When Egypt Comes
King Shishak had waited for this moment; hundreds of years had passed since the Israelites had destroyed the entire Egyptian army. Egypt had never forgotten this shameful disgrace, instead they had waited for the right time to strike back. It had finally arrived. King Rehoboam of Israel arrogantly ignored the God of his people; the very same God who was their protection from Egypt he now regarded as worthless. The time had come; Shishak, with an army too large to count, swept into Israel intent on Jerusalem’s destruction and the final defeat of the Hebrews and their infernal God.
Can you imagine Rehoboam’s fear at realizing that Egypt had come to claim their vengeance and God was not going to stop them? He grew up hearing the stories of Moses, the desolation of Egypt, and the triumphant protection of God. He was no stranger to God’s grace; his father was Solomon, the wisest man ever born. His grandfather David, the man after God’s own heart, had surely told him of his exploits with Yahweh. Yet Rehoboam did not set his heart to follow God, perhaps he thought he could just ride on his family’s coattails. Throw his father and grandfather’s name around to show how close his family was to God. But that’s not how it works with God; we must know Him ourselves, or we are just riding on family stories. And now here he was facing the very same enemy his ancestors were enslaved by; they had come back to take back their pride and pour a long overdue bowl of shame on Israel.
I’m sure this was not the legacy Rehoboam had in mind as his memory of kingship. It would have been incredibly hard to live up to the likes of his father and grandfather, but I bet he never thought he would end up a servant to Egypt. Indeed the Bible says, “They will however become subject to him (Shishak), so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands,” 2 Chronicles 12:8. It would be easy to look at this story, shake my head and say, “Yup, that’s what happens when you don’t follow God,” and then go on my way. Except I know what it’s like to think you can just use others around you or in your family to make up for not having a close relationship with God.
I grew up in church; for many years my parents were ministers at a church, so I was the All-American preacher's kid. I went to a Christian school, Christian concerts and events, listened to only Christian music-pretty much totally encompassed by all things churchy. As I got older, into the teenage years, our youth group went to Acquire the Fire events, the Brownsville Revival, and the Smithton Outpouring. When we went to the Brownsville Revival one year, I had a pretty significant encounter with God that changed my life...for a while. I experienced all the "right" church stuff but still had no real relationship with the Living God. My parents did, as did my little brothers, but I was only playacting. On some level I knew that I was missing something essential, but I figured when I was around my church and friends, they made up for whatever it was. Except friends, churches, and family can't make up a lack of relationship with God, they can only cloak it for a time.
Like Rehoboam, I thought I could use my family’s Godly history to get me through life, and then suddenly it all came crashing down. As things around me cracked and crumbled, the lack of relationship with God became glaringly evident. When Rehoboam was faced with the possibility of utter destruction by Shishak, he at least humbled himself to God and was saved from massacre. He was smart enough to put himself at the mercy of God. I wasn’t, instead I tried to defy Him as much as possible for many, many years. I didn’t need an old enemy to attack and destroy me; I did it to myself. I was my own Egypt.
Eventually I fell back into God’s arms, but the point of this writing isn’t about that, rather it’s a note of caution. Caution to those who think their family lineage will be enough to keep them close to God; it won’t. Caution to those who think that they can stop worshipping the God who saved them from their Egypt; you can’t. Caution to any who set their hearts on anything other than God and hope for His salvation when destruction comes; it won't
. God is a good God who wants only good for His people, so make sure you’re part of His people.
Can you imagine Rehoboam’s fear at realizing that Egypt had come to claim their vengeance and God was not going to stop them? He grew up hearing the stories of Moses, the desolation of Egypt, and the triumphant protection of God. He was no stranger to God’s grace; his father was Solomon, the wisest man ever born. His grandfather David, the man after God’s own heart, had surely told him of his exploits with Yahweh. Yet Rehoboam did not set his heart to follow God, perhaps he thought he could just ride on his family’s coattails. Throw his father and grandfather’s name around to show how close his family was to God. But that’s not how it works with God; we must know Him ourselves, or we are just riding on family stories. And now here he was facing the very same enemy his ancestors were enslaved by; they had come back to take back their pride and pour a long overdue bowl of shame on Israel.
I’m sure this was not the legacy Rehoboam had in mind as his memory of kingship. It would have been incredibly hard to live up to the likes of his father and grandfather, but I bet he never thought he would end up a servant to Egypt. Indeed the Bible says, “They will however become subject to him (Shishak), so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands,” 2 Chronicles 12:8. It would be easy to look at this story, shake my head and say, “Yup, that’s what happens when you don’t follow God,” and then go on my way. Except I know what it’s like to think you can just use others around you or in your family to make up for not having a close relationship with God.I grew up in church; for many years my parents were ministers at a church, so I was the All-American preacher's kid. I went to a Christian school, Christian concerts and events, listened to only Christian music-pretty much totally encompassed by all things churchy. As I got older, into the teenage years, our youth group went to Acquire the Fire events, the Brownsville Revival, and the Smithton Outpouring. When we went to the Brownsville Revival one year, I had a pretty significant encounter with God that changed my life...for a while. I experienced all the "right" church stuff but still had no real relationship with the Living God. My parents did, as did my little brothers, but I was only playacting. On some level I knew that I was missing something essential, but I figured when I was around my church and friends, they made up for whatever it was. Except friends, churches, and family can't make up a lack of relationship with God, they can only cloak it for a time.
Like Rehoboam, I thought I could use my family’s Godly history to get me through life, and then suddenly it all came crashing down. As things around me cracked and crumbled, the lack of relationship with God became glaringly evident. When Rehoboam was faced with the possibility of utter destruction by Shishak, he at least humbled himself to God and was saved from massacre. He was smart enough to put himself at the mercy of God. I wasn’t, instead I tried to defy Him as much as possible for many, many years. I didn’t need an old enemy to attack and destroy me; I did it to myself. I was my own Egypt.
Eventually I fell back into God’s arms, but the point of this writing isn’t about that, rather it’s a note of caution. Caution to those who think their family lineage will be enough to keep them close to God; it won’t. Caution to those who think that they can stop worshipping the God who saved them from their Egypt; you can’t. Caution to any who set their hearts on anything other than God and hope for His salvation when destruction comes; it won't
. God is a good God who wants only good for His people, so make sure you’re part of His people.
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