Sometimes It Takes Serving “Bad” People....

Sometimes it takes serving other people (particularly bad people) to understand how Good God is to serve. As Joshua said, “Choose whom you will serve, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.

1 But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. 2 Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. 3 He came with 1 ,200 chariots, 60 ,000 horses, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. 4 Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.5 The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned Me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”6 Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!”7 When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out My anger on Jerusalem. 8 But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving Me and serving earthly rulers.” 2 Chronicles 12:1-8