spirit.

As you leave Church today, I shall have with me a booklet that explains just how you may come into a new relationship with the Lord.

If you would like a copy, please take a copy from me with our compliments.

AMEN.