2 Chronicles 12:9

2 Chronicles 12:9 says, So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.  Shishak took away many of the things Solomon had amassed during his reign.  We don't serve God for earthly riches, so everything we amass here in this world will one day be left behind.  Also, as followers of Christ, if we stray away from Him, the things He has blessed us with may be taken away while we live.  Verse ten adds, Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.  Where Solomon had lived in peace, making shields of gold, Rehoboam lived with war making shields of brass.  He gave these shields of brass to the chief of the guard, and they were kept at the entrance of the king's house.  Rehoboam was concerned with protecting himself more than he was worried about the rest of the kingdom of Israel it would seem.  I do know that we as Christians cannot afford to put our own physical well-being ahead of following God's word.  Verse eleven continues, And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.  When the king was in the house, the guard got the shields and brought them into the guard chamber.  Again, it seems that Rehoboam was concerned with protesting himself after he lost all the treasures that David by war and Solomon by trade had amassed.  If we have amassed things in this world as Christians by the grace of God, and we turn away from Him, we should be prepared to lose them.  We cannot expect God's blessings if we do not obey Him, and Rehoboam hadn't obeyed God. Verse twelve states, And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well. Rehoboam then humbled himself before God, and he wasn't destroyed.  Things also went well for Israel, but much of their riches were gone.  As followers of Christ, we will never be destroyed spiritually, but we may lose a lot of the blessings of God if we turn away from doing His will.  Verse thirteen adds, So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.  Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, the city of God, we are told and ruled from the time he was forty-one until he was fifty-eight.  He had a fairly long reign to have started so badly.  He gave up on many of the fortified cities it would seem and concentrated on keeping Jerusalem safe.  We aren't called to just protect one place but to spread the gospel to all the world.  Verse fourteen continues, And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.  Though Rehoboam may not have been worshipping idols, neither was he worshipping God with all his heart.  We don't need to rely on the fact that we aren't worshipping other gods but must instead worship God wholeheartedly.  Verse sixteen says, Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.  We are told that the acts of Rehoboam, from the beginning of his reign to the end, were recorded in the book of Shemiah the prophet and his genealogy was kept by Iddo the seer.  We don't have these books, which means they are unimportant to our understanding God.  Verse sixteen adds, And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.  Rehoboam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Abijah became king.  Unless Jesus Christ returns first, one day we are going to die and someone else will take our place in doing God's work, but our King will never die and be replaced.