2 Chronicles 12

Egypt Invades Judah

1But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the LORD, and all Israel followed him in this sin. 2Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. 3He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses,* and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.* 4Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem. 5The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.” 6Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “ The Lorpis right in doing this to us!” 7When the LORD saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I wil! not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. 8But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.” 9So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the LORD’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 10King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 11Whenever the king went to the Temple of the LORD, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom. 12Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah.

Summary of Rehoboam’s Reign

1313King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon. ‘But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the LORD with all his heart. 15The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Shemaiah the Prophet and The Record of Iddo the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. 16When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king.