Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 Rehoboam had made his position as king secure. He had become very strong. Then he turned away from the law of the Lord. So did all of the people of Judah.

2They hadn’t been faithful to the Lord. So Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt. 3He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites came with him from Egypt. There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted. 4Shishak captured the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He came all the way to Jerusalem.

5Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered together in Jerusalem. They were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “The Lord says, ‘You have left me. So now I am leaving you to Shishak.’ ”

6The king and the leaders of Israel made themselves low in the Lord’s sight. They said, “The Lord does what is right and fair.”

7The Lord saw they had made themselves low. So he gave a message to Shemaiah. It said, “They have made themselves low in my sight. So I will not destroy them. Instead, I will soon save them. I will not pour out my burning anger on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8But its people will be brought under his control. Then they will learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

9Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the Lord’s temple. He also carried the treasures of the royal palace away. He took everything. That included the gold shields Solomon had made.

10So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards who were on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11Every time the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him. They carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.

12Rehoboam had made himself low in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord turned his anger away from him. Rehoboam wasn’t totally destroyed. In fact, some good things happened in Judah.

13King Rehoboam had made his position secure in Jerusalem. He continued as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. It was the city the Lord had chosen out of all of the cities in the tribes of Israel. He wanted to put his Name there. The name of Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon.

14Rehoboam did what was evil. That’s because he hadn’t worshiped the Lord with all his heart.

15The events of Rehoboam’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the prophets Shemaiah and Iddo. The records deal with family histories. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.

16Rehoboam joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah became the next king after him.