Reading through 2 Chronicles, I came across this passage: I will grant them (Judah) some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak (King of Egypt).
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
This was in the time of Rehoboam, son of Solomon. An earlier passage says that Rehoboam forsook the Lord and all the people with him. A leader kind of sets the tone for the country, so it isn't surprising that Israel began to drift. After all, Rehoboam's father, Solomon, had worshiped the gods of his many wives and already set the course of Israel on a downward path.
So here's Shishak, the mighty king of Egypt, coming against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Looks pretty bleak.
Then God sends a prophet, Shemaiah. He has one message: You left God, now God's leaving you -- in the hands of Shishak.
Suddenly the people get it. They must have looked up, seen that all the walled cities of Israel between Egypt and Jerusalem had fallen, probably seen the smoke of burning villages and the dust of all those horses' hooves and understood that forsaking the Lord wasn't really the best lifestyle choice.
Second Chronicles says they humbled themselves. It is immediate. Right after the prophet's message, and it rarely seems to happen that way, but this time it did.
So God sends Shemaiah with a new message: They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance.
Some deliverance, but not complete deliverance. Shishak ends up taking all the gold stuff from the temple. The temple wasn't that old. Rehoboam's father had made it, so there was a shining moment of glory and then a steady deterioration.
Though God was pleased with Judah's and Rehoboam's ability to become humble, they still needed to learn something. They had to learn the difference between serving God and serving anything else. I guess it takes servitude to learn that lesson.
Shishak took all the gold, and Rehoboam replaced it with brass. He made replicas. It still looked pretty good. Not gold, but hey, who's gonna know? It still shines.
I feel like Rehoboam whenever I fake it. When my prayer life goes on the skids or I've fallen behind in my Bible reading or I've let my service to God become service to self. It's brass, not gold. Pretty soon it's aluminum, not brass. Before long it's something cheap and plastic and made in China.
That they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
My service. God's service. His service is light. His service is full of joy. Remember the joy of Solomon's first sacrifice in the temple? The singers and players? The priests decked out in their clean, neat, linen? You read about the new temple and the joy of serving God there.
Then you think of the Molech and Baal crowds and the absolutely disgusting practices of the countries around them. What degradation! To serve God in joy? Or to serve surrounding countries in all their horror? What a choice!
To know the difference He sometimes seems to let us fall into the service of other countries, other gods, if we're headed that direction. His burden is light. His burden is joy, life, creation, celebration. Why would we ever want anything else?
Donna M.
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
This was in the time of Rehoboam, son of Solomon. An earlier passage says that Rehoboam forsook the Lord and all the people with him. A leader kind of sets the tone for the country, so it isn't surprising that Israel began to drift. After all, Rehoboam's father, Solomon, had worshiped the gods of his many wives and already set the course of Israel on a downward path.
So here's Shishak, the mighty king of Egypt, coming against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Looks pretty bleak.
Then God sends a prophet, Shemaiah. He has one message: You left God, now God's leaving you -- in the hands of Shishak.
Suddenly the people get it. They must have looked up, seen that all the walled cities of Israel between Egypt and Jerusalem had fallen, probably seen the smoke of burning villages and the dust of all those horses' hooves and understood that forsaking the Lord wasn't really the best lifestyle choice.
Second Chronicles says they humbled themselves. It is immediate. Right after the prophet's message, and it rarely seems to happen that way, but this time it did.
So God sends Shemaiah with a new message: They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance.
Some deliverance, but not complete deliverance. Shishak ends up taking all the gold stuff from the temple. The temple wasn't that old. Rehoboam's father had made it, so there was a shining moment of glory and then a steady deterioration.
Though God was pleased with Judah's and Rehoboam's ability to become humble, they still needed to learn something. They had to learn the difference between serving God and serving anything else. I guess it takes servitude to learn that lesson.
Shishak took all the gold, and Rehoboam replaced it with brass. He made replicas. It still looked pretty good. Not gold, but hey, who's gonna know? It still shines.
I feel like Rehoboam whenever I fake it. When my prayer life goes on the skids or I've fallen behind in my Bible reading or I've let my service to God become service to self. It's brass, not gold. Pretty soon it's aluminum, not brass. Before long it's something cheap and plastic and made in China.
That they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
My service. God's service. His service is light. His service is full of joy. Remember the joy of Solomon's first sacrifice in the temple? The singers and players? The priests decked out in their clean, neat, linen? You read about the new temple and the joy of serving God there.
Then you think of the Molech and Baal crowds and the absolutely disgusting practices of the countries around them. What degradation! To serve God in joy? Or to serve surrounding countries in all their horror? What a choice!
To know the difference He sometimes seems to let us fall into the service of other countries, other gods, if we're headed that direction. His burden is light. His burden is joy, life, creation, celebration. Why would we ever want anything else?
Donna M.