King Rehoboam

In my Old Testament reading I am in the book of 2 Chronicles.  Today I was reading in chapter 12 and came across the story of King Rehoboam.  He was the son of Soloman and the grandson of David.  With a lineage like that you would think he would automatically inherit success, but along the way he made quite a few mistakes that caused him to fall out of the favor of the Lord.

His first pitfall was rejecting the council of older men (in 10:8) and instead consulting with younger men who had grown up with him. Dispite this he still became strong and established a great kingdom. The most profound thing to me about Rehoboams story though was found in the beginning of chapter 12. It says when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. (12:1)
This verse reminded me of my post yesterday!  Isn't it funny that right when he was strong (obviously in his OWN strength!) he became prideful and abandoned the Law of the Lord!  Not only did he fall into sin but he caused all the people of Israel to follow in his sin! And just as the verse I wrote about yesterday says:  Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.  And sure enough:   Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. (12:2)  But here comes the great part:  Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. (12:12)  Whooooo hooo!!!  Praise God for his loving MERCY!!! Because Rehoboam humbled himself...that is the part of this verse that I love the most.  Another lesson to me today about the importance of being humble!!