II Chronicles 12:10 Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass
If you have ever been to New York City, perhaps you have seen a little stand or store that sold Rolex watches for almost nothing. Well, if you have ever bought such a watch, what you bought was a cheap knockoff. It was not a Rolex; it was a fake, cheaply made in China and made to make people think you are something you are not by wearing a watch that is not what it purports to be. There are people who wear watches to tell time, and there are people who wear watches to tell a story of how great they are. Those are two different things. To look like a Rolex is not to be a Rolex. I’m not saying it is wrong to have a cheap watch. I’ve had one many times. What I am saying is that there is a difference between wearing a fake watch and wearing the real thing.
In II Chronicles 11 you find a king named Rehoboam who had inherited shields of gold from Solomon his father, and because he sought the strength of himself and rejected the strength of God, judgment came in the form of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who took spoil back to Egypt, including those shields of gold. II Chronicles 12:10 says, “Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass.” So, from then on Rehoboam made shields that may have looked superficially like gold but were not gold. He was living with fakes, shallow substitutes. That is a picture of a bigger problem, living in his own strength and not in God’s. To live on pride is to live on substitutes.
Verse 14 says that he “did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” So, this sin was not active; it was passive. It wasn’t what he did; it was what he did not do. What he did not do was seek the Lord. Why did he not seek the Lord? He didn’t think he needed the Lord. When the Bible says he “prepared not his heart to seek the LORD,” that word prepared is earlier translated in verse 1 as establish. It says, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” So, he settled upon his own strength instead of God’s, his own way instead of God’s, his own will instead of God’s, and his own power instead of God’s. As a consequence, he had brass shields instead of gold. He was living on substitutes.
There are three things to note about this. First, pride is natural. It is the default for every one of us. We seek our own way, but that is living on substitutes when we could have God’s strength and guidance. Verse 16 tells us, as it always does about such kings, that he died and “his son reigned in his stead.” That is to say that no matter how great you are, at some time your time will be ended, and someone will take your place and live in your stead. So, at the end of the day pride is vain. It is not just vain, but it is vanity in the sense that it is empty. To live in pride is to live on substitutes.
Second, humility is an act of decision. The Bible tells us there was a time when Rehoboam realized the error of his way and turned to God. Verse 6 tells us, “Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves.” Verse 7 says, “And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came… saying…therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance.” Verse 12 says, “And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether.” So, humility is an act of decision. Pride is natural. It wasn’t what he did; it was what he did not do. He did not prepare his heart to seek God, but instead to seek himself. He established his own kingdom. Humility is active, an act of decision.
Finally, God is a rewarder. He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and He will reward evil with what it deserves. The Bible says that when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, He granted some deliverance. It is an amazing thing that an infinite God would respond to finite people, but He does. We mentioned this recently, but as great and magnificent as God is, He still has regard to the actions of people. He still regards the hearts of people and turns to those who turn to Him. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,” it says in James.
So, whatever your state, station, or place today, remember that to live in pride is to live on substitutes because only God can be who God is. Turn to Him today and know that when you do, God will turn to you.