2 Chronicles 12:1-2 "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"
2 Chronicles 12:5 "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."
Rehoboam had forgotten the Lord. The nation went the way of the king. The Lord
was going to get their attention. I often hear people say that the
Lord must be trying to get our attention. May I say that the Lord never TRIES
to do anything. When needed, He WILL get our attention by any means that is
necessary. For this point in Israel's history, the Lord allowed the king of
Egypt to come up against Jerusalem. As the king advanced, he overtook those
"fenced cities" that Rehoboam had set up as an outer defense.
Remember, he had fenced the cities and supplied them with the latest in
weaponry? Those things did not hold up against Shishak, the king of Egypt. Why
could they not hold their line of defense? In my opinion, the Lord had moved
His hand of protection back from them and that allowed the army of Egypt to
walk right in and take over.
When the prophet of God saw what was happening, he went to
Rehoboam with the message: "Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and
therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak." This was a stark
awakening for Rehoboam. Why did he turn away from the Lord? As I have
experienced life and as I watch others, it is usually a gradual thing. It is
like the dusk moving in during the evening time. The day does not go
automatically from daylight to dark. There is a gradual moving of the earth in
rotating our position away from the sunlight. The story is told of a couple who
went into a dimly lit restaurant. The waiter gave them their menus. They said,
"It's too dark in here. We cannot read the menu." The waiter replied,
"Just give it a few minutes. Your eyes will adjust to the
darkness."
Is that not the way of life? Things that were not allowed 10-15 years ago do not even cause the eyebrow to raise now . Things that we consider to be ordinary occurrences were not thought of in the not so long ago. What happened? I'm afraid our eyes and minds have adjusted to the darkness. Surely this is what happened to Rehoboam. It must have been a gradual event; nevertheless, it still remained that they had forgotten the LORD.
What is our lesson this morning? We must stay focused and alert. We certainly
live in a world of darkness, but we must never allow the dark thinking and dark
behavior to become the normal. We have to stay focused in the Word of God, in
prayer, in seeking ways to shine Christ out of our own lives. We must not
forget God.