God is Faithful
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God is Faithful
God is Faithful
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5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ”
6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The Lord is righteous.”
7 Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Intro
Finding Humility
One of the greatest struggles a person has in their own flesh is the struggle with pride.
Ego is found within each of us. It is always lurking beneath the surface, eager to be recognized, flattered and lifted up. Pride drives us to succeed at any cost, living life on our own terms. We want to be self-made and we want everyone to recognize just how great we really are.
But deep inside the heart of every Holy Ghost-filled person, there is a quest to live a life of true humility. And it cant be achieved until the struggle against pride is won.
It’s astonishing how much effort it takes for humility to overcome pride to the point that it can flow out in our conversations and actions. It gives real meaning to the saying, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!”
Body
The King of Egypt Attacked Jerusalem
The Vicious Cycle
Many times throughout the Old Testament, God’s people found themselves at war with heathen nations. Most often, the cause of each conflict was rooted in the pride that had worked its way into their hearts and lives.
The cycle repeated itself over and over: God would bless, the people would become proud of their blessing, their pride would lead to worldliness, God would bring an enemy army to do battle with them, and finally His people would humble themselves and pray, returning to a right relationship with God.
This is where we find Israel in 2 Chronicles 12. After Rehoboam had become king of Judah, he forsook the law of the Lord and led the people into sin. In the fifth year of his leadership, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Israel.
The Bible tells us Israel was attacked because they had transgressed against the Lord (2 Chronicles 12:2). Rehoboam had strengthened himself as king and was convinced he no longer needed to follow after the Lord.
Shemaiah Prophesied to Rehoboam
And then… God sent a prophet!
God is a God of great mercy. He doesn’t simply wait for people to rebel against Him so He can judge them. Instead, He will send a warning before He ever sends judgment.
It was not the Lord’s intent for His people to be destroyed by Shishak without first giving them an opportunity to humble themselves.
So before God turned them over to Shishak, He sent the prophet Shemaiah to speak with Rehoboam.
The best way to deal with the actions and attitudes resulting from foolish pride is to address the problem head-on, and that is exactly what Shemaiah did.
He told the king, “Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.”
The King and Leaders of Israel Humbled Themselves
Now, this warning just given struck terror into the heart of the king as well as the princes of Israel. They knew Shishak was a vicious warrior-king. They knew he was capable of destroying them and decimating their land. So their swift and humble response before the Lord was no surprise.
When our pride is confronted, a response is demanded.
We can humble ourselves before God and fall on His mercy, or we can continue in stubborn pride and ultimately be destroyed.
Like Rehoboam, we need to be quick to respond in humility and bow our faces before Him.
The Lord Responded to Their Humility
In their humble response, they declared, “The Lord is righteous!”
There is more depth in that simple statement than we may realize. It was both an admission that their proud actions had been unrighteous, and an acknowledgment that God was righteous in punishing them for their pride.
They found the right response when confronted with brutal honesty in the presence of God. And it drove them back to a place of humility where they could realign their perspective and put God back in His proper place in their lives.
The Lord told Shemaiah that because the people had humbled themselves, He would show mercy to them. He would not allow Shishak to completely destroy them. Instead, the Egyptian king would only be allowed to take the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house.
God Will Deliver Those Who Humble Themselves
Shishak could easily have taken the life of Rehoboam and held all of Israel captive. But because of Judah’s act of humility before the Lord, the king’s hand was stayed from doing so.
God proved to His people once again that He will deliver those who humble themselves.
They not only found out that “pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18), but if people will humble themselves, God will deliver them from pending destruction.
My, how pride has taken people throughout the ages...
Adam and Eve
The tower of Babel
King Saul
The Titanic!
Pride involves the exalting of oneself.
I have an interesting scripture for that today:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Overlooking ancient Corinth was a hill 1,857 feet high. On top of it was a fortress. Paul used that imagery as an illustration of the spiritual warfare he waged. He destroyed strongholds, cast down towers, and took captives. The fortress, towers, and captives represent the arguments, thoughts, and plans that Paul was opposing.
Paul had a right understanding of a few things:
Who the enemy was
What his weapons were
The enemy is not a political party. The enemy is not humanity. The enemy is in the spiritual realm.
Our weapons are not hands. Our weapons are not firearms. Our weapons are not words. Our weapons are prayer! The Holy Ghost! The gifts of the Spirit!
It is wise to remember that even though God delivered them, they still suffered the loss of their treasures. There may be times when God will spare you while still allowing you to feel the pain of what your pride can cause you to lose. He does this so that your loss can serve as a future reminder of the danger of allowing pride to overtake you.
Israel Went to Battle Against Judah
Going to Battle
Now, soon after all this, Abijah, the son of Rehoboam and the grandson of Solomon, ascended to the throne of the southern kingdom of Judah.
And at the same time, Jeroboam, an evil king, was ruling over the northern kingdom of Israel. 2 Chronicles 13:2 lets us know there was war between the two nations.
Abijah had assembled an army of four hundred thousand proven men, but Jeroboam had amassed an elite fighting force of eight hundred thousand men. the numbers alone seemed to indicate an easy victory for Israel.
And before a sword was ever drawn or an arrow ever flew, Abijah stood on the edge of the battlefield and called out to Jeroboam. He reminded him that God had made a covenant giving the entire kingdom to David forever.
Abijah Confirmed Judah’s Reliance Upon the Lord
Abijah then told Jeroboam that he had rebelled against the Lord. Jeroboam had gathered children of Belial unto himself to give him ungodly counsel. He and his people were worshiping false idols of golden calves, and the priests had been dismissed and replaced with worldly priests.
After letting Jeroboam know just how far his pride had taken him away from God, Abijah declared, “But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him” (2 Chronicles 13:10).
He went on to say the priesthood was still doing service in the house of the Lord and that God Himself was with them as their captain.
Judah Cried Out to the Lord and God Gave Them Victory
How they approached this battle is so very important.
They did not allow pride to make them think they could win the battle.
Neither did they allow arrogance to drove them into a war they could not win.
The words of Abijah were not offered from the vantage point of pride, but rather from a strong confidence that God was with them and would fight for them. He boldly warned Jeroboam not to fight against the Lord God of his fathers because he surely would be defeated (2 Chronicles 13:12).
Jeroboam disregarded Abijah’s words, and the battle began in earnest. He sent troops along Judah’s flanks in an attempt to surround them and attack from all sides. No doubt Jeroboam was confident this strategy would win the victory.
When judah discovered they were surrounded, they responded quickly.
And what’s interesting is that they did not reposition their troops. They didn’t fight back-to-back. They did not attempt to breach the battle lines.
Instead… they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. Then, as one voice, the men of Judah shouted a blood-curdling battle cry.
God then violently destroyed Jeroboam and all Israel (2 Chronicles 13:15). They turned to flee, but were caught by the armies of Judah. Jeroboam lost five hundred thousand warriors that day - more than half of his fighting force!
God Will Give Victory to Those Who Rely on Him
This powerful story is showing us today that being humble before the Lord will pave the way for Him to bring you victory in the battles you face.
2 Chronicles 13:18 tells us:
18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
Relying on God tells Him you do not trust yourself to fight your battles. It’s letting Him know you are humbling yourself in His presence and need Him to be at work in your life. You are leaning on Him and not on yourself!
OPTIONAL ILLUSTRATION: Kayaking down Spring River this weekend with dad, we were needing to speed up to be done at our target time, so we decided to paddle faster. About that time, a huge storm hit us with strong gusts of wind. The wind was actually pushing us down river! If we could have had a sail, we would have been speedboating it!!!
WE WERE RELYING ON THE WIND AND NOT OUR OWN STRENGTH!
There is a stream - a current - of the Spirit at all times that needs followed!
God’s Promise to Solomon
The Plan of Attack
Now, several years before this massive battle we’re reading of, God spoke to Solomon while he was the king of Israel. His instructions to Solomon contain a proven plan for our lives in which God will fight for us and deliver us.
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord told Solomon:
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
We are going to dig into this verse for just a moment and re-learn how awesome it is!
This is a scripture for our time!
“If My People”
We need to realize that identity matters to God!
GOD, GIVE US A REVELATION OF WHO WE ARE!
He created us to be in relationship with Him. His desire is for us to be His people and for Him to be our God.
In a world where the term Christian has become so broadly defined, we need to be sure we are truly His by being born again and having His name applied to our lives.
“Humble Themselves and Pray”
But we can’t expect identity alone to be the magical formula for victory in our lives.
The battle with ego and pride will always be with us. Like Jeroboam, our pride will give us ideas for how to wage war; it will speak words of false confidence into our ears that can cause us to be destroyed.
The Lord told Solomon that His people needed to “humble themselves and pray.” In other words, He was calling them to go beyond the flesh and walk in the Spirit.
We must not wait for life to humble us! We can’t wait for circumstances to humble us! And we can’t even wait for God to humble us!
It’s far better to learn to humble ourselves and pray, choosing to rely completely on God!
God is Faithful to Those Who Turn to Him in Humility and Prayer
And when you turn to the Lord in humility and prayer, you can have full confidence that God will respond!
As He informed Solomon, humbling yourself and praying will get the attention of Heaven: “Then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
God could choose to move at any moment on your behalf. In fact, He could keep the battle from ever coming your way. However, He often chooses not to do so. Instead, He waits to see what your response will be when the struggle comes. He waits to see what role pride will play when you are confronted with the blessings He sends your way.
He will resist you if you allow pride and arrogance to lead you. But if you willingly choose to humble yourself and pray, He will be faithful to you and deliver you.
Conclusion
Foundational Principles
The outcome of our life is determined by how we live moment by moment. The Word instructs us on every aspect of our lives. And some of those instructions serve as a foundation on which to build our lives.
A great one for today is 1 Peter 5:5:
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Every morning, we look in our closet to decide what we are going to wear for the day. And often, our mood can determine which clothes we choose. Sometimes the activities of the day will dictate the decision for us. Regardless, we choose our outfit for the day and then display it for everyone to see.
BUT, we also have a spiritual closet we enter into at the beginning of each day!
The choices are laid out before us, and we decide how we will adorn our spirits for that day. James tells us we should be clothed with humility. Let it be the humility of mind, heart, and spirit that is put on display for all the world to see. By doing so, we are ensuring that God is on our side and will faithfully fight our battles for us.
