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HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED
2 CHRONICLES 12:14
INTRODUCTION
As we read about the kings of Israel and Judah in the books of the Kings and the Chronicles, we see, as a general rule, that their lives were summed up in one of two ways. They are described as doing evil in the sight of the LORD, or else, they are described as doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
Rehoboam, whose name means, "freer of the people" or “the people ha enlarged,” is remembered this way, "and he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." (v14).
At one time it was common for folks to have their life summed up on their tombstone in a short statement called an epitaph. An epitaph is "that which is written in honor of the dead." (Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus. 1990 Edition. p. 76).
What we see throughout the books of the Kings and Chronicles is God’s epitaph for these Kings. God’s epitaph for Rehoboam reads, "and he did evil...". There will come a day when there will be a summary given of your life and mine; and when it is given, it will say one of two things,
"he did evil in the sight of the LORD," or else, "he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD."
Although Rehoboam was not nearly as bad as some of Israel's other kings, still the inspired historian was compelled to write, "he did evil."
He was not as bad as Ahab, who according to the Holy Scripture, "did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that was before him"; nor was he a Manasseh, who, "did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen," yet, "he did evil."
That is the summary of his whole career. That was his epitaph, if you will, written by God!
I ask this question today "How Will Your Epitaph Read?" or “How Will You Be Remembered?”
Rehoboam had some good points in his life, he did good sometimes; yet when he died, this is what God remembered of him, "he did evil". Why did he do evil? Was it because his mother was an Ammonitess, an idolator (vs 13)? Or because his father "followed not God with his whole heart?" No, the reason is given in vs 14, "because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." I want us to see three steps to downfall this man made and the result of his fall.
I. HE ABANDONED THE LAW OF THE LORD. (2 Chronicles 12:1)
Although Rehoboam was the son of a wise father, he himself had a small
mind. We see fifty references to him in the WORD OF GOD, and from these we
can learn a lot about him.
We can summarize why he abandoned God's law in three reasons:
A. He Was Dominated By A False Principle. (vs l)
He had the erroneous notion that his subjects existed for him and not he for his subjects. Daily he was surrounded by unscrupulous flatterers who fed his self-importance.
This led him to treat his subjects like mere puppets and for his own
benefit!.
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Rehoboam's heart was lifted up with pride. How do we know that?
Vs 1 says, he "strengthened himself," as a result, he "forsook the law of the
LORD."
We shouldn't go through this life with a feeling that we don't need God or that we don’t need God’s help to guide us in our steps. If we do then we are headed for a fall!
Proverbs 29:23-"A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit."
Rehoboam’s father, Solomon treated the people as slaves, so the first appeal to Rehoboam was from the people in 2 Chronicles 10:4. But you’ll find that instead of trying to relieve the people, he sought to copy his father.
Note also, not only did he forsake God's law, but "all Israel with him." Every man has an influence in this life; either for good or evil!
He Was Dominated By A False Principle.
B. He Followed Wrong Advice. (2 Chronicles 10:1-14)
This young man thought he needed some kind of guidance, so he called together many counselors.
Calling his father's counselors together Rehoboam submitted the people's grievances to them; but, like the fool he was, he rejected their counsel, and followed the foolish advice of the younger men.
When men don’t seek the counsel of God, they generally accept the very
worst form of advice.
What a difference it might have been for him and those dependent upon him if only he had humbly waited on God for guidance!
But as Alexander Whyte says of Rehoboam, "by one insolent and swaggering word, he lost forever the ten tribes of Israel."
As a result of following wrong advice, ten tribes out of twelve broke off from him and formed into an independent kingdom.
Because he did not seek the LORD, he made a fool of himself and a failure of his life!
He Was Dominated By A False Principle.
He Followed Wrong Advice.
C. He Failed To Give God The First Place In His Life. (Vs. 14)
At first Rehoboam was pious (2 Chronicles 11:16-17). But then we see that Rehoboam fell into such iniquity that God sent an Egyptian King against him and the two tribes he ruled. (2 Chronicles 12:2-5)
A brief repentance stayed God's hand, but the rot had already set in (vs. 5-8). What was the reason for all of this? – "...because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD."
HE ABANDONED THE LAW OF THE LORD because He Was Dominated By A False Principle, Followed The Wrong Advice, and Failed To Give God The First Place In His
Life.
II. ALLOWED HIS PEOPLE TO BE PUT IN BONDAGE.
A. The Pronouncement.
The Lord pronounced sentence upon Rehoboam and the people through his prophet. We read in 2 Chronicles 12:8–"Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
The people, because of Rehoboam's guidance and their following of it, would become the servants of Shishak, King of Egypt. Egypt, in the Scripture, is a type of this world. God wanted them to know and understand the difference between serving Him and serving the world!
B. The Preparation.
Many of God's people today allow themselves to be put in bondage to this world by "not preparing their hearts to seek the LORD."
Paul asked in Galatians 4:9, "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"
Many Christians today "love the world" more than they love God, and, by so
doing, they put themselves into bondage to this world!
1 John 2:15-17 commands us, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
We are not to love this world, but rather we are to love God supremely
(Matthew 22:37).
Anything that we love and do that keeps us from enjoying God's love
and doing God's will is worldly and must be avoided.
ILLUS: In the book "Teaching A Stone To Talk," Annie Dillard tells about the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The explorers sailed from England to find the Northwest Passage across the Arctic Ocean.
They put aboard their two sailing ships a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary engines.
The ships became trapped in the vast frozen plains of the Arctic ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups but none survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When rescuers found their frozen bodies, they discovered that the sled was filled with a great deal of table silver. By carrying what they didn't need, these men contributed to their demise.
But don't we do the same? Don't we carry around baggage through this life that we don't need? Evil thoughts, habits that drag us down, and grudges we won't let go? We must do, as the writer of Hebrews says, "lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us..." (Hebrews 12:1).
Jesus Christ came to set us free, not so that we would be in bondage to the world, but that we might live through him!
By Rehoboam "preparing not his heart to seek the LORD," He "forsook the law of the LORD" and all Israel followed!
Are you preparing your heart to seek the LORD? How do we prepare our heart? :
We Must Feel Our Need Of God In Our Lives!
We Must Cry unto God For Help!
We Must Accept God's Will For Us!
We Must Serve God Always With Sincerity And Truth!
When we do not "prepare our heart to seek the LORD" we put ourselves in
bondage to this world!
HE ABANDONED THE LAW OF THE LORD, HE ALLOWED HIS PEOPLE TO BE PUT IN BONDAGE and thirdly,
III. HE PUT UP APPEARANCES SO IT WOULD SEEM ALL WAS WELL.
(2 CHRONICLES 12:9-11)
A. A Clever Deception.
Five years had passed since Solomon's death and they had been sad years of sin and rebellion against God. During this period, the nation had split apart. Ten tribes had revolted to form the Northern Kingdom and two had remained to form the Southern Kingdom. But worse than all this "Judah" "forsook the Law of the LORD."
During this time of sin and rebellion, their old enemy, Shishak, king Of Egypt found an easy entrance into the land. Though king Rehoboam and the people humbled themselves and sought the LORD, God permitted Shishak to spoil Jerusalem, to appropriate the treasures of the Temple and of the king's house.
There is a message here for all of us. When Rehoboam lost the pure gold what did he do? By all means he must keep up appearances. If he couldn’t afford golden shields, then he must have something that resembles that precious metal-(i.e. brass). And to avoid too close of scrutiny by the people, he had them doubly guarded.
B. A Counterfeit Devotion.
There is probably not a single Christian here who has not at one time or another, substituted brass for gold?
Through unfaithfulness and sin we lose the pure gold of purity of heart and communion with God. We lack spiritual hunger and thirst and go after things which can never satisfy! All our outward acts of devotion and piety are kept up, and to men we seem as devoted as ever. Yet in our hearts we are far from God!
Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and many times we are like them! Jesus said of these, "for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." (Matthew 23:27b-28).
We might fool men, but we can't fool God! The Lord asks in Jeremiah 23:23-24-
"Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD."
How do we keep from just "Putting Up Appearances"? :
We Must Pray Everyday!
We Must Read And Study God's Word Everyday!
We Must Serve God With All We Are!
We can keep up "appearances" or else we can confess our sin before God, who is faithful to forgive us! If we keep up "appearances" we become as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 13:1, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or as a tinkling cymbal."
Brass instead of gold. The appearance without the reality. God help us to be true to Him and His Will for us!
Rehoboam ABANDONED THE LAW OF THE LORD, ALLOWED HIS PEOPLE TO BE PUT IN BONDAGE, He put up APPEARANCES SO IT WOULD SEEM ALL WAS WELL and finally.
IV. AS HE LIVED, SO WAS HE REMEMBERED IN DEATH. (2 Chronicles 12:14, 16)
A. The Rejection Of The Lord.
We see in vs 13, that after the invasion of Shishak and his plundering of the temple treasures (which came in the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign), that Rehoboam continued to reign for a total of 17 years. But we see no repentance or turning back to God in his final years.
B. The Remembrance Of His Life.
He died and is remembered thus, "he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." That was his epitaph. That is how he will always be remembered!
Conclusion
"How Will Your Epitaph Read?” That you did evil, because you didn’t prepare your heart to seek the LORD? Or else, will it be that you did right in the sight of the LORD because you loved Him? What would God say about you?
Someone might say, "I can't trouble myself with preparing to meet God just now." Well then, your epitaph might read, "he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD."
Another might say, "I'm going to accept God before I die, but I'm young, this world has so much to offer." Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
Today is the day to give your life to God!
Isaiah 55:6-7–“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
There may be a Christian here today who has drifted far from God, you have not prepared your heart to seek God, by praying each day, reading your Bible, and serving God in sincerity and truth. Because of this, you are doing wickedly and are in bondage to this world!
God invites you to come back to Him today (Matthew 11:28-30). Will you come home?
Home Page Contact Us Service Times Sermons Are You Going To Heaven?
NOTICE: THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!