TODAY’S READING: II CHRONICLES 9-12
OVERVIEW:
The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon; the extent of Solomon’s riches and fame; Solomon’s death; Rehoboam succeeds Solomon as Israel’s king; Jeroboam leads a revolt of 10 of the tribes; Rehoboam forsakes the law of God; God brings judgment against Rehoboam through Shishak, king of Egypt.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In II Chronicles 9, there is perhaps no more glorious Old Testament picture of the Lord Jesus Christ ruling and reigning in wisdom in His millennial kingdom from His throne inJerusalem, when every knee is bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Chris is Lord to the glory of God the Father, hallelujah! (Phil 2:9-11) The parallel passage is found in I Kings 10, where it likewise presents this most glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. I Kings 11, however, continues with details of the remainder of Solomon’s life, and strangely enough, there is perhaps no greater Old Testament picture of the Antichrist! I Chronicles 9, in the midst of all of the splendor of the record of Solomon’s kingdom, does drop a few subtle hints, however. Notice in verse 13, the amount of gold that came to Solomon in one year: “Six hundred and threescore and six.” I believe you spell that 6 – 6 – 6! And notice also, the three-sided configuration upon which his throne was set, with six steps leading up from the front and the two sides. Again, I think you might call that 6 – 6 – 6! (Check out Rev. 13:18 if you’re new to all this. By the way, 18 is 6 + 6 + 6, but who’s counting!) 🙂
Chapter 9 ends with the death and burial of Solomon, and chapter 10 begins with the reign of his son, Rehoboam. You can bring his reign to the bottom line by two little phrases in chapter 12. Chapter 12 and verse 1 says that when he “had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and allIsraelwith him.” Chapter 12 and verse 14 says, “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” We get ourselves into spiritual trouble when we do the same things. We must remember that our strength is not in ourselves, but in the Lord, and the power of His might and His Word. As soon as we forsake the Word of God, thinking we’re strong, we’re on a collision course with disaster! And notice, Rehoboam did all the evil, idiotic, sinful things he did because he “did not prepare his heart to SEEK the Lord.” Once again, we’re reminded of the purpose of the365 Days of Pursuit(Deut.4:29).
Rehoboam’s first decision as king was a major fiasco, as he heeded the wrong counsel. (Be careful about whose counsel you seek and/or take!) His harshness caused 10 of the tribes to secede from the “union” to go form what we refer to as the Southern Kingdom.
This is where theKingdomofIsraelis divided. The 10 Southern Tribes are referred to as Judah and the two Northern Tribes asIsrael. Jeroboham is installed as the King of Israel (See I Kings11:28-31). When you compare I Kings 11:28-31 with II Chron. 10:15, don’t miss how God somehow takes even poor, heartless, and even flat-out wrong decisions of earthly rulers, and uses those very decisions to perform His will and fulfill His Word! God is big, y’all! Really big!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
In the GLORY OF SOLOMON’S KINGDOM – II Chron. 9:1-28 (Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 20:5)