- So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 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 the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 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. 2 Chronicles 12:9-10 – This here is a great example of the outcome of our efforts when we try to do things without God. Solomon when king was blessed by God because of His faithful pursuit of Him. One way he was blessed was with gold and he was able to make shields of gold with it. Yet here when Rehoboam was overtaken due to his unfaithfulness, he tried to replace what was taken but only was able to make them out of bronze. These would have been less valuable, less majestic, less everything compared to those Solomon made of gold. See it’s not that we can’t build or move or grow without God. We’ve seen people in this world move forward who have never once turned to God. What we see within this passage is the difference God makes in our story when we look to Him. Is the end result then of our efforts gold or bronze? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1526
- When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. 2 Chronicles 12:1 – This choice led to repercussions Rehoboam dealt with in our passage. Would the Egyptians have still come against him if he remained worshipping the Lord? Probably. Would they have though found such victory over him if he remained worshipping the Lord? Probably not. While it was a good thing that Rehoboam and the other leaders humbled themselves before the Lord when they saw the enemy and realized their sin, a truth comes out of this story we must remember. While what you do in the hardship is important, what you do in the times of blessing is equally important. Yes, Rehoboam turned to the Lord when times got hard, but in the times of strength and blessing he abandoned following the Lord. While we, sitting here thousands of years later, can look down in frustration at this sort of behavior, could this same behavior be seen in our story? Where our reaction in heavy times is to run to the Lord but in times of blessing we forget that He’s the one we ought to still be running towards. If then today is a heavy, hard day for you, please know God is waiting to receive you with open arms and is able to help. If though today is a day of blessing and peace for you, know God is also still waiting to receive you and walk with you today. However life is for you right now, take a step towards the God that is worthy to be followed in the good and the hard times. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2601
Daily DEVO 