As a result of King Rehoboam’s unfaithfulness to the Lord, Shishak the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. King Rehoboam and the leaders of Jerusalem humbled themselves and God chose not to destroy them and give them deliverance from death.
However, as the passage unfolds, we learn a valuable lesson here:
Consequences linger long after repentance is sought and received!
Read the passage for yourself …
“The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lordis just.” When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.” When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lordand the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.” (2 Chronicles 12:6–12, NIV)
