A Devotional Thought From 2 Chronicles And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 2 Chronicles 36:15 It was a bad time in history for the ancient people of God. A good king, a man of faith, had died, and he was followed in quick succession by three bad kings. And, the religious leaders and people of the land were involved in religious evil as well. In response God sent messengers to them, prophets, preachers, obviously to speak up and call them out for their sins. “What you are doing is wrong. Turn from your sins. Change your dreadful behaviors.” People don’t like to hear such preaching. Some repent, but many rebel against it. Many attack the preacher of righteousness. “Don’t tell us what we can and cannot do. How intolerant. Speaking against sin is the real sin. Let us alone.” They consider it an intrusion on their lives. God wouldn’t call what we do a sin. But notice what the verse (2 Chronicles36:15) says. God did this, He sent His preachers of righteousness, “because he had compassion on his people.” God knew that they were headed for a cliff, for judgment, and because He had compassion, because He loved them, He sent the prophets to call them out of sin. Here’s how they reacted. 2 Chronicles 36:16: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Rejecting righteousness, and choosing sin, is a foolish choice.

A Devotional Thought From 2 Chronicles And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD. With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 12:1-4 Two salient ideas are central to this piece of history. 1. When Rehoboam had established and strengthened his government, he and his people “forsook the law of the LORD.” They stopped obeying God’s rules. They chose to do things that were wrong. We don’t know if they justified their sins as modern people do, by saying something like; “That’s not my truth. My truth says there’s nothing wrong with what I am doing.” 2. The result of their turning from God’s truth was that one of the powerful nations of that period in history came against them in war. The scriptures note here in verse 2 Shishak, the enemy king, came “because” Rehoboam and his people “had transgressed against the LORD.” Rehoboam’s government capitulated. They lost cities, surrendered to be subjects of Shishak, and gave up their treasures and riches (12:4,9). God’s prophet made this declaration about the situation; “Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore I have left you in the hand of Shishak” (12:5). Here is a clear example of a nation that brought trouble on itself because it turned from God’s truth.