Teaching Notes

TH1060: II CHRONICLES

As we move into II Chronicles chapter 12, we have seen the nation of Israel divided. Rehoboam is king over the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Jeroboam is king over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This division came about because Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, refused to give the people some needed tax relief, to ease up on them. Instead he told them he would be even harder on them. So the 10 tribes broke away from Rehoboam and placed Jeroboam as their king.

We are told that the first 3 years of his reign, Rehoboam "walked in the way of David and Solomon." Because of that the Southern Kingdom was strengthened. Tragically only 3 of his 17 years as king did he look to the Lord. That is where we will pick up our story this evening, as we continue our study in II Chronicles chapter 12.

II CHRONICLES 12

VERSE 1

1. Notice that when Rehoboam started out, young and inexperienced, he looked to the Lord for help. He wasn't a godly man but as he took over the kingdom the nation was divided and he needed all the help he could get. In difficult times, during times when we feel totally unqualified, we tend to look upward. But like Rehoboam, after we establish ourselves, have some experience under our belts, we don't look up any longer, but to ourselves. Rehoboam "strengthened himself", his kingdom was secure, he felt in control, and he turned from the Lord. He allowed his success to deteriorate to pride and self-reliance. And as we have said before, as the leaders go, so goes the nation. The Southern Kingdom followed after their king, who forsook the Lord.

VERSES 2-4

1. God brings judgment upon Rehoboam and the Southern Kingdom of Judah because they turned away from the Lord. When they looked to the Lord the kingdom was strengthened, but now, because they have forsaken the Lord, the kingdom will be weakened.

VERSES 5-6

1. You have to give them credit here. This prophet of God, Shemaiah, comes to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah and tells them the reason God's judgment has come upon them is because they have turned away from the Lord, it was their own fault! And the king and his leaders recognize their failure and see the righteousness of God.

2. When we find ourselves in sin, backsliding, and someone comes up to us and tries to get us to see our error, help us to get back on track, we tend to become angry with them. We don't want to hear what they have to say. Then, as we reap the consequences of our sin we become angry with God, we blame Him for what is happening to us. God is not unfair or unrighteous. We need to do like Rehoboam, humble ourselves before God, confess our sin, and turn back to Him.

VERSE 7

1. Notice that God was waiting with His forgiveness and as soon as they humbled themselves before Him, repented of their sin, He forgave them.

VERSE 8

1. This is interesting to me. God is not going to allow Egypt to wipe Judah out, but He is going to allow them to oppress Judah. Why would He do that? I think God was trying to show them that serving Him is far better than serving earthly kings. You see the contrast that is placed before them, a holy and merciful God versus a wicked and cruel earthly king.

2. We tend to think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and it may be true at times, but as one man put it, their water bill is a lot higher! Think about it this way, do we need anything else but the Lord? If we serve anyone else the cost is a lot higher and what you get back will perish or fade away. Before we were saved we served Satan, and talk about being in bondage. I do understand that many people would not agree with that, they would never serve Satan. But if you are not serving the Lord, then you are serving Satan! When we came to Christ, accepted that free gift of salvation, no longer were we in bondage, but free in Christ. Now tell me, who do you really want to serve?

VERSES 9-11

1. Back in 1939, archeologists discovered in Egypt the account of this event. We are told that they took 169 of the cities in Judah and plunder the wealth of the nation. The Sarcophagus of this king was silver and plated with gold. This could have been the gold he took from Jerusalem.

2. Remember Solomon made 200 large shields and 300 smaller shields of gold, and placed them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Now Shishak takes these shields and Rehoboam makes bronze shields to replace the gold ones that were taken. Now bronze is worthless, but you could polish it up and make it shinny so that from a distance it may give the appearance of gold. And he goes through all the motions, making it look like nothing has happened, and yet it was worthless and their activity was empty. Many today do like Rehoboam did. They polish up their flesh, they go through all the religious activities, all the motions, but they are worthless and are empty. You can fake a relationship with the Lord, and fool some people, but you can't fool God.

VERSES 12-14

1. Why did Rehoboam do evil before the Lord? Because "He did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord." God wants us to have a fixed heart. You see, you have to decide what is the most important thing, what the most precious thing in your life is. Is it the Lord or is it material possessions, whatever they may be? And you need to be honest, God knows your heart. Rehoboam's heart was not fixed on the Lord, and thus the fruit of his life was evil. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

2. Listen to how Moses prepared his heart before the Lord in Hebrews 11:24-26. And remember that Moses could have had it all, he was next in line to rule Egypt. We read "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward." Moses did not focus on the earthly riches, the material possessions, which he called temporary. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:26 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Today many have sold their souls for nothing and they have lost everything!

VERSES 15-16

1. Remember that Rehoboam was preparing Abijah, or Abijam in I Kings chapter 15, for the throne. Now he has replaced his father as king.

II CHRONICLES 13

VERSES 1-3

1. Here we see war about to break out between the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel. But Abijah, king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, was outnumbered 2 to 1. And that is a big disadvantage. So Abijah is going to try and talk his way out of this battle, explaining that David and his descendants have the right to the throne and Jeroboam doesn't. He speaks very boldly, as we shall see, and I think it is because he knows that what he is saying is what God has already promised.

VERSES 4-5

1. Abijah is saying that God has established the house of David to rule over the nation, and no other dynasty shall rule. This covenant of salt spoke of preservation, and thus, the dynasty of David was not to end.

VERSES 6-8

1. Here Abijah blasts Jeroboam and his men. He says that you took advantage of my father Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced. You gathered worthless men around you. And now you are leading the people into idolatry. Remember that Jeroboam set up calf worship by placing a golden calf in the south, in Bethel, and in the north, in Dan, so the people could worship God by. And now you have brought these idols with you into battle with your great multitude to fight against the kingdom of the Lord.

VERSE 9

1. Jeroboam fired all the priests and made for himself his own priesthood. Anyone could become a priest, all you needed was a young bull and seven rams. The ministry was for sale. When you can buy into a ministry position, it will only be a disaster. Ministry is not for sale but it is given to us by God - you can't buy it! And all we do when we place someone in ministry is acknowledge what God has already done in their life as evident by the fruit in their life.

VERSES 10-12

1. Abijah is telling them that they have not forsaken God, that their priests were of the lineage of Levite, and they are doing those things that God has told them to do. On the other hand, you are not!

2. Isaiah 45:9 says "Woe to him who strives with his Maker!.." You can try all you want and fight against the will of God, but you won't be successful. You will only be frustrated and discouraged. But when you don't strive against the will of God, you will find peace and comfort, you will find true joy. Why are so many people struggling today, in therapy and unhappy with life? Because they are striving with their Maker!

VERSES 13-14

1. Now as Abijah is giving them this lecture, while he is rebuking them, the enemy has encircled Abijah and his men. Now, not only are they outnumbered, but the enemy is all around them. They are in a hopeless situation. Did they become depressed or run for their lives? No, they cried out to the Lord. To often that is the last thing we do, when it should be the first!

VERSES 15-17

1. Over half of Jeroboam's men are killed by the smaller army of Judah. You see, God gave the Southern Kingdom of Judah the victory.

VERSE 18

1. Here is an important principle that we see throughout the Scriptures. The battle is never ours, it is always the Lords. Remember the night before Joshua and the children of Israel were about to have their encounter with the enemy in the land of Canaan, they were going against the mighty fortress of Jericho. And Joshua was out walking, looking at this city, pondering the battle that was quickly coming. And in Joshua 5:13-15 we read "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are You for us or for our adversaries?' So He said, 'No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, and said to Him, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?' Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.' And Joshua did so." God is the commander of the army, thus, as the enemy surrounds us, we can trust in Him, and walk by faith, and not tremble in fear.

VERSES 19-22

1. God gave Judah the victory and strengthened them.

II CHRONICLES 14

VERSES 1-2

1. Asa was one of the few Godly kings that the Southern Kingdom of Judah had. He brought reform to the land.

2. It says of Asa that he "did what was good and right." Let me ask you this, "Can you do something good and yet wrong?" Yes you can, for there are many good things you can do with the wrong motives. For example the Pharisees, they fasted and prayed, both good things, and yet they did them in such a way to draw attention to themselves. A good thing, wrong motive. God does not want our life filled with hypocrisy, He does want us to do what is GOOD and RIGHT!

VERSES 3-5

1. Again, Asa brought spiritual reform to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, destroyed the worship of foreign gods, and followed after the Lord. But, like many spiritual revivals, it did not go far enough. We have seen this with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, it was needed and yet it too did not go far enough.

VERSES 6-7

1. When did Asa fortify the cities of Judah? When the land had rest, during times of peace. Asa was fortifying his cities in those 10 years of peace so when the enemy came against them, they were prepared. What happens to us during times of peace is we get lazy and comfortable. We don't prepare for the battles. During those times of peace we should be developing a strong devotional life, spend time with the Lord, spend time in the word, in prayer, so you are ready when the enemy comes against you.

VERSES 8-10

1. This is what Asa was preparing for, and the enemy far outnumbered them. They were outnumbered around 2 to 1, and now it was time to put into practice that which he had learned during those times of peace, those 10 years where they had rest from their enemies.

VERSE 11

1. As you see the cry of Asa, you also see a man who had a right perspective on the situation. He realized that God does not need a whole army to win, and thus, Asa is able to rest in that truth. You see, the battle is the Lord's and not ours. And the reason Asa was at peace was he knew God. We can only know God through His word, and as we know Him we can rest in Him. As Paul said in Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

VERSES 12-15

1. Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah come home victorious in this battle against the Ethiopians. They must have been on a spiritual high, nothing could stop them now. This is the place we need to be careful, for it is after the victory we can easily take our eyes off the Lord.

2. Judah had no more battles with Egypt until Josiah meet Pharaoh Neco in 609 BC.

II CHRONICLES 15

VERSES 1-2

1. This prophet of God, Azariah, comes to Asa after this great victory and tells him to continue walking with the Lord, for if you don't, He will forsake you. Now for Asa, and most if not all of us, that would be the farthest thing from our mind. "Of course we are going to follow after you Lord, what in the world are you talking about?" Let me say this, if God takes the time to warn you about something, you would be wise to listen! To many times we think we know more than God knows, and we quickly come to find out we were wrong.

VERSES 3-6

1. Here Azariah re-caps their history. He is telling Asa that before there were priests, before there was the law, God was the one who was still faithful even though His people were not. It is as Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:22-23, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

VERSE 7

1. Azariah is encouraging Asa to continue in the work. Don't give up even though others have failed before you. As Paul said in I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Don't give up, even though the work may be difficult and seem unrewarding, for God will reward you, and your labor is not in vain, even though you may not see immediate results.

VERSES 8-9

1. As word spread to the Northern Kingdom of Israel about the spiritual reform in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and how God was blessing Asa, many came down to Judah to reap some of those blessings.

VERSES 10-12

1. This is exciting to me, the nation comes together and they make a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart. How awesome that would be if this nation did that.

VERSE 13

1. They had good intentions, seeking the Lord as a nation, but they went to far when they put to death those who refused to turn to God. You can't legislate a love for God or force people to love God. What happens if you threaten people like this is that they will say they love the Lord to protect themselves when they really don't mean it. You can't force anyone to love God nor can you legislate a love for God. It is not a matter of the law but a matter of the heart!

VERSES 14-15

1. The people came before the Lord in prayer and worship not because they had to, but they had the desire to. It flowed from their lives.

VERSE 16

1. Asa removes either his mother or his grandmother from office because of her idolatry. And I'm sure that it was not an easy thing to do, I'm sure he felt a lot of pressure from his family not to do this, but his first loyalty was with the Lord. Thus, family, friends, were not given any special treatment.

VERSES 17-19

1. Again Asa and the nation had a time of peace, a time to rebuild, to grow and prepare for the coming battles. But just because he did right the first time, doesn't mean he is going to continue down that path. Asa was a man, a man just like us, and he faced challenges to his faith. He blew it from time to time, just as we do, but God does not give up, He is still working with us, molding and shaping us into the men and women He wants us to be.