Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Value of the Law of the Lord

An Egyptian Invasion of Judah^(A)

12 As soon as Rehoboam had established his authority as king, he and all his people abandoned the Law of the Lord. ² In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign their disloyalty to the Lord was punished. King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem ³ with an army of twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand cavalry, and more soldiers than could be counted, including Libyan, Sukkite, and Ethiopian^[a] troops. ⁴ He captured the fortified cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Shemaiah the prophet went to King Rehoboam and the Judean leaders who had gathered in Jerusalem to escape Shishak. He said to them, “This is the Lord's message to you: ‘You have abandoned me, so now I have abandoned you to Shishak.’”

⁶ The king and the leaders admitted that they had sinned, and they said, “What the Lord is doing is just.”

⁷ When the Lord saw this, he spoke again to Shemaiah and said to him, “Because they admit their sin, I will not destroy them. But when Shishak attacks, they will barely survive. Jerusalem will not feel the full force of my anger, ⁸ but Shishak will conquer them, and they will learn the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.”

^9 (B)King Shishak came to Jerusalem and took the treasures from the Temple and from the palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that King Solomon had made. ¹⁰ To replace them, Rehoboam made bronze shields and entrusted them to the officers responsible for guarding the palace gates. ¹¹ Every time the king went to the Temple, the guards carried the shields and then returned them to the guardroom. ¹² Because he submitted to the Lord, the Lord's anger did not completely destroy him, and things went well for Judah.

⁷ Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹ Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you from the right way. It is good to receive inner strength from God's grace, and not by obeying rules about foods; those who obey these rules have not been helped by them.

¹⁰ The priests who serve in the Jewish place of worship have no right to eat any of the sacrifice on our altar. ^11 (A)The Jewish high priest brings the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place to offer it as a sacrifice for sins; but the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. ¹² For this reason Jesus also died outside the city, in order to purify the people from sin with his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp and share his shame. ¹⁴ For there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come. ¹⁵ Let us, then, always offer praise to God as our sacrifice through Jesus, which is the offering presented by lips that confess him as Lord. ¹⁶ Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.

¹⁸ Keep on praying for us. We are sure we have a clear conscience, because we want to do the right thing at all times. ¹⁹ And I beg you even more earnestly to pray that God will send me back to you soon.

Closing Prayer

^20-21 God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood,^[a] by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.