Forsaking God by an Unprepared Heart

2 Chronicles 12:1-16 

    1 Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. 2 And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.

    5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the LORD: 'You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.'"

    6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, "The LORD is righteous."  7 Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations."

    9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king's house. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. 12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.

    13 Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

    15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.

Preparations of the heart to seek and follow the LORD are key.  Rehoboam allowed pride in his position as king to rely on his own strength (forgetting that all was a enabling gift of God), and so he discarded the LORD and his reliance on Him.  He left following God’s word, which was the trust and obedience of a follower who worshipped and honored the only one worthy of praise and devotion.  All the nation of God’s people under him followed the bad example as well, bringing judgment upon Israel for their unfaithfulness.  The LORD sent a divine messenger to pronounce His wrath which they had earned, but the leaders and king humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God.  Their sentence of annihilation was reduced to servitude.  God did this that they would learn the difference between serving a ruler in the world from the Ruler of the world.  This humility kept the wrath of God at bay to keep destruction from being justifiably meted out on their unfaithfulness and disbelief.  In the end, however, Rehoboam did evil in not making his heart ready for the LORD, missing the preparations and continued faithfulness to trust and obey before the situation arose of success and the resulting arrogance of pride.  The wars with Judah continued, the infighting of God’s chosen people fueled by a lack of heart preparations.  They abandoned God by an unprepared heart, lacking a heart ready to do as God says, no matter the circumstances.  We also should count the cost (Luke 14:28) and follow our Lord with a devoted heart prepared (2 Timothy 2:21) to serve Him at all costs .  The alternative is serving the world and missing the grace and fellowship of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We do this by the word of God, prayer, fellowship with accountability (Hebrews 10:24-25), and a mind set on devoted action and response in all circumstances (Galatians 6:7-9), knowing the consequences of our rebellious nature in us all from the original sin of disobedience and disbelief (Hebrews 3:12) from the beginning of time in the Garden.  May we prepare and keep our heart as Proverbs 4:23 reminds us!