2 Chronicles 12

Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him.

(2Ch 12:1)

Notice the circumstances surrounding Rehoboam forsaking the law of the Lord, and the effect that this had on the rest of the nation. It wasn’t during a time of difficulty, or of drawn out work and labor… on the contrary it was when the bulk of his work was finished. Two things are noted for us, and we need to look closely at them:

1. He had established the kingdom. The word established means that it was made upright, fixed, and steadfast. The time of danger, of potential destruction was past… they were no longer a kingdom in the birthing process, they had been established. They had a sense of security and permanence… they weren’t worried, they were feeling steadfast.
2. He had strengthened himself. Not so much personal physical strength, but the strength of his kingdom was greatly built. The phrase literally means he had built his force. The kingdom was solid, and the army was grown… Rehoboam was sitting pretty and feeling in control.

This is where things get sad. In the midst of all of this success, Rehoboam forgets who had put him in this position. As a result, he forsakes the law of the Lord. The result of this is that the nation does the same. This is a sad reality, people often follow their leaders, they thrive when they thrive and fall when they fail.

What can we learn from this? Basically, we learn that in times of great blessing we need to be on guard. If we aren’t careful, we will forsake the Lord and His ways, losing sight of our greatest blessing in the midst of all our temporal blessings. Keep your eyes on Jesus! Hills and valleys, success and failure, we need to trust the Lord.