2 Chronicles 12
About 2 ChroniclesWritten by AI
Second Chronicles carries Israel's story from Solomon's temple to the fall of Jerusalem, and then one step further, to the decree that let the exiles go home. First and Second Chronicles were once a single book. Jewish tradition credits Ezra as the writer; many scholars simply call the author "the Chronicler," writing for the returned exiles some time after 450 BC.
This is not a copy of Kings. It follows only Judah and David's line, and it keeps asking one question: what happens when God's people seek Him, and what happens when they forsake Him? Watch how often a king is in trouble, humbles himself, and is heard. Chapter 7 gives the pattern: “if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray.”
Watch for the temple, true worship, and repentance. Chronicles gives more room than Kings to reformers like Hezekiah and Josiah, and it tells of wicked Manasseh turning back to God. It ends not in ruin but with an open door.
Before you read 2 Chronicles 12Written by AI
Once secure, Rehoboam and Judah abandon the law of the LORD, and Shishak of Egypt invades. When the leaders humble themselves, God spares them from destruction but lets them serve Shishak, so they can learn the difference between serving God and serving earthly kings.
Shishak Raids Jerusalem
After Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he and all Israel with him forsook the Law of the LORD. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have forsaken Me; therefore, I have forsaken you into the hand of Shishak.’”
So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”
When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”
So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.
Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would go with him, bearing the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.
Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed, conditions were good in Judah.
Rehoboam’s Reign and Death
Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem and reigned. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Rehoboam 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 of Iddo the Seer concerning the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Abijah reigned in his place.