The 19th-century English preacher Charles Spurgeon once commented that we need grace to enable us to respond rightly to grace. Today’s text, a story of blessing lost and partially restored, illustrates this point.

Rehoboam gathers the forces of Judah and Benjamin, aiming to regain control of the other tribes. But they receive a prophecy: do not fight against your fellow Israelites; do not resist what God has brought about. Rehoboam’s men obey the prophetic word and turn back (2 Chronicles 11:1–4).

Note how the prophet addresses Rehoboam as “king of Judah” and speaks of “all Israel in Judah and Benjamin” (v. 3). The Chronicler himself speaks of the “kingdom of Judah” (v. 17)—what we have previously referred to as the Southern Kingdom.

Rehoboam now rules over a reduced kingdom. But he is determined to hold on to what remains, and fortifies cities across Judah and Benjamin (vv. 5–12). Priests and Levites arrive from all over Israel, rejecting Jeroboam’s corrupt worship (vv. 13–15). Other Israelites committed to worshipping the Lord in Jerusalem join the kingdom of Judah (vv. 16–17). Rehoboam fathers many children: he designates one son as his successor and gives other sons key posts in the fortified cities. In all this he acts wisely (vv. 18–23).

But strength leads to foolish over-confidence: Rehoboam and his people abandon the law of the Lord (12:1). Within a year, Pharaoh Shishak invades with a huge army; the fortified cities prove to be no defence when Judah abandons God (vv. 2–4). Again there is a prophetic word: “You have abandoned me . . . I now abandon you to Shishak” (v. 5). Unfaithfulness brings disaster.

Rehoboam and Israel’s leaders humble themselves, and God promises to deliver them (vv. 6–7; see 7:14). But first they must experience what happens to those who put themselves outside the Lord’s protection and under human rule. Shishak plunders Jerusalem and Solomon’s gold shields go, replaced with bronze shields (12:8–11)— a symbol of the lost glory of Solomon’s kingdom.

But destruction has been avoided. “There was some good in Judah” (v. 12), the Chronicler notes. Jerusalem remains the place where God has chosen to put His name, and Rehoboam rules there for 17 years, in spite of his failings (vv. 13–14). When he dies, Abijah succeeds him. David’s line continues to the next generation. The Chronicler’s hearers might have reflected on their relatively secure position under Persian rule. Like Rehoboam’s generation, they were where they were partly as a result of sin, but also because of God’s mercy in preserving His people.

Note how the Chronicler mentions Jeroboam’s kingdom (the Northern Kingdom) only when its history impinges on Judah’s; he effectively writes it out of his account, denying it any legitimacy. But when individual Israelites from the northern tribes who are committed to the Lord join the kingdom of Judah (11:13–16), he notes the fact. For the Chronicler, Israel is a 12-tribe, not a three-tribe, entity.

See also 1 Kings 12:26–33; 14:21–31.