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The Histories · Old Testament

2 Chronicles 12

2 Chronicles 12: Shishak's invasion and Rehoboam's humbling

General context

Once Rehoboam has established the kingdom and strengthened himself, he forsakes the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. In his fifth year Shishak king of Egypt comes against Jerusalem with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen and a countless following of Lubims, Sukkiims and Ethiopians. He takes Judah's fenced cities and reaches Jerusalem. Shemaiah the prophet tells Rehoboam and the princes gathered there that the Lord says, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. The princes and the king humble themselves and say the Lord is righteous. The Lord sees it and tells Shemaiah that he will not destroy them but grant some deliverance; nevertheless they will be Shishak's servants, to learn the difference between his service and the service of the kingdoms. Shishak takes all the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, including the gold shields Solomon made. Rehoboam makes shields of brass instead and gives them to the guard, who carry them when the king enters the house of the Lord and return them to the guard chamber. Because he humbled himself, the Lord's wrath turns from destroying him altogether, and in Judah things go well. Rehoboam, forty one at his accession, reigns seventeen years in Jerusalem; his mother is Naamah an Ammonitess. The narrator's verdict is that he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. His acts are in the writings of Shemaiah and Iddo; there are continual wars with Jeroboam. He dies, is buried in the city of David, and Abijah reigns.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 12:1, 2 Chronicles 12:2, 2 Chronicles 12:3, 2 Chronicles 12:4, 2 Chronicles 12:5, 2 Chronicles 12:6, 2 Chronicles 12:7, 2 Chronicles 12:8, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 2 Chronicles 12:10, 2 Chronicles 12:11, 2 Chronicles 12:12, 2 Chronicles 12:13, 2 Chronicles 12:14, 2 Chronicles 12:15, 2 Chronicles 12:16

2 Chronicles 12 (KJV)

1And 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.

2And 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,

3With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.

4And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

5Then 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.

6Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.

7And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

8Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

10Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king’s house.

11And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.

12And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

13So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

14And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

15Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

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Historical context

The invasion is dated to Rehoboam's fifth year, after the three years of faithfulness reported in the previous chapter. The cause is given twice, once by the narrator, because they had transgressed, and once in the Lord's word through Shemaiah, Ye have forsaken me. Shishak is identified only as king of Egypt, and his allies by three names, Lubims, Sukkiims and Ethiopians. The fenced cities he takes are described only as those which pertained to Judah; the previous chapter had listed the cities Rehoboam built for defence. The gold shields he carries off are the ones the narrator described in Solomon's reign. Two verdicts on Rehoboam stand a few lines apart: in Judah things went well, and he did evil because he did not prepare his heart; the text keeps both. His age, forty one, and his seventeen years are given here for the first time, along with his mother's name and people, Naamah an Ammonitess. The note of continual wars with Jeroboam sits beside the earlier chapter where a war was called off by prophetic word, and neither statement is expanded. Shemaiah appears twice in the narrative, once to stop the war and once here, and he is also named as a source. The Lord's promise is measured: not destroyed, some deliverance, yet servants of Shishak.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 12:2, 2 Chronicles 11:17, 2 Chronicles 12:5, 2 Chronicles 12:3, 2 Chronicles 12:4, 2 Chronicles 11:5, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 2 Chronicles 9:16, 2 Chronicles 12:12, 2 Chronicles 12:14, 2 Chronicles 12:13, 2 Chronicles 12:15, 2 Chronicles 11:4, 2 Chronicles 12:7

Literary context

The chapter follows a single line: established, forsook, invaded, warned, humbled, partly delivered. The word humbled recurs four times and carries the turn of the story. The Lord's answer is carefully graded, not destroy, some deliverance, no wrath on Jerusalem, yet servants, so the relief is real but partial, and the reason given is instruction, that they may know the difference between two kinds of service. The image of the chapter is the shields: gold replaced by brass while the guard keeps carrying them in and out, the ceremony intact and the material reduced. The narrator's he took all is as brief as the loss is large. The chapter opens with Rehoboam strengthening himself and forsaking the law, and later says he strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned, the same verb with a different outcome. The final verdict, that he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord, gives the book a phrase it will reuse when Asa commands Judah to seek the Lord. The obituary follows the shape set for Solomon.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 12:1, 2 Chronicles 12:6, 2 Chronicles 12:7, 2 Chronicles 12:12, 2 Chronicles 12:8, 2 Chronicles 12:10, 2 Chronicles 12:11, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 2 Chronicles 12:13, 2 Chronicles 12:14, 2 Chronicles 14:4, 2 Chronicles 12:16

Key moments

  1. The law forsaken (2 Chronicles 12:1). Once strong, Rehoboam and all Israel with him forsake the law of the Lord.
  2. Shishak comes up (2 Chronicles 12:2). In Rehoboam's fifth year the king of Egypt marches on Jerusalem.
  3. Shemaiah's word (2 Chronicles 12:5). The prophet tells king and princes that the Lord has left them in Shishak's hand.
  4. The Lord is righteous (2 Chronicles 12:6). The king and princes humble themselves and acknowledge the Lord's justice.
  5. The treasures taken (2 Chronicles 12:9). Shishak carries off the treasures of both houses and Solomon's gold shields.
  6. Shields of brass (2 Chronicles 12:10). Rehoboam replaces the gold shields with brass ones kept by the guard.
  7. The verdict on Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 12:14). The narrator says he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

For reflection

Rehoboam replaces Solomon's gold shields with brass and keeps the same ceremony of carrying them in and out. What does the narrator invite a reader to see in a ritual kept intact while what it carries is diminished?

People in this chapter

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