CHAPTER 12 Oct. 20 
The Invasion of Shishak
When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he had made himself strong, he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him. 2It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Yahweh, 3with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. The people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4He took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah and came to Jerusalem. 5Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says Yahweh, You have forsaken Me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, Yahweh is righteous. 7When Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves. 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. 8Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house. He took it all away. He also took away the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 10King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard who kept the door of the king’s house. 11It was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Yahweh, the guard came and carried them back into the guard room. 12When he humbled himself, the wrath of Yahweh turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether. Moreover, in Judah there were good things found. 13So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 14He did that which was evil, because he didn’t set his heart to seek Yahweh. 15Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, aren’t they written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the way of genealogies? There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David; and Abijah his son reigned in his place.

Commentary

12:1 Made himself strong- The Hebrew word translated “strong” is hezek. Good king Hezekiah had the same word within his name, but with ‘Yah’ added on the end- ‘the one made strong by Yah’. Human strength and prowess is the very opposite to God’s strength. We wonder why we don’t always have all we want- wealth, health, acceptance, good relationships, praise of men, nice homes and vehicles... but it’s not surprising really, because human strength nearly always leads us away from God. 
12:6 Yahweh is righteous- Repentance involves not only a recognition of our wrongness, but of God’s rightness. See on 6:24.
12:8 They shall be his servants, that they may know My service- Sometimes God teaches us how to relate to Him by putting us in situations where we simply have to be obedient to some human entity or person. In this way we can serve our worldly masters in our employment as if we are serving Christ (Col. 3:22-24; it seems Paul there is alluding to the LXX here).