| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
2
Chronicles Chapter Twelve
2 Chronicles 12
Chapter Contents
Rehoboam
forsaking the Lord
is punished.
When Rehoboam was so strong that he supposed he had
nothing to fear from Jeroboam
he cast off his outward profession of godliness.
It is very common
but very lamentable
that men
who in distress or danger
or
near death
seem much engaged in seeking and serving God
throw aside all their
religion when they have received a merciful deliverance. God quickly brought
troubles upon Judah
to awaken the people to repentance
before their hearts
were hardened. Thus it becomes us
when we are under the rebukes of Providence
to justify God
and to judge ourselves. If we have humbled hearts under
humbling providences
the affliction has done its work; it shall be removed
or
the property of it be altered. The more God's service is compared with other
services
the more reasonable and easy it will appear. Are the laws of
temperance thought hard? The effects of intemperance will be found much harder.
The service of God is perfect liberty; the service of our lusts is complete
slavery. Rehoboam was never rightly fixed in his religion. He never quite cast
off God; yet he engaged not his heart to seek the Lord. See what his fault was;
he did not serve the Lord
because he did not seek the Lord. He did not pray
as Solomon
for wisdom and grace; he did not consult the word of God
did not
seek to that as his oracle
nor follow its directions. He made nothing of his
religion
because he did not set his heart to it
nor ever came up to a steady
resolution in it. He did evil
because he never was determined for good.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Chronicles》
2 Chronicles 12
Verse 1
[1] And 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.
And all Israel — So called
because they forsook
God
as Israel had done.
Verse 2
[2] And 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
Fifth year — Presently after the apostacy of
the king and people
which was in the fourth year.
Verse 3
[3] With 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.
Lubims — A people of Africk bordering upon Egypt.
Sukkiims — A people living in tents
as the word signifies; and
such there were not far from Egypt
both in Africk and in Arabia.
Ethiopians — Either those beyond Egypt
or the
Arabians.
Verse 7
[7] And 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.
Some deliverance — I will give some stop
to the course of my wrath
which was ready to be poured forth upon them to
their utter destruction. Those who acknowledge God is righteous in afflicting
them
shall find him gracious.
Verse 8
[8] Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know
my service
and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
May know — That they may experimentally know the difference
between my yoke and the yoke of a foreign and idolatrous prince.
Verse 12
[12] And 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.
Went well — The began to recruity themselves
and regain some degree of their former prosperity.
Verse 14
[14] And he did evil
because he prepared not his heart to
seek the LORD.
Did evil — Or
settled not
although he humbled himself
for a
season
yet he quickly relapsed into sin
because his heart was not right with
God.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Chronicles》
12 Chapter 12
Verses 1-16
Verse 1-2
He forsook the law of the Lord
and all Israel with him.
Rehoboam
first king of Judah
Individual lives attract and reward attention; hence the interest
and fascination of fiction and history. What others have experienced and done
comes to us as a revelation of a life in which we share.
I. Its waste of
opportunities exceptionally grand.
1. He was the first king of Judah. Unless forfeited by misconduct
special honour and grateful appreciation are the inheritance of the founders of
a dynasty. Conspicuous in time and relative position
they have an acknowledged
leadership
though dead for centuries.
2. He inherited institutions and traditions of a prestige sacred and
commanding. His was the city of David
with all its history
radiant with the
Divine presence; his the temple
of which God was the architect and his father
the master builder; his the unbroken priesthood
exalted to a genuine
mediatorship between God and His people; his all the costly and sacred relics
upon which the Queen of Sheba looked with amazement; about himself centred the
hope of a coming prophet
ruler; his the sole honour of continuing the royal
line.
3. He was of mature age and superior abilities.
4. He had the best material of all Israel as well. Jeroboam and his
sons had cast off the Levites from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord
and they emigrated to Jerusalem in a body
“and after them
out of all the
tribes of Israel
such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel
came
to Jerusalem
to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers.” Thus all the
land of Canaan was sifted for his benefit.
5. The very smallness of Judah was an element of strength. He could
and did intrench himself in his central fortress on Zion
and surround himself
with a chain of fortresses mutually supporting from their proximity. His people
were homogeneous
and not liable to the jealous rivalries which imperilled the
ten divisions of Israel. But alas! the example of Rehoboam reveals the
insufficiency of opportunities
however golden
to command a wise improvement.
II. His inability
to Bear prosperity. When strengthened in his little kingdom of Judah
he at
once repeated the folly which had only recently dispossessed him of the grand
unbroken empire left by Solomon. Like multitudes
before and since
he was
willing to use God’s help when in extremity
but when successful
when
apparently sailing in smooth waters
he and all Israel forsook the law of the Lord.
How inexplicable that blindness which increases with added light
that moral
and spiritual weakness which grows when supplemented with all Divine help
that
confidence in self built out of dependence and gracious gifts! Rehoboam and his
numberless imitators in all time illustrate this. Left to himself
he mars and
almost ruins the grandest schemes of infinite wisdom
and foils the gracious
designs of a long-suffering God for his own rescue and elevation.
III. Chastisement
brought partial repentance and humility. There is such a thing as “final
permanence of character
” upon which all Divine warnings or dealings are
unavailing except to harden. All moral character is voluntary
but the
absoluteness of moral inability is only the measure and result of obdurate
wilfulness. We are inclined to credit the humility of Rehoboam
because it
vindicated God in the midst of His judgments. He and his princes said
“The
Lord is righteous.” Their lips
and possibly their hearts
may have been free
from murmuring when city after city crumbled before invading hosts. Repentance
is safe to the degree in which it acknowledges and enthrones God. We cannot
omit passing mention of the superior inheritance of those who submissively
suffer. The tragedy of life comes from hopeless
helpless opposition to the
irresistible.
IV. Nevertheless
religion was not its controlling influence. Though he never quite cast off God
he “did evil because he fixed not his heart to seek the Lord.” When the service
of God dominates affections
plans
and deeds
then
and not until then
is
true and steady progress possible. There can be no harmony
no worthy
enthusiasm
nor any noble elevation to life which enthrones self. We live in a
time of special peril
because of its wealth of opportunity. Never were the
resources of the world so placed at man’s disposal. But this wealth of
opportunity brings a corresponding peril. Nothing but a heart “fixed to seek
the Lord” can withstand its temptations to indulgence
to pride of power
to
high looks and vain imaginations.
V. A change of
masters for the worse. This change of masters
and opportunity to compare their respective
service
which was thus true of Rehoboam
has a perfect parallel in the lives
of all wanderers from God. Man will have some master
and he cuts loose from
glad allegiance to God--the only true liberty--only to give servile obedience
to a tyrant. It is one of the reassuring signs of progress to-day that man as
an individual--his rights
his essential worth
and dignity--is valued and talked about more
than the collective State or nation; but danger lurks in the shadow of the
gain. That individuality is in danger of becoming overweening and imperious.
The ego may
and sometimes does
glory in a self-sufficiency that looks
almost patronisingly upon the Divine existence
or denies it altogether. Virtue
is a queen whose subjects note her faintest wish
but their service is perfect
liberty. It springs from the gladness of pure hearts
and knows no compulsion
but sweet willingness. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Established in life
An accursed word is that sometimes--“established” or
“strengthened
” or prospered
or succeeded. It was the mark of the place where
we turned hell-ward. We prayed when we were poor. We went to the sanctuary when
we were weak. Who can stand fatness
sunshine
all the year round? Where are
the rich? How delicate in health they became when their riches multiplied! How
sensitive to cold when they rolled round in gorgeous chariot drawn by prancing
and foaming steeds! How short-tempered when they became long-pursed! What a
change in their public prayers when they became the victims of social status
and reputation! (J. Parker
D.D.)
Because they had
transgressed against the Lord.--
Transgression against the Lord
See how religious the Bible is! We should now say that men are
punished because they have transgressed the laws of nature; men are suffering
because they have transgressed the laws of health; men are in great weakness
because they have tempted debility
and brought it upon themselves by neglect
or by indulgence. Even atheists have explanations. They cannot treat life as a
piece of four-square wood
the whole of which can be seen at once; even they
have laws
ministries
spectral actions
physiological explanations; it would
seem as if the Bible gathered up all these and glorified them with a Divine
name
and said
“This is the Lord’s doing.” (J. Parker
D.D.)
Verse 8
Nevertheless they shall be his servants.
Servitude or service-which
?--
I. That there are
some who have already chosen the service of the kingdoms of the countries. Some
have chosen--
1. To be the slaves of open sin.
2. To be the votaries of money-making.
3. To be lovers of fashion
lovers of society
admirers of the world.
4. To become the devotees of “culture.”
5. To be the seekers of self-righteousness.
II. Some seem to be
pining to give up the service of God
and to go to the service of the kingdoms.
Some want to change--
1. Out of sheer love of change.
2. Because of the outward aspect of the new thing.
3. Because of their loss of joy in the service of God.
4. Because of the flagging of others.
5. Because religion now has brought them to a point where it entails
some extra self-sacrifice.
III. There is a
great contrast between the service of God and any other service. The service of
God is delightful. Remember
young man
if you are about to engage in the
service of God--
1. There is nothing demanded of you that will harm you.
2. There is nothing denied you
in the service of God
that would be
a blessing to you.
3. That in the service of God strength will always be given according
to your day.
4. That there is no threat made to hang upon it.
5. All the while that you are a servant of God
you have a sweet
peace in reflecting upon what you have done.
6. There is
above all this
a hope of the eternal reward which is so
soon to come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Comparative service
It is an old failing of human nature not to know when it is well
off
and the text furnishes an illustration of that failing. There is a great
lesson here for to-day. Adam was discontented with Paradise
Israel with
Canaan
and many now are despising the goodly inheritance we have in Christ. We
are fond of comparing the service of God with alternative services
to the
disparagement of the former.
I. Compare the
faith of Christ with the faith of scepticism. I say the faith of scepticism
for the sceptic has a creed just as truly as the Christian believer has. Many
are greatly dissatisfied with the Christian revelation; they are anxious to set
it aside
to find substitutes for it. The proverb says: “The cow in the meadow
knee-deep in clover
often looks over the hedge and longs for the common.” So
many are now looking over the hedge of revelation
and longing for the bare
wastes and the wild growths of infidelity.
1. If we renounce revelation
shall we be better off intellectually?
It must be remembered that if revelation is rejected
all the dark problems of
nature
all the perplexing enigmas of human life
will still be left.
Revelation has not created the confusions
the cruelties
the calamities of the
world. You will not make a black sky blue by smashing the weather-glass; you
will not turn cruel winter into glorious summer by throwing out the
thermometer; neither will you get rid of sorrow and mystery and death by
rejecting the Bible. Can you
having rejected revelation
give that dark world
any clearer or happier interpretation?
2. If we renounce revelation
shall we be better off as pertaining to
the conscience? Take away the Bible
and conscience is left--an accusing
conscience is left. To what terrible beliefs and deeds an accusing conscience
drives men the history of paganism clearly shows. A guilty conscience built the
wicker-basket of Druidism; it doomed the children to pass through the fire to
Molech. “Yes
” you reply
“but it is impossible for these tragedies of
superstition to be repeated; Druidism
for instance
can never come back
again.” Who can say what may
or may not
come back again? Theosophy teaches
that through endless reincarnations we must be purged from our sins. Our
sorrows in this life are the results of the sins and errors of past
incarnations
and before us is a dreary vista of fresh incarnations in which we
are again to sin and suffer. It is terrible to think of the monstrous
intellectual and religious systems which must arise when men no longer know the
mercy of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The guilty conscience will not go to
sleep; it will have blood and tears.
3. If we renounce revelation
shall we be better off touching
character? If unbelief triumphed
and Christ were rejected as the pattern and
perfecter of character
would anything be gained? The whole world of thoughtful
men acknowledges the marvellous
the incomparable moral beauty of Jesus Christ.
II. Compare the
doctrine of Christ with the doctrine of the world. Thus many now are inclined
to prefer the worldly life to the Christian life. It seems so much more free.
Men feel that the Christian law retards their youth
cramps and foils their
appetites and curiosities. But is this so? “The doctrine of Jesus is hard
men
say. But how much harder
” exclaims Tolstoy
“is the doctrine of the world!”
Take its doctrine of glory. Cruel doctrine! What blood
groans
tears
it
implies! And not only on the battlefield is the doctrine of glory seen to be
merciless; it works woe in a thousand subtle ways in all spheres of human life
and action. Take its doctrine of gain. How that principle of selfishness
which
is the doctrine of the world
grinds men to powder! Take its doctrine of
fashion. What a terrible price the world exacts for its empty shows
its vain
titles
its purple and gold! Take its doctrine of pleasure. Millions have been
ruined by following in its paths of roses and music and beauty. How cruel! Ah!
the world has far more martyrs than the Church has. And what is the doctrine of
Jesus that men call hard? Instead of the doctrine of glory
He teaches the
doctrine of humility and service; for the doctrine of gain
the doctrine of
equity and love; for the doctrine of fashion
the doctrine of simplicity and
truth; for the doctrine of pleasure
the doctrine of purity and peace. Well may
Jesus dare to say
“My yoke is easy
and My burden is light.”
III. Compare the law
of Christ with the service of self-will. A man says: “I will not be restrained;
I will determine my own path
choose my own pleasures
shape my own character
be the architect of my own fortune. It shall throughout be according to my own
preferences and determinations.” Is
then
the self-willed man happy? Is he
happy as he sets himself against nature? You tell your boy not to play with
fire; but he is self-willed
and takes the opportunity to sport with matches
and gunpowder
and probably repents ever after. It does not pay to set up our
will against the grand ordinances of nature. Is the self-willed man happy as he
opposes himself to the laws and institutions of society? To outrage the judgments
the
feelings
the rights of society is to be keenly miserable. Is the self-willed
man happy within himself? You say proudly
“I am my own master.” Could you have
a worse? It is a terrible thing to setup our will against the Divine will as
that will is expressed in the physical universe
in society
or as it seeks to fulfil itself in
our personal nature and life. Self-will is captivity and ruin: loving obedience
to the will of God in Christ
with its self-control and self-denial
is health
and peace. To be His slaves is to be kings. Surrender yourselves to Him
and
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. “The service of
the kingdoms of the countries.” The Jews often heard delightful things about
this foreign service. They remembered the fish which they did eat in Egypt
freely
the cucumbers
and the melons
and the leeks
and the onions
and the
garlic. Nothing to do in Egypt but to regale themselves with piquant viands
and to stroll under the palms on the banks of the Nile. They heard of the
attractions of Babylon
of its hanging gardens
its luxuries and delights. And
the ambassadors of Sennacherib painted for them in glowing colours the life of
Assyria: “A land of corn and wine
a land of bread and vineyards.” No more
work
no more worry
no more worship. Getting away from Jerusalem
they were to
get away from temple and law
from priest and prophet
and to taste the
pleasures of an unfettered life. But did they find captivity so desirable? You
who are tempted to despise God’s Word
beware. Young men
weary of the order
and restraint of a godly home
and ever hankering after a looser life
be wise
and stay thankfully where you are. Discontented Englishmen
ever protesting
against narrowness and austerity
against Protestantism
Puritanism
and
bumbledom
and ever looking with longing eyes to laxer civilisations
be
content; subdue your murmurings and wantonness
lest God spoil you of your rich
inheritance. Discontented Christians
ever casting lingering glances at the
life you have left
be content; see to it that there is in you no evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Verse 9-10
Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass.
The downward grade
See how deterioration follows all character that goes down in its
religious aspects. This deterioration marks the whole progress of human
development. Is it not so with regard to all personal service? How ardent we
once were! How devoted to the house of God
how punctual in attendance
how
zealous in worship! How we longed for the hour of praise to double itself
that
we might have long intercourse with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost!
Now how soon we become uneasy
how we long to be released
how patience becomes
sensitive
and yields in angry surrender because too much tried! You never
bring gold for brass when you leave God. The prodigal never brings any treasure
back with him. When men go away intellectually from the Bible they bring back
brass for gold. When they leave the Bible morally they bring back brass for
gold. When they leave sympathetically they bring back artifice for inspiration
mechanics for vital communion. (J.Parker
D.D.)
Verse 12
And when he humbled himself
the wrath of the Lord turned from
him.
Prosperity
I. The place in
which there was this prosperity.
1. Things will go on well in our own country--
2. Things may be said to go on well in a Church when there is a
unanimous desire to--
II. The time when
there was this prosperity in Judah. “And when he humbled himself
” etc.
When the Church shall humble herself for her sins
she will realise an amount
of prosperity hitherto unknown.
1. Some of the sins which should induce this humiliation.
2. The character of that repentance which is necessary. It must be--
III. The
ackowledgment of this prosperity. Lessons: We may learn--
1. That one individual may be the source of incalculable good
or
incalculable evil.
2. The importance of a knowledge of history
which illustrates the
dealings of God with men.
3. The gratitude we owe to God for having given us the means of
prosperity. (H. Hollis.)
Verse 14
He prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
Rehoboam the unready
I. He did not
begin life with seeking the Lord.
II. He showed no
heart in seeking the Lord afterwards.
III. He was not
fixed and persevering seeking the Lord.
IV. He had no care
to seek the Lord thoroughly. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Rehoboam
I. Implied
obligation. To seek the Lord is the obligation of all This is suggestive--
1. Of the loss sustained. How is God lost to man? He has lost--
2. Of its retrievableness. For this purpose--
3. Of the importance of its recovery.
II. Mental
conviction. In Rehoboam we see mental conviction arising from knowledge of
duty
promptings of conscience
consciousness of guilt. This is a mental state
of frequent occurrence. It may be observed--
1. As the effect of truth. The Word of God is “a discoverer of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.” Felix. There are many Felixes.
2. As intensified by circumstances.
3. As critical in its results. How much depends on moments of conviction! They are
often the turning-points of destiny. It does not seem that Rehoboam ever paused
in his downward career from this time forward.
III. Moral
infirmity. There was want of decision in Rehoboam. He did not prepare his heart
to seek the Lord. This may be traced--
1. To sensual habits (2 Chronicles 11:18-23; 1 Kings 14:21-24).
2. To evil companionship.
3. To Satanic temptation.
IV. Accumulated
guilt. “He did evil because
” etc. This sin was parent of a host. He
sinned in this neglect of known duty
and in what resulted from it. So do all
who pursue a like course. They sin--
1. In resisting their convictions.
2. In self-depravation. “Beware lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin.”
3. The depravation of others. Through his guilty conduct the people were corrupted.
“One sinner destroyeth much good.” (S. A. Browning.)
A heart not fixed
The marginal reading is
“He fixed not his heart upon the Lord.”
This was a favourite expression of David’s. “My heart is fixed
O God
my heart
is fixed.” “His heart is fixed
trusting in the Lord.” Perhaps it was intended
to draw a contrast between the character of Rehoboam and his far worthier
ancestor. Religion is not a thing that can be taken up in a loose
careless
manner. It claims the whole purpose and energy of the heart. In the “Pilgrim’s
Progress
” Prudence wished to know from Christian how he was enabled to
overcome his temptations and to persevere in the good and holy way. Christian’s
reply was
“When I think of what I saw at the Cross
that will do it; when I
look upon my broidered coat
that will do it; when I look into the roll that I
carry in my bosom
that will do it; and when my thoughts wax warm about whither
I am going
that will do it.” I cannot do better than follow in the line of the
great dreamer’s allegory.
I. The first
condition of a fixed heart is a sight of the Cross. The world’s religion ends
with forgiveness; God’s religion begins with it. There is nothing that imparts
such solidity to character
and such strength and dignity to life
as conscious
peace with Heaven.
II. The next thing
is to look upon your “broidered coat”--the righteousness that is “unto all and
upon all them that believe.”
III. Bunyan’s
pilgrim looked also oftentimes into the roll which he carried in his bosom.
Habitual study of the Bible is indispensable to a healthy condition of the soul.
McCheyne would not speak to any one in the morning till he had first of all
heard the voice of God. It gives a tone to the whole day
when we begin the day
with Him.
IV. “when his
thoughts waxed warm about whither he was going
” that gave fixedness to
Christian’s heart. You may be none the less shrewd as to the interests of time
because you are wise as to the concerns of eternity; like a trusty pilot
who
though his eyes are on the stars
keeps his hand upon the helm. (J. T.
Davidson
D.D.)
True and false seeking
I. There is what
one may call natural seeking. Seeking is the language of human want. The
cravings of life will always demand attention. All the industries of the world
with their ten thousand beneficent developments
are the products of human
wisdom to supply human wants. Human life is but a seeking in so many ways
from
the cradle to the grave.
II. Seeking the
Lord. This is not born of nature
but of grace. Seeking the Lord implies a
conscious sense of weakness and insufficiency.
III. Heart preparation.
All true and successful seeking of the Lord comes of prepared hearts. The heart
is always the part that makes our hearing
believing
praying
and doing right
or wrong. As soon as the sun rises in the morning the birds are ready to go
forth from their nests to sing. So it is with all the moral forces or faculties
of the soul when the heart is prepared to seek the Lord. The heart is to the whole man what the
main-spring is to the watch--it sets all the other powers in motion. “But as
the bowl
” says one
“runs as the bias inclines it
and as the ship moves as
the rudder steers it
” so man seeks as the heart prompts him. A prepared heart
is a loving heart
“believing true and clean.” It enters into the secret place
of the Most High as a loving child enters into his father’s home. Whence cometh
this preparation? There must be some efficient cause to account for the
differences we see among men. The difference between the common field and the
garden to-day has been brought about by the application of human thought and
manual skill. It is even so with respect to differences among men. As the
garden did not enclose itself
or of itself become more fertile than the field
neither have men become different among their fellows or before God except by
different resolutions of will and energy of character. Those who exercise no
forethought or natural sagacity become as the man who built his house upon the
sand.
IV. The evil of
neglecting to prepare the heart. Men may do evil by failing to do well. Mere
neglect is sufficient to ruin a man. A man need not be openly profane or wicked
to be excluded from God’s presence; he has but to neglect the means of grace
or to prepare his heart to seek the Lord while He may be found
to call upon
Him while He is near. (John Kerr Campbell
D.D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》