Settling for Second Best

2 Chronicles 12:1-2,9: "After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam . . . . When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made."

In order that we might better appreciate the magnitude of the losses to Rehoboam, the royal heir to King Solomon, we need only to look at what Solomon had amassed during his forty year reign. God was faithful to His promise to Solomon that He would give him riches and honor so that in his lifetime he would "have no equal among kings" (1 Kings 3:13). Solomon's accumulated wealth was quite vast; each year, the king would receive 25 tons of gold, not including over revenues from merchants, traders, and conquered nations. So impressive was the royal display that the Queen of Sheba, upon her visit to the King of Israel, was quite overwhelmed and exclaimed, "in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard." What is sobering in examining the degree of royal affluence is that Solomon had no use for silver, for it was considered of little value to the king (I Kings 10:21). Only the finest gold, cedar, and ivory in the region were used in the construction of the king's palace and his decorative furniture. Of particular note were the 200 large golden shields and 300 smaller golden shields that adorned the halls of the King's Place at the Forest of Lebanon. Each of these shields were made of 7.5 pounds and 3.75 pounds of hammered gold respectively. At the end of the hall, Solomon constructed a throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. Lions were crafted at either side of the armrests and on either side of each of the six steps leading to the throne. Even the footstool was made of pure gold. It is safe to say that the king's palace was quite an impressive sight. In 24 years since the original promise from the LORD that Solomon would prosper, the king would find himself with "greater riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth" (1 Kings 10:23).

After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam was crowned king, and he ruled over Judah for 17 years. Early in his reign, Rehoboam committed himself to strengthening his kingdom by fortifying his defenses. The king placed weapons in all of his cities, and he dispersed his sons throughout his kingdom, in order that he might assure faithful commitment from his subjects. Within 5 years, Rehoboam seemingly had secured his kingdom to the point that he believed himself self-sufficient and no longer in need of the One True God. Quickly and rather flagrantly he and his subjects began to defy the law of the Lord. So brazen did the people become, that they would worship false gods and goddesses on mountaintops and would participate in grossly immoral practices in public. The people of Judah had reached a point that they were not ashamed of their rebellion against the Lord; they were willing to flaunt their wickedness openly as an act of open defiance against the Lord who had blessed them under Solomon's reign.

Of course, God would not be mocked by such recalcitrance. He raised up a pagan king, Shishak of Egypt, to invade the Judean territory, just 5 years after Solomon passed on his magnificent realm to his son. When the Egyptian armies entered the Palestinian region, they took everything of value from the Israelites, including the golden shields that adorned the king's palace. When the dust settled from the invasion, and the enemy returned to Egypt with the spoils of war, Rehoboam was left with none of the ornate regalia that his father had amassed. The king tried to salvage some respect from his subjects by re-crafting shields for his palace, but this time they were made of bronze instead of gold. Whereas it may have been an impressive display, it was nothing compared to the once great palace of gold. The tragedy in this story was that the king thought himself so great that he did not need the Lord; and as a result of Rehoboam's rebellion, the Lord removed His blessing so that the king would have to settle for second best.

There is a good word for us in this passage, namely that we should never think ourselves above the Lord. When we start to act in a way that defies the Sovereignty of God, we can expect that He will withdraw any blessing that He may have afforded to us in the days of our obedience to Him. Anytime we begin to worship our sinful appetites over the One True God, our idolatry will be judged by His Righteous Right as King of Kings. In the end, we will see that our rebellion will bring the loss of God's best for our lives; and we may find ourselves staring at second best as a result of such sin. What we must do is determine in our hearts to renounce any sin of rebellion against God's Sovereignty and follow Him obediently as Lord. When we do so, we can expect that the showers of blessing from the Lord will be poured upon us.