Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 After Rehoboam’s kingdom was set up and he became strong, he and the people of Judah stopped obeying the teachings of the Lord. ² During the fifth year Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, because Rehoboam and the people were unfaithful to the Lord. ³ Shishak had twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. He brought troops of Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites from Egypt with him, so many they couldn’t be counted. ⁴ Shishak captured the strong, walled cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have left me, so now I will leave you to face Shishak alone.’”

⁶ Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry for what they had done. They said, “The Lord does what is right.”

⁷ When the Lord saw they were sorry for what they had done, the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, saying, “The king and the leaders are sorry. So I will not destroy them but will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to punish Jerusalem in my anger. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants so they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations.”

⁹ Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and the king’s palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place and gave them to the commanders of the guards for the palace gates. ¹¹ Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards went with him, carrying the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guardroom.

¹² When Rehoboam was sorry for what he had done, the Lord held his anger back and did not fully destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.

⁷ Remember your leaders who taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹ Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods, which do not help those who obey them.

¹⁰ We have a sacrifice, but the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it. ¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place where he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also suffered outside the city to make his people holy with his own blood. ¹³ So let us go to Jesus outside the camp, holding on as he did when we are abused.

¹⁴ Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. ¹⁵ So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name. ¹⁶ Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and act under their authority. They are watching over you, because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.

¹⁸ Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience, because we always want to do the right thing. ¹⁹ I especially beg you to pray so that God will send me back to you soon.

^20-21 I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so you can do what he wants. God raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, because of the blood of his death. His blood began the eternal agreement that God made with his people. I pray that God will do in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, and to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.