Rehoboam and Shishak's Invasion

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Jerusalem for seventeen years. He built and fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin, placing captains, supplies, shields, and spears in them. Priests and Levites came to him from across Israel because Jeroboam had pushed them aside and set up other priests for idols. Others who wanted to seek the Lord also came to Jerusalem, and for three years the kingdom grew strong.

But after Rehoboam’s kingdom was established and he became strong, he abandoned the Lord’s law, and the people with him did the same. Judah did evil in the Lord’s sight. They set up high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles, copying the sinful practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before Israel.

In Rehoboam’s fifth year, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem because the people had trespassed against the Lord. His huge army had chariots, horsemen, and countless troops from Egypt, the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians. He captured Judah’s fortified cities and came on toward Jerusalem, where Rehoboam and the leaders had gathered.

Then Shemaiah the prophet brought the Lord’s message: because they had forsaken him, he had left them in Shishak’s hand. Rehoboam and the princes humbled themselves and said the Lord was righteous. So the Lord said he would not destroy them altogether, but they would become Shishak’s servants and learn the difference between serving him and serving other kingdoms.

Shishak took the treasures from the Lord’s house and the king’s house, including the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields for the guards to carry when he went to the Lord’s house. When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord did not destroy him completely. Still, there was ongoing war with Jeroboam, and after Rehoboam died and was buried in David’s city, Abijah became king.