2/10/2011 8:31:09 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: God’s loving discipline
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Ki. 14:25-31; 2Chron. 12:1-16
Message of the verses: “25 Now it happened in the fifth year of
King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He
took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the
king’s house, and he took everything, even taking all the shields of gold which
Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam
made shields of bronze in their place, and committed them to the care of the
commanders of the guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 Then it
happened as often as the king entered the house of the LORD, that the guards
would carry them and would bring them back into the guards’ room. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all
that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of
Judah? 30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And
Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of
David; and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son
became king in his place.”
“1
¶ When the kingdom of Rehoboam was
established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the LORD.
2 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 3 with
1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt
were without number: the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and
came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then
Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered
at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, "Thus says the LORD,
’You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.’" 6 So the princes of Israel and the king humbled
themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous." 7 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, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of
Shishak. 8 "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 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. 10 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. 11
As often as the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards came and
carried them and then brought them back into the guards’ room. 12 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 Judah.
13 ¶ So King Rehoboam
strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen 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 Naamah the Ammonitess. 14 He did evil because he did not set his heart
to seek the LORD. 15 Now the acts of
Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah
the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment? And
there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was
buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place.”
I
have wanted to write something about the differences between the books of Kings
and the books of Chronicles because there are some differences between these
books even though in some instances they cover the same material. I Chronicles cover the life of David and also
gives the genealogy of some of the families of Israel. 2 Chronicles cover the life of the rest of
the kings of Judah, while 1Kings cover the lives of both the kings of Judah and
also the kings of Israel after the split in the country. I have read that the books of Chronicles is
written from the aspect of the priest, and it is possible that it could have
been written by Ezra or Nehemiah after the return of Judah to the land of
Israel in order to encourage the people who returned.
Rehoboam
died at age fifty-eight and this seems to be the way of the kings of both
Israel and Judah, that they did not live long lives. I would suppose that in a lot of cases their
sin found them out and also there was a great deal of stress in their jobs.
Charles
Spurgeon wrote the following, “God does not all His people to sin
successfully,” and this does not only apply to the kings and the people of
Israel, but also to those who are in the Church too.
Rehoboam
began to sin after he was established as king and so in the fifth year of his
reign the Lord sent Shishak, who was king in Egypt to attack Israel and also
Judah, however the people of Judah repented and turned back to the Lord and
therefore Shishak did not attack Jerusalem, but Rehoboam paid a great amount of
tribute to him and Judah lived under bondage to Egypt for some time afterwards.
Rehoboam
died after serving as king for seventeen years and his son Abijah took his
place. This is the way all of the kings
of Israel and Judah are told about when they die, how long they served and who
would take their place as king.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The saying from Charles Spurgeon is something
for me to think about as I go through life today, for God loves me too much to
allow me to sin successfully and for that I am satisfied, for I do not want to
sin successfully.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Seek to have the Lord guide and direct my path this
day.
2.
Continue to learn contentment.
3.
Give myself to the Lord today for worship and
service.
4.
Remember the battle that goes on in the life of a
believer and put on the spiritual armor.
2/10/2011 9:10:54 AM
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