HUMILITY – an initial STEP towards RESTORATION!
May 5
Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles Chapters 10-12
HUMILITY – an initial STEP towards RESTORATION!
"So
the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, "The
Lord is righteous." Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the
word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves;
therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My
wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. When he
humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy
him completely; and things also went well in Judah" (2 Chron. 12:6-7,
12).
The event
detailed in 12:1-12 illustrates God’s response to Rehoboam to the initial step
taken as per His directive: "If My
people who are called by My name will humble themselves…” (7:14a). God had promised
that Israel would receive relief from the hardships caused by their sin if the
people would turn to Him in humility.
When Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam a second time and delivered his
message of doom (11:2), the king and the princes of Judah humbled themselves
before God. Instantly, we see God’s mercy
and grace provided deliverance from serving their captors Egypt!
God used
Shishak, the king of Egypt to bring Rehoboam to the initial step of repentance through humility, and he regained much
of his power and glory (12:12–13). However, the overall indictment from God was
still negative as Rehoboam "did
evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord" (12:14).
We need to
understand that the king’s conduct had inevitable consequences on the nation.
When a king obeyed God, the Lord would bless the nation. When the king turned
away from the Lord, the people in his kingdom would suffer. But when the king
repented and humbled himself before God, God’s forgiveness and restoration
would cover both him and his kingdom.
Humility is an initial step towards
restoration, and as
His children, we need to have the mind of Jesus Christ who displayed humility
in the complete sense (see Phil. 2:1-7). Not only does God hear the prayers of the humble (2 Chron. 7:14), but He saves those who are humble (Psalm 18:27)
and preserves the lives of humble
people (Psalm 147:6). Also, God cares
for the humble (Isaiah 66:2), and He will exalt
the humble (Luke 18:14).
Today, let
us humble ourselves before others and God (James 4:10) to receive God’s grace
in our lives!
