Key Verse Spotlight
2 Chronicles 12:13 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing-and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. "
2 Chronicles 12:13
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.
And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.
So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.
Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
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The story of Rehoboam’s reign is brought to a close here, as the stories of other kings often are. Two things stand out in this verse.
First, he was at last fairly settled in his kingdom, though not in a secure way that honored God. The fortified cities in Judah did not meet his hopes, so he turned to strengthening Jerusalem, which he made his main concern to defend. There he reigned seventeen years, in the city the Lord had chosen for his name to dwell. That was a mark of honor and privilege, since his royal seat was in the holy city. Yet it also made his sin worse, because he lived near the temple and still kept far from God. There were frequent clashes between his people and Jeroboam’s, amounting to continual war (2 Chronicles 12:15), but he kept his throne and, it seems, did not fall back into the same open departure from God he had shown in his fourth year (2 Chronicles 12:1).
Second, he was never truly settled in his religion. He never fully cast off God, and yet he did wrong because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. Notice where the blame is placed. He did not serve the Lord because he did not seek the Lord. He did not pray, as Solomon had, for wisdom and grace. If we prayed better, we would be better in every other way too. Or he did not turn to God’s word and treat it as his guide and answer.
He also made little of religion because he did not set his heart on it. He never gave it careful attention, and he never had a sincere desire for it. He never came to a firm decision for God. Whatever good he had was brief, like a morning cloud that soon disappears. He did evil because he was never settled on doing good. Satan easily leads those into evil who are wavering, unstable, and never truly resolved to make religion their serious work.
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From This Chapter
2 Chronicles 12:1
"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."
2 Chronicles 12:2
"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,"
2 Chronicles 12:3
"With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians."
2 Chronicles 12:4
"And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem."
2 Chronicles 12:5
"Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak."
2 Chronicles 12:6
"Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous."
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