August 22, 2020 Living Water CAC Daily Devotional Guide :- TOPIC : CONSEQUENCES OF ABANDONING GOD
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Saturday, August 22, 2020
CONSEQUENCES OF ABANDONING GOD
Read: 2 Chronicles 12:9-13
2 Chronicles 12:9-13 ESV“So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah. So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.”
MEMORISE:
So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace (2 Chronicles 12:10)
EXPOSITION
For the past three years of his reign, Rehoboam has practically obeyed the Lord and he had enjoyed blessings that follow obedience (11:17). But, as he came to his fourth year, he rebelled against the Lord, and in the fifth year, he received the due punishment (12:1-2). The consequences of abandoning God came in two forms:
1. Personal consequences when we abandon God.
Popularity and power, the two benefits that Rehoboam chose above God, were the first two things he lost when the Egyptians invaded the land. (2 Chr. 12:9-13). Through Rehoboam, we discover the real price to be paid for rejecting God. Even though Rehoboam later confessed his sin, the damage had already been done. He was not destroyed, but much of what was precious to him were lost. His reign could have been as glorious as the golden shields in Solomon’s temple, which the Egyptians took, instead, he had to settle for bronze replacements and an insignificant reign. Rehoboam’s name suggests ‘he enlarges the people’, but what an irony, what a contrast! It was Shishak, who had reunited Egypt, but Rehoboam has divided Israel! Instead of gold, he settled for bronze! When we stop worshipping God, we do not worship nothing, but we worship everything. When everything is going right, guard your faith.
2. Consequences for others when we abandon God.
“… and all Israel along with him.” (2 Chronicles 12:1) “… ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.'” (2 Chr. 12:5) We don’t have to be king, like Rehoboam, before our actions deeply affect the lives of others. Rehoboam’s abandonment of God led to the humiliation of his people. I must ask myself: “How does the quality of my relationship with God affect those around me? Your local assembly, family, business, health, finances may be affected by your relationship with God.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Take a moment to pray for our leaders; political and spiritual, that their hearts will not turn against God.
2. Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, not to do anything that will bring shame and humiliation to your family.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 62 – 66; Revelation 17