Catholic Commentary on 2 Chronicles 12

"Because they have forsaken me, I will forsake them and give them to Shishak." (2 Chronicles 12:5)

Shishak's Invasion

After Rehoboam's kingdom is established, he abandons the law of the LORD and all Israel with him. In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacks Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. The prophet Shemaiah comes to the king and leaders: because they have forsaken me, I will forsake them and give them to Shishak. The leaders of Israel and the king humble themselves: the LORD is just. Because they humble themselves, the LORD says through Shemaiah: I will not destroy them but will grant them deliverance; Shishak will subdue them but not destroy them. Shishak takes the treasures of the Temple and the palace, including Solomon's gold shields. Rehoboam replaces them with bronze shields.

The movement from gold to bronze is the Chronicler's visual theology: the glory of Solomon replaced by the substitute glory of Rehoboam. The Catechism identifies this as the pattern of every covenant failure: the original gold is lost and the bronze imitation must suffice (CCC 705).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the gold shields became bronze shields. The diminishment that follows spiritual compromise is real. What was gold becomes bronze; what was the original becomes the substitute. Maintain the gold of covenant faithfulness so you do not find yourself carrying bronze in the procession.

Prayer

Lord God, do not let us replace the gold of covenant faithfulness with the bronze of spiritual compromise. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

12
Shishak Raids Jerusalem
(1 Kings 14:25-28)
1 After Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he and all Israel * 12:1 That is, Judah; in 2 Chronicles, Judah is occasionally called Israel, as representative of the true Israel. with him forsook the Law of the LORD. 2 In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem 3 with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen,† 12:3 Or charioteers and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt-Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.‡ 12:3 That is, people from the upper Nile region 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
 
5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have forsaken Me; therefore, I have forsaken you into the hand of Shishak.’ ”
 
6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”
 
7 When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”
 
9 So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.
 
10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would go with him, bearing the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.
 
12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed, conditions were good in Judah.
Rehoboam’s Reign and Death
(1 Kings 14:21-24)
 
13 Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 14 And Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.
 
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. 16 And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Abijah § 12:16 Abijah is a variant of Abijam; see 1 Kings 14:31. reigned in his place.

*12:1 12:1 That is, Judah; in 2 Chronicles, Judah is occasionally called Israel, as representative of the true Israel.

†12:3 12:3 Or charioteers

‡12:3 12:3 That is, people from the upper Nile region

§12:16 12:16 Abijah is a variant of Abijam; see 1 Kings 14:31.

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