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Daily Devotion: 2 Chronicles 12:1-2 and 5

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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.

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