Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.wartracebaptist.org/sermons/71777/2-chronicles-11-12/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] It is good to see you this evening. Let's take our Bibles and go with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 11. 2 Chronicles chapter 11. We left off this past Wednesday at the end of the 10th chapter. So we're actually going to look at chapters 11 and 12 tonight. We will read them in their entirety. Neither one of them are extremely long, but it will be a number of verses.

[0:30] But we'll look at 2 Chronicles chapters 11 and 12. Again, some of it is repeated information, but some of it also kind of illuminates some of the things that are recorded for us there in the book of Kings. I believe it's 1 Kings chapter 14 where we begin to see these matters.

[0:51] Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll get right into the Word of God together. Father, we thank you so much just for the day you've given us. We thank you for your faithfulness and goodness towards us. We thank you for the opportunity we have of opening up the Word of God.

[1:06] Father, we pray that you'll be with us as we study it and we look at it. Lord, help us to come to an understanding and as always, may that understanding be that which draws us closer to you and as a result of that moves us closer to one another.

[1:20] Pray that you would help us to continue to mature in our walk and our faithfulness as we seek to follow you, Christ. We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen.

[1:31] Amen. 2 Chronicles, if you remember in chapter 10, we have the introduction of Rehoboam. Rehoboam following the reign of his dad Solomon. Rehoboam encounters the man Jeroboam.

[1:44] And Jeroboam is the one who had been told by the prophet that he would rule over a portion of the nation of Israel because of God's judgment upon Solomon's sin.

[1:57] And that God was going to preserve a remnant of the nation of Israel, namely the two tribes of Judah for the sake of David. But we have the division, the split of the kingdom in the 10th chapter.

[2:10] One thing that is unique to the chronicler, whoever he is, we don't really know emphatically without a doubt who it is, but unique to the chronicler is that he does not entirely refer to the two tribes as Judah.

[2:26] Now, when we're reading through 1 and 2 Kings, you have Judah and Israel, Judah and Israel, the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom. We see the term interchangeably here, whereas the tribes of Judah or the kingdom of Judah will be referred to as Israel, mainly because the chronicler does not reference the northern kingdom much.

[2:47] And there is some reference to it, but there's not a lot of referencing because, keep in mind, again, the purpose and the theme of the author. He is not looking at the sins of the nation, but rather he's looking at the continuance of the Davidic, well, of the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenant of God's people.

[3:07] So, to follow that covenant faithfulness, we don't focus on the northern kingdom because there's no covenantal ties there.

[3:18] Our focus, rather, is on the southern kingdom, the lineage of David, and God's faithfulness in bringing them through and maintaining his covenant with them.

[3:28] And so, because of that, we see that even the southern tribes of Judah are referred to as Israel because God's promises to the people Israel and the nation Israel are maintained through the southern kingdom.

[3:42] Hopefully, you understand all that. It is not, we're not looking at everything we did wrong. We're looking at who we are. And we're looking at not who we are, but who the nation is and how God has maintained his faithfulness.

[3:56] Now, there are times when we have discussion and when we get to the books of Chronicles of the northern kingdom, but it's really how it relates, interrelates, because I know I'm saying a lot of this, but we don't have to validate God's judgment.

[4:12] That's already been validated in 1 and 2 Kings. God is righteous in his judgment of his people and letting them go into exile. He is righteous, and that is, he is right in the judgment because of their unfaithfulness, their rebellion, and their sin.

[4:30] But God is gracious in his preservation of his covenant relationship with his people, and we're looking at the gracious acts of God as he restores the nation post-discipline through the Babylonian captivity.

[4:43] So, that's really a shift in focus, right? We're not looking at God's righteous judgment. We're actually looking at God's gracious preservation. And now, that's good for us.

[4:54] It's good for us because it shows us, again, not that we're the nation of Israel, not that though we are grafted in, as Paul tells us, we are seeing character attributes of God, right? God is righteous in his judgment, but God is also gracious in his faithfulness.

[5:09] And so, when he has promise and what he has promised, he will maintain. So, we see that. So, let's look at chapters 11 and 12. Now, when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

[5:30] But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin. See that? To all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives.

[5:47] Return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. So, they listened to the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam. Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah.

[5:59] Thus, he built Bethlehem, Edom, Tekoa, Beth, Zer, Sokol, Udullam, Gath, Marashah, Ziph, Adoram, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Ahizalon, and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin.

[6:15] He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil, and wine. He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So, he held Judah and Benjamin.

[6:26] Moreover, the priests and the Levites, who were in all Israel, stood with him from all their districts. For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem for Jeroboam.

[6:38] And his sons had excluded them from serving as priests of the Lord. He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs, that literally means goat gods or goat demons, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made.

[6:53] Thus, from all the tribes of Israel, those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel, followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.

[7:07] They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. Then Rehoboam took his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jeromoth, the son of David, and of Abahel, the daughter of Elib, the son of Jesse.

[7:24] And she bore him sons, Jehush, Shemariah, and Zaham. After her, he took Micah, the daughter of Absalom. And she bore him Abijah, Atai, Zizah, and Shelometh.

[7:36] Rehoboam loved Micah, the daughter of Absalom, more than all his other wives and concubines, for he had taken 18 wives and 60 concubines and fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.

[7:48] Rehoboam appointed Abijah, the son of Micah, as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. And he acted wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities.

[8:00] And he gave them food in abundance, and he sought many wives for them. Chapter 12, When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord.

[8:11] And it came about in King Rehoboam's fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen.

[8:24] And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number, the Lubom, the Sukum, and the Ethiopians. He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah, the prophet, came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak.

[8:41] And he said to them, Thus says the Lord, You have forsaken me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak. So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, The Lord is righteous.

[8:54] When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance.

[9:05] And my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak. But they will become his slaves, so that they may learn the difference between my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

[9:16] So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's palace. He took everything. He even took the golden shields which Solomon had made.

[9:28] Then king Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the door of the king's house. And as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the guard's room.

[9:43] And when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him so as not to destroy him completely. And also conditions were good in Jerusalem. So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned.

[9:56] Now Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name was Nehemiah the Ammonitess.

[10:10] He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. Now the acts of Rehoboam from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and the widow of the seer according to the genealogical enrollment?

[10:22] And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually and Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David and his son Abijah became king in his place. Okay, this evening I want you to see the days of Rehoboam are a new reality.

[10:38] It's a reality that we know that will be a continual cycle as we look at, and we know that because we've went through first and second Kings. It is just this ongoing cycle as we look at the people of the Lord.

[10:50] We are beyond the days of David. We are beyond the days of Solomon. And now we are in this new reality that will eventually and inevitably lead to the Babylonian captivity.

[11:02] And while we're not focusing on the matters which led to the captivity, we see that even in our text this evening, because if we were to turn to first Kings chapter 14, I believe it's chapter verses 21 or 22 and following, then we can see the listing of the sins that Rehoboam did that led to this judgment.

[11:22] But the chronicler doesn't record that because we're not really focusing on the disobedience or the rebellion which led to the judgment, rather again, we're focusing on what little good they may have done, or we're focusing on the faithfulness of God in spite of them.

[11:38] And we just have this progression of God's covenant or relationship. But we see this reality that the covenant is maintained not because of the people, but quite often in spite of the people and for the benefit of the people.

[11:54] And so it is this grand display of God's grace and his mercy. And it is this display of God's faithfulness to his own word. Because if you remember, this is not the covenant given to Solomon because the covenant given to Solomon was a covenant that was conditional that if you will walk faithfully before me, then I will give you a length of days and then you will reign and you will have a son set up on the throne.

[12:18] Rather, this is the Davidic covenant because the Davidic covenant, much like the Abrahamic covenant, much like the Adamic covenant, that is the covenant made with Adam, the covenant made with Abraham, and the covenant made with David, is unconditional.

[12:35] These are unconditional covenants. And we see that because Adam sinned. And you say, well, Eve did as well, right? But it was Adam that was called to account the sin.

[12:45] And then God entered into what we call the proto-evangelium, the first mentioning of the gospel message that the seed of a woman would crush the head of Satan, but Satan would bruise his heel.

[12:57] And so there is this blessing, this covenantal relationship that God will overcome the enemy through the seed of a woman. And that's given to Adam and Eve. Then we have Abraham called out of the land of the early Chaldeans.

[13:08] And when God enters into the Abrahamic covenant, which is a particular people connected to a particular place, and there's an international promise connected to it, a promise to be a blessing to the nations.

[13:20] If you remember, this is the covenant in which Abraham sets out all the offerings and the sacrifice, and he falls asleep. And he wakes up, and he sees the oven going back and forth between the two.

[13:30] And it seems like a weird picture to us, but we understand it. And it's time that in those days, each member that was taken part in the covenant that was being agreed upon would take their torches and walk respectively back and forth between the sacrificial animals that were laid out.

[13:48] And so Abraham falls asleep, and he's not walking. He looks up, and the covenant is being enacted without him doing anything. Why? Because it is not based upon who he is, but rather it's based upon the character of God.

[14:03] David wants to build a house for the Lord God. David's told he will not build a house, and yet God says, I will build your family. Again, this is not David's faithfulness or who David is, but rather the faithfulness of God.

[14:19] We see this, and this is grand because it helps us to understand really the history of salvation, that when Christ calls us to himself, for no man comes to the Father lest he be drawn, right?

[14:31] And we have that nudging of the Holy Spirit where the Father is drawing us. It is while we are yet sinners that Christ died for us, and he loved us, and he called us according to the purposes.

[14:42] It's not because the Holy God looked down and saw something in us worthy of salvation. It is because with love and grace and mercy, he drew us to himself, and we are counted worthy because of who Christ is.

[15:07] And so we have righteousness imputed towards us, it says. Not a righteousness of our own, but the righteousness of Christ. So we understand here, the highlight is not on who we are.

[15:20] That's why in the Chronicle, I love that, and I know we talk about it a lot. It is not necessarily on who they are, even the bad things they've done, but what we see is the faithfulness of God being maintained.

[15:31] I want you to see just four things tonight, okay? As we look at these two chapters, and we'll be much quicker on them than we are at the introduction. Number one, we see there is an opportunity of faithfulness.

[15:41] With each new king, and we will see this repeated theme, but here we see the opportunity of faithfulness. If you remember the end of the 10th chapter, Rehoboam sends one of his messengers to find out what's going on.

[15:53] He sends one of his leaders and the people of the northern kingdom, Jeroboam's men, they stone him and they kill him. So Rehoboam goes back to Jerusalem, he regroups, he gets everybody together, he says, okay, I have 180,000 soldiers, I have all these people, let's go bring back what is ours, right?

[16:08] Let's go reclaim the kingdom. And God sends a man of God or a prophet here, and the prophet speaks the word of God. By the way, this is something that we need to understand in scripture.

[16:20] The first mentioning of prophets, and we go all the way back to the book of Genesis, and the first mentioning of prophecy, or the office of a prophet, are not those who foretell, not those who tell the future.

[16:34] So if we stay consistent with the law of first mentioning of scripture, the first time prophets are ever mentioned are those who foretell. So to be a prophet is to be the ones who declare the word of God, to be a declarer of what God says.

[16:51] Thus says the Lord. Now sometimes in foretelling, you also foretell. Like Isaiah had a vision of the Lord, and he went to tell forth what the Lord shown him, and what part of what God had told him spoke of things to come.

[17:11] So prophecy is not always a telling of future events, but it is declaring of the word of God, what God has said. And so anyway, we get to this point, the prophet comes and he declares the word, and we have this repeated refrain that God says, don't fight against your relatives, for this is from me.

[17:32] So we again have the reinforced idea that the division of the kingdom was the work of God. He did it as a disciplinary in hand because of the rebellion.

[17:47] So man cannot attempt to restore what God has set apart. So he tells them, this isn't your work, you're not going to go reclaim the kingdom, this is of me.

[17:59] Now they heed the word of God, they go back, and then we see this opportunity that God gives them because in that, and this is why the chronicler can refer to the southern tribe of Judah to all of Israel, because what ends up happening in the southern tribe, and we don't always see it, we see partly in the book of 1 Kings, is really the nation itself is being drawn there.

[18:22] Not everyone, but the nation is being drawn there. The first group we see is the Levites. All of the Levites come there, and we're told the reason the Levites come there, and we know this from reading in 1 Kings, is that Jeroboam sets up his false gods of the calves, and we're also told here, he also sets up the goat demons, and he won't let the Levites serve.

[18:44] So the Levites go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and even when we're going through 1 Kings, we saw that, man, what an opportunity, right? Because now all the Levites are leaving their land, and they're going down to Judah because they have been displaced in the northern kingdom.

[18:59] Again, we're not focusing so much on what Jeroboam has done here. We don't need to really rehash the setting up of the goat calves here, but we're seeing that God is giving and providing the opportunity because the Levites come down, and then we read this phrase, it says, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him in their districts.

[19:20] So they came down, they're standing with him, and then we're told later on in verse 16, those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.

[19:38] So what we see is we have two tribes, right? Judah, but within those two tribes, we have representation from all the tribes of Israel, but those that are there are those who have set their heart to worship.

[19:50] Now that is setting you up for faithfulness, right? You have the greatest opportunity now because what has been gathered together are those who have set their heart to worship, and they know that the only place to worship properly and faithfully is in Jerusalem where the temple is.

[20:09] So they're gathered together, and it says that they strengthened, in verse 17, they strengthened the kingdom of Judah because there's nothing that makes the kingdom stronger than people whose heart are set on faithfulness.

[20:21] They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, for three years. Why? For they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

[20:34] Notice the opportunity of faithfulness. And what we say here is that God was giving them the opportunity to remain faithful even in light of the reality.

[20:50] Everything seemed to be falling apart, right? And what was probably a very difficult season. I mean, the kingdom's divided. There's the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom.

[21:00] But yet God is gathering around Rehoboam, gathering around the people of Judah, gathering in this area of people whose heart are set on the Lord. So they have the opportunity to be faithful even in a difficult season.

[21:14] And they have that opportunity because God is providing the people, the Levites, the temple is there, no greater opportunity than the people of Judah. But we also meet, secondly, the occasion of failure.

[21:28] So we see this opportunity of faithfulness, and then we see the occasion of failure. That occasion is really introduced for us in the 18th verse of the 11th chapter. Then Rehoboam took his wife, Mahalath, the daughter of Jeremath, the son of David, and Abahel, the daughter of Elib, the son of Jesse.

[21:45] And then we read down just a little bit further. We go down into verse 20. After her, he took Maka, the daughter of Absalom. Now, the chronicler is recording this kind of matter-of-factly.

[21:56] He's kind of giving us some details as to what goes on in his life. And we understand this in Scripture. But this is not a declaration that polygamous relationship are okay, right?

[22:07] As a matter of fact, and we have to be careful that some people say, oh, well, Scripture says it. Notice the trend in Scripture. Any time man steps away from the God-ordained plan of marriage, go back to law first mention, where one man and one woman united forever.

[22:21] Any time man steps away from that, things begin to fall apart. It just does. Notice the faithfulness of Scripture. Even though they don't have to tell us that, this is where we see the introduction.

[22:37] He followed in the footstep as the father of Solomon, right? He had a multitude of wives. He had a multitude of concubines. He had a lot of kids. Most of the time, this is being done to strengthen the kingdom.

[22:49] And then most of the time, we see the result of that is that it weakens the individual. Why? Because we found introduced to us in the 12th chapter this very wording.

[23:01] When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong. My friend, pay attention to me. We don't often fall in our moments of realized weaknesses.

[23:13] Too often, our stumbling comes in times of perceived strength. We don't fall when we know we're weak.

[23:28] We fall when we think we have attained it. New Testament says, Paul says, be careful that unless you think you stand and thinking you stand, you fall. Right?

[23:40] Be on guard. It is not when we know we're weak. But rather, it is when we perceive that we are strong. And we have made it. And it is established.

[23:53] Think about it. When they went into the promised land. When the land was firmly in their hand. When the battles were done fighting. Then, they stumbled.

[24:04] Notice what it says. It says, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong. He and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord. Evidently, that was in the fourth year of his reign.

[24:16] For three years, they were strengthened. For three years, those who came strengthened him. For three years, they walked in the ways of David and Solomon. For three years, they maintained faithful relationship. But in the fourth year, we have to go to 1 Kings to see it.

[24:28] We see the listing of the sins. The introduction of the high places. The false worship. The occultic practices. The cult prostitutes of men. And the cult prostitutes of women.

[24:40] We see the atrocities that are being laid out there. We see all of this hideous things that are going on. But again, the chronicler doesn't tell us that. We don't need to understand it. We just know that there comes a day when his kingdom is established and strong.

[24:51] And he thinks everything is okay. And he falls. And evidently, that was the fourth year of his reign. And this is the occasion of his failure. I say that that occasion began in the 18th verse, the 11th chapter.

[25:04] That is when he began taking multiple wives. Why? Because we see that being the beginning of Solomon's decline as well. And the construction of these high places.

[25:15] And appeasing of individuals. But then we see here that all of a sudden now it comes to fruition. And we see that he is walking away. And it came about in King Rehoboam's fifth year.

[25:27] That when they had become unfaithful to the Lord. God brings judgment. So here is the occasion of failure. There was the opportunity of faithfulness.

[25:39] But it was followed by an occasion of failure. We must be careful. We must be careful. Lest we think we stand.

[25:49] And having thought we stood, we fail. This leads us to the opposition faced. So now that we see the occasion of failure. That he forsook the way of the Lord in the fourth year of his reign.

[26:03] We see now the opposition faced. It says in the second verse. And it came about in King Rehoboam's fifth year. Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord. That Shishak, the king of Egypt, came against Jerusalem.

[26:16] Now you need to know this is the first military encounter. With the people of Egypt. Since the Exodus event. So up until this time.

[26:28] Solomon's been doing business with the Egyptians. But we haven't had a military conflict. The record of this event has been. Archaeologically discovered on stones. Recorded from Shishak himself.

[26:40] Who declares the number of cities. Which he captured from people of Jerusalem. I want to think it was like 152 cities. That he said he took on his way up the coast. Shishak during this time was trying to expand.

[26:52] The Egyptian kingdom back to its prominent power. So we see that this is what's going on historically. But we also see that God is using that historical narrative. To fulfill his purposes as well.

[27:04] And so what we see is God removing his hand of favor. Because of their unfaithfulness. And allowing the expansion of Shishak. To be a threat to the people of Judah. And what's telling in this.

[27:16] Is he comes with 1200 chariots. And 60,000 horsemen. And people who came with. From Egypt without numbers. So he comes with this huge multitude. But then it declares to us.

[27:26] That when he came. That he captured. In verse 4. He captured the fortified cities of Judah. And came as far as Jerusalem. Now that's telling. Because if you see there. In the fourth verse.

[27:37] That he captured the fortified cities. But if you go back. To the 11th chapter. And you see in the 11th chapter. That when Rehoboam sets his throne. And he's there.

[27:47] And he knows that he can't go fight against his own men. So it says. In verse 5. Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. And built cities for defense. So notice this. Rehoboam was aware.

[28:00] Of the threat. And what's recorded. In the 11th chapter. Are 15 cities. That Rehoboam. Fortifies. To set as a defense.

[28:11] Against Egyptian expansion. Why? Where did Jeroboam come from? Jeroboam came back. Out of Egypt. Right?

[28:23] Now if you remember. You go back to 1st Kings. You'll see that when Jeroboam is in Egypt. The king of Egypt says. Don't leave Egypt. I'm going to give you my daughter. Her as bride. You can stay here. We'll make you rain. He says.

[28:33] No. I've been promised that I'll rain there. So he goes back. So Jeroboam. To the north. Has direct ties. To the Egyptians. In the south. So. Rehoboam.

[28:44] Understands this. And he fortifies. All these cities. Up what is. What later becomes known as. King's Highway. Which is the trade route. It runs through the area. Now known as the Gaza Strip. So he knew the Egyptians.

[28:54] Would want to come that way. It's a really prolific trade route. Even in that time. So he fortifies. These 15 cities. And I'm saying this. To declare to you. That man's preparations. And man's efforts.

[29:05] Do nothing. In light of God's judgment. Because while he had taken. Proactive measures. To fortify 15 cities. When he walked in unfaithfulness.

[29:17] The very first thing. That Shishak does. Is he captures all 15 of those cities. And then some. It doesn't matter how much. We tried to prepare in advance. It doesn't matter what measures.

[29:28] We put in place. If we are unfaithful. Our greatest efforts. Matter little. In light of God's declared judgment. Here's the opposition he faced.

[29:41] He tried to withstand. He tried to hold back. And he tried. To stand guard against them. But he couldn't. He couldn't do it.

[29:51] Why? Because. He chose. In his own strength. To resist. And ignore. And revolt. Against the law.

[30:02] Of the Lord. So much so. That the opposition. Comes in. Shishak. Takes away. Everything out of the temple. He ends up ransacking Jerusalem. We'll get to that. In just a moment. So he ransacks Jerusalem.

[30:13] He goes into the temple. He takes everything out of the temple. He takes all those gold shields. That Solomon made. You know. Those beautiful ornate shields. Remember when Solomon made them. He just hung them on the wall. Right? And silver wasn't even valuable.

[30:24] In that day. And there's bronze without number. And silver's like the stones of the ground. And there's gold shields. Hanging on the wall. Shishak comes in. Even though Rehoboam. Had taken all measures. To fortify himself. Against this attack.

[30:34] He takes all that out there. And then. When Shishak leaves. Rehoboam has to make more shields. So he makes shields. Out of bronze. You remember that stuff. That wasn't even counted. When Solomon was reigning. Just his dad's ring.

[30:46] And the bronze shields. Are seen so valuable. That they keep them under heavy guard. Because. They're kept in the guard room. Until Rehoboam comes out.

[30:57] And they carry them in front of Rehoboam. As soon as Rehoboam goes back in. They take them back into the guard room. If we're not careful. When we disobey the Lord. We'll be counting as sacred. Those things. Which used to not even be numbered. Because we'll lose the value.

[31:12] Of what is really precious. And so. The bronze becomes the most. Valuable thing they have. Why? Because. We can't even look at gold. And there's no mention of silver.

[31:26] The unfaithfulness. And the opposition. That came against them. Was so strong. Now all of a sudden. Bronze. Becomes the most precious metal. And that was the thing. That was without number.

[31:36] In the construction of the temple. And without measure. During the days of Solomon. One year of unfaithfulness. And the opposition. And the judgment comes.

[31:47] So we see the opportunity. Of faithfulness. We see the occasion of failure. We see the opposition. They faced. Fourth and finally. Look though. At the outpouring. Of favor. And this is.

[31:59] Really what the chronicler. Is trying to highlight. For us. Is the merciful. Gracious. Undeserved. Favor of God. That continues to be outpoured.

[32:11] Because it tells us. That when Shishak. Is on his march. In verse 4. To the 12th chapter. He captured the four to five cities. Of Judah. And came. As far as Jerusalem. Then. Shemaiah.

[32:22] The prophet. Came to Rehoboam. And the princes of Judah. Who had gathered. At Jerusalem. Because of Shishak. So they're there. They don't know. What they're going to do. And he said to them. Thus says the Lord. You have forsaken me. So I also have forsaken you.

[32:33] To Shishak. Now look at this response. Because this is. So starkly different. Than the response. Of Jeroboam. When he's confronted. By the prophet. Though we have no declaration. Of that here in Chronicles.

[32:44] But we see here. Why God maintains. His faithfulness. So the princes of Israel. Again notice. The mentioning of Israel. Not just Judah. Why? Because.

[32:55] When the chronicler is writing. He's writing to the people of Israel. He's not just writing. To one or two tribes. He's writing to the entire remnant. So he's reminding them. That everybody was represented there. Because those who saw the Lord.

[33:07] With their heart. Were there. So the princes of Israel. And the king. Humbled themselves. And said. The Lord is righteous. So this is. Humility.

[33:17] This declaration. That God is just. In the judgment. He's bringing upon us. And that's. That's an amazing confession. Because they're seeing.

[33:28] All their preparations fall. Now we see this. Outpouring of favor. When the Lord saw. That they humbled themselves. The word of the Lord. Came to Shemaiah. Saying. They have humbled themselves.

[33:38] So I will not destroy them. But I will grant them. Some measure. Of deliverance. Any. Measure. Of deliverance. Is.

[33:49] A grand display of grace. By holy God. He was righteous. In giving them. Completely over. But he said. I'll give them.

[34:00] Some measure. Of deliverance. So. Oh well. I wish you. You do better. Ever. No. He said. I'll give them. Some measure. Of deliverance. And my wrath. Shall not be poured out. On Jerusalem. By means of Shishak. But now notice.

[34:11] Verse eight. Because even in the favor. God does not let them. Just get away with sin. Right. But they will become. His slaves. So that they may. Learn the difference. Between my service. And the service. Of the kingdoms.

[34:21] Of the countries. So what God is declaring. Is. You don't want to serve. Me faithfully. Well that's fine. But I'm not just going to. Leave you to yourselves. You're either going to serve. Me or you're going to serve. Them. Jesus said it this way.

[34:35] You're either the slave. Of Satan. Or the slave of Christ. And we've seen this. Throughout all of scripture. Man does not just. Serve himself.

[34:45] Man does not just. Take care of himself. Man does not have the right. Or the freedom. To say well. Hey I'm just going to do me. By doing you. You're really doing. The works.

[34:56] Of another. Of the enemy. God says you're either. Going to serve me. Or you're going to serve them. Now I will give you over. And let you see. What that's like.

[35:06] I'll let you experience that. Again by the way. That to me. Is a. Display of favor. Because God. Shows them. What it's like. To be enslaved.

[35:17] They become. A vassal. State. Of Egypt. For a while. God shows them. What it's like. In comparison. To serving him. Or to serving. The nations.

[35:27] He didn't have to. But he did. Right. So that they would have. A heart to return. Back to him. And so. We see this. But we. We keep reading.

[35:38] It says. So. Shishak. The king of Egypt. Came in. He ransacked the temple. But then we read. In verse 12. And when he. That's Rehoboam. When he humbled himself.

[35:48] The anger of the Lord. Turned away from him. So as not to destroy him. Completely. Again. Notice this favorite. But notice what the chronicle records for us. And also. Conditions were good.

[36:00] In Judah. Why? Because God's favor. Was being shown upon them. Because they. Not because they were perfect. But because they humbled themselves.

[36:13] And responded. To the word of God. With humility. With acknowledgement. So king Rehoboam. Strengthened himself again.

[36:23] In Jerusalem. And he. Reigned. Now. We know here. From the declaration. Of scripture. That he did wickedly. In the sight of the Lord. But again. Notice the favor of God.

[36:33] God. Was just. And righteous. And would have been. Justified. To completely. Judge. And wipe off. And give over.

[36:45] Jerusalem. But in his favor. He maintained his covenant. Why? Because his people. Humbled themselves. In response. To the word of God. So we notice here.

[36:56] There's the opportunity. For faithfulness. Though they. Only took it. For about three years. There's the occasion. Of failure. When in their own strength. They began to fail. And to walk away. From the Lord. There's opposition.

[37:07] They faced. Which was greater. Than any. Thing. That they could have. Prepared for in advance. And greater than any. Efforts that man could have. But in the midst of that. There's this outpouring. Of God's favor.

[37:17] That because of his covenantal relationship. That when man responds appropriately. To his word. When the word of God is declared.

[37:29] And man responds to his word. God is faithful. To be gracious. And kind. To those who humble themselves. And that's a character attribute of God.

[37:41] That we see consistently. Throughout scripture. And we see it even today. That God is so faithful. That when the word of God is proclaimed. And we humble ourselves. And we say.

[37:51] God you're right. I failed you. You're right. You're righteous. And you're judgment. I deserve that. That we don't get what we deserve.

[38:03] Right. Rather we get a God. Who is so. Gracious. So. Favorable. Towards us. And he makes. The time good.

[38:14] In our land. Because. His love is stronger. And greater. Than even our disobedience. And we see it recorded for us. In 2nd Chronicles.

[38:25] 11 through 12. Let's pray. Father. We stand amazed. We stand amazed. At your goodness. In spite of man's rebellion.

[38:37] And we know the greatest display of that is. Is our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. We know you call us to walk. Faithfully. And obediently.

[38:48] Before you. Lord. And we don't want to use grace. As a crutch. But in those moments. When we fail. When we stumble. We praise you. For your favor.

[39:00] For we know that. None of us deserve it. But for Christ. We stand. Condemned. And judged. But in Christ.

[39:12] In that covenantal relationship. Through the blood of the Lamb. You work things out. For our good. So we praise you. For that Father. We thank you.

[39:22] For the work we see. Of your people. In the Old Testament. And we thank you. That you are the same today. And you work in the same way. Through us. So Lord. As we seek to follow you.

[39:32] In a greater way. And we seek to grow closer to you. Each and every day. We pray that you would make us. Useful for the sake of the kingdom. Realizing that we're not. Just declaring.

[39:43] Something that people. Should want to hear. But something that they need to hear. Help us to be faithful. To show the love of Christ. To proclaim the love of Christ.

[39:56] And even to know the love of Christ. In our lives. This week. As we prepare to leave here. We ask that you be glorified. And honored. In all we do. And we ask it in Jesus name.

[40:07]  Amen. Thank you guys. Really appreciate your time. This evening.