Mon.’s Devo - God's Great Love

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:26-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29 Rehoboam came back to Jerusalem and mobilized his army to fight Jeroboam and restore his kingdom. The prophet, Shemaiah came and gave him a message from God. He told him not to fight Jeroboam because this was His will. So, Rehoboam obeyed and went back home and fortified his towns in defense of Judah. He equipped the fortified cities with weapons. ***All the priests and Levites in Israel sided with Rehoboam so they all moved to Judah and Benjamin to serve at the Temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam had refused to let the priests in his land serve as priests. He appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines he set up all over Israel. They worshipped gods of calfs and goats which is Baal. The people who wanted to serve the Lord followed the priests and moved to Jerusalem strengthening the kingdom of Judah. Rehoboam faithfully followed the Lord for three years. *** He married his cousin Mahalath which means “making sick” and Maacah which means “pressure”. Rehoboam had other wives and concubines but he loved Maacah the most. He elevated one of her sons, Abidjan as the leader of his other children even though he was not the first born. He wisely gave all his sons positions in the fortified towns and paid them a generous salary keeping peace in the family *** But once Rehoboam was secure in his kingship he abandoned the Lord like Israel had, to worship idols and false gods. Because of their unfaithfulness to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came and attacked Jerusalem. He conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then went to attack Jerusalem. Shemaiah went a met with Rehoboam and his sons who had fled to Jerusalem. He told them that this happened because they abandoned Him. The king and his leaders humbled themselves and repented. When God saw their hearts had changed, he sent word that he would not completely destroy them but would still use Shishak to rule over them so they could see the difference between serving Him and serving earthly rulers. *** According to the word of the Lord, Shishak came and took all the treasury and the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields to protect him when he went to the temple to worship. *** The Egyptians eventually left them and Rehoboam ruled in Jerusalem for 17 years. God called him an evil king. He was constantly at war with Jeroboam and when Rehoboam died at 41 his son Abidjan became king. *** Jeroboam came up against Jerusalem with twice as many soldiers. Abidjan stood up and defended Judah telling the men of Israel how they in Judah worshiped the Lord as he instructed. Israel was led by a mere servant of Solomon’s that had rebelled against his master (speaking of Jeroboam). In Israel, they didn’t obey the Lord in anything they did so how did they think they could win against the Lord. *** While Abidjan was speaking, Jeroboam’s army was stationing some of their troops behind Jerusalem so they were now surrounded. When Abidjah realized what he had done, they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew the trumpets and the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel. They fled from Judah and lost 500,000 of their 800,000 men. Judah’s army captured some the their towns and Jeroboam never regained his power during Abidjan’s lifetime. God finally killed Jeroboam. Meanwhile, Abidjan continued to gain power. He married 14 wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters. *** In Romans, Paul explained how the Holy Spirit prays through us the prayers we need to pray. He does this when we groan and pray in tongues. As his children we have the right to stand with him and share in his glory. God is with us and will give us everything. He proved that by giving us his son Jesus to die and be raised to life for us. *** The calamity and persecution and troubles we go through on the earth do not show that God doesn’t love us because Christ went through all these things before us. Nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing the devil throws at us can take away God’s love for us. *** God, your love is the greatest gift. You proved it at the cross and the tomb. Thank you for giving us your Spirit that we might participate with you in your work in heaven and on the earth.