2 Chronicles 12:1-5: a reflection

1When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the LORD’s law, and all Israel with him. 2In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against the LORD, 3with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. The people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians. 4He took the fortified cities which belonged to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 5Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “The LORD says, ‘You have forsaken me, therefore I have also left you in the hand of Shishak.’”

The passage tells the story of King Rehoboam in a single sober sentence: When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. It was precisely when he became established and strong that he forsook God. His strength and success, rather than making him grateful and faithful, led him to abandon the God who had given them. And judgment followed, in the form of an invasion, with God's word: You have forsaken me, so I have left you.

Notice the danger the passage exposes: that strength and success can lead us to forsake God. It was when Rehoboam became strong and established, secure in his success, that he abandoned God's law. The very prosperity that should have made him grateful and dependent instead made him self-sufficient and forgetful; feeling strong, he no longer felt his need of God, and forsook him. Strength and success became, for Rehoboam, a spiritual danger, leading him away from God rather than toward him.

That danger is one we share, for success and strength can have the same effect on us. When we are weak and in need, we often cling to God; but when we become strong, successful, established, secure, we can grow self-sufficient and forgetful, feeling less need of God, and drifting from him. The very prosperity that should make us grateful can make us forget the God who gave it. Take care, then, in times of strength and success, that you do not, like Rehoboam, forsake God. Let your strength and success make you more grateful and dependent, not less; guard against the self-sufficiency that success can breed, and the forgetfulness of God that comes with feeling strong. It was when Rehoboam became strong that he abandoned God; do not let your own strength and success lead you away from God, but hold to him all the more, remembering that your strength is his gift, and your need of him remains, however established and strong you become.

Lord, the passage tells Rehoboam's story in a sober sentence: when his kingdom was established and he was strong, he abandoned your law; it was precisely when he became strong that he forsook you. Show me the danger it exposes: that strength and success can lead me to forsake you. The very prosperity that should have made Rehoboam grateful and dependent instead made him self-sufficient and forgetful; feeling strong, he no longer felt his need of you, and forsook you. That danger I share, for success and strength can have the same effect on me. When I am weak and in need, I often cling to you; but when I become strong, successful, established, secure, I can grow self-sufficient and forgetful, feeling less need of you, and drifting from you. Help me take care, in times of strength and success, that I do not, like Rehoboam, forsake you. Let my strength and success make me more grateful and dependent, not less; guard me against the self-sufficiency that success can breed, and the forgetfulness of you that comes with feeling strong. It was when Rehoboam became strong that he abandoned you; do not let my own strength and success lead me away from you, Lord, but help me hold to you all the more, remembering that my strength is your gift, and my need of you remains.