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 tribes; Rehoboam forsakes the law of God; God brings judgment against Rehoboam through Shishak, king of Egypt.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In 2nd 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 in Jerusalem, when every knee is bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father! (Philippians 2:9–11) Hallelujah! The parallel passage is found in 1st Kings 10, where it likewise presents this most glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, 1st Kings 11, continues with details of the remainder of Solomon’s life, and strangely enough, there is perhaps no greater Old Testament picture of the antichrist! In the midst of all of the splendor of the record of Solomon’s kingdom in 2nd Chronicles 9, it does, however, drop a few subtle hints. 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! 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 Revelation 13:18 if you’re unfamiliar with the 6–6–6 connection to the antichrist: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast (antichrist): for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”)
Chapter 9 ends with the death and burial of Solomon, and chapter 10 begins with the reign of his son, Rehoboam. You can bring Rehoboam’s reign to the bottom line by two simple 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 all Israel with him.” Chapter 12 and verse 14 says, “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.” May these horrific blunders in Rehoboam’s life teach all of us that we get ourselves into spiritual trouble when we begin to think that our strength is in ourselves, rather than 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 in and of ourselves, we’re on a collision course with disaster! Notice, Rehoboam did all of the evil, idiotic, and sinful things he did because he failed to do one simple, but monumental thing: He “did not prepare his heart to SEEK the Lord.” Once again, we’re reminded of the purpose of the 365 Days of Pursuit: “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou SEEK HIM with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Rehoboam’s first decision as king was a major fiasco, as he heeded the wrong counsel. May it be a vivid reminder to us that we must be careful about whose counsel we seek and/or take! (Psalm 1:1) His harshness caused 10 of the tribes to secede from the “union”, as it were, to go form what we now refer to as the Northern Kingdom.
Note that this is where the kingdom of Israel is divided in the Old Testament. The 10 Northern Tribes are hereafter referred to as ISRAEL and the two Southern Tribes as JUDAH. Jeroboham is installed as the king of Israel (See 1st Kings 11:28–31), while Rehoboam remains king in Judah. When you compare 1st Kings 11:28–31 with 2nd Chronicles 10:15, don’t miss how God is somehow able to take the poor, idiotic, and even flat-out WRONG decisions of earthly rulers and use those very decisions to perform His will and fulfill His word!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
In the GLORY OF SOLOMON’S KINGDOM – 2nd Chronicles 9:1–28 (Philippians 2:9–11; Revelation 20:5)