2 Chronicles 12:14 - How to Avoid Evil Behavior.
2 Chronicles 12:14; How to Avoid Evil Behavior.
2 Chr 12:14 (KJV) And he did evil, because he prepared not his
heart to seek the LORD.
2 Chr 12:14 (NIV) He did evil because he had not set his heart
on seeking the LORD.
2 Chr 12:14 (TEV) He did what was evil, because he did not try
to find the LORD'S will.
2 Chr 12:14 (NLT) But he was an evil king, for he did not seek
the LORD with all his heart.
2 Chr 12:14 (EAV) And he did evil because he did not set his
heart to seek (inquire of, yearn for) the Lord with all his desire.
CONTEXT
Egypt Plunders Jerusalem (12:1-16)
King Shishak Takes the Temple Treasures
Death of Rehoboam
Summary of Rehoboam's Reign
CROSS REFERENCES
Deut. 5:29 (KJV) O that there were such an heart in them, that
they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it
might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
1 Samuel 7:3 (KJV) And Samuel spake unto all the house of
Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then
put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare
your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver
you out of the hand of the Philistines.
1 Chron. 29:18 (KJV) O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of
Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the
thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Psalm 57:7 (KJV) My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I
will sing and give praise.
Psalm 78:8 (KJV) And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn
and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart
aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
Psalm 78:37 (KJV) For their heart was not right with him,
neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
Psalm 105:3-4 (KJV) Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of
them rejoice that seek the Lord. [4] Seek the Lord, and his strength:
seek his face evermore.
Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV) Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near: [7] Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.
Ezekiel 33:31 (KJV) And they come unto thee as the people
cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words,
but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love,
but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
1 Cor. 15:58 (KJV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch
as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Cor. 16:13 (KJV) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you
like men, be strong.
Matthew 6:24 (NCV) No one can serve two masters. The person
will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master
and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and
worldly riches.
Rom 13:14 (KJV) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make
not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Galatians 5:16 (KJV) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Col 3:1, 2 (KJV) If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
1 Pet 4:1-4 (TLB) Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you
must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too.
For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power, and you
won't be spending the rest of your life chasing after evil desires but
will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the
past of the evil things the godless enjoy--sex sin, lust, getting
drunk, wild parties, drinking bouts, and the worship of idols, and
other terrible sins. Of course, your former friends will be very
surprised when you don't eagerly join them anymore in the wicked things
they do, and they will laugh at you in contempt and scorn.
Acts 14:22b (KJV) We must through much tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION
The pen of inspiration has traced the sad record of Solomon's
successor as one who failed to exert a strong influence for loyalty to
Jehovah. Naturally headstrong, confident, self-willed, and inclined to
idolatry, nevertheless, had he placed his trust wholly in God, he would
have developed strength of character, steadfast faith, and submission
to the divine requirements. But as time passed, the king put his
trust in the power of position and in the strongholds he had
fortified. Little by little he gave way to inherited weakness, until he
threw his influence wholly on the side of idolatry..... How sad, how
filled with significance, the words, "And all Israel with him"! The
people whom God had chosen to stand as a light to the surrounding
nations were turning from their Source of strength and seeking to become
like the nations about them. As with Solomon, so with Rehoboam--the
influence of wrong example led many astray. And as with them, so to a
greater or less degree is it today with everyone who gives himself up to
work evil--the influence of wrongdoing is not confined to the doer.
No man liveth unto himself. None perish alone in their iniquity.
Every life is a light that brightens and cheers the pathway of others,
or a dark and desolating influence that tends toward despair and
ruin. We lead others either upward to happiness and immortal life, or
downward to sorrow and eternal death. {CC 201}
Are the laws of temperance thought hard? The effects of
intemperance will be found much harder. The service of God is perfect
liberty; the service of our lusts is complete slavery. Rehoboam... never
quite cast off God; yet he engaged not his heart to seek the Lord. See
what his fault was; he did not serve the Lord, because he did not
seek the Lord. He did not pray, as Solomon, for wisdom and grace; he
did not consult the word of God, did not seek to that as his oracle,
nor follow its directions. He made nothing of his religion, because
he did not set his heart to it, nor ever came up to a steady
resolution in it. He did evil, because he never was determined for good.
[Matthew Henry Commentary]
When it comes to dieting, some people will go to great lengths
to maintain their great widths. When it comes to hard work, many
will stop at nothing. And when it comes to personal revival, some use
mighty thin thread to mend their ways. Why? Because it is easier--and
less painful--to opt for halfhearted compromise than to pay the price
of wholehearted commitment to God,
Rehoboam followed the Lord only as long as it was politically
expedient. Once his kingdom was solidly established, he had no further use
for the law of the Lord--or the Lord of the law. But in the end, it
was Rehoboam who was the loser for his foolish decision.
Think of your life as a shiny new penny. You can spend it any
way you wish, but you can only spend it once. And you cannot spend
half a penny--it's an "all or nothing" transaction. Find a penny and
hold it in your hand as you talk to God about your life. . . and how
you will invest the remaining years of it in his service. [Daily
Walk Bible]
How might our epitaph read? What have we done in our life that
is worth remembering? How will people remember our relationship
with God when we die? Rehoboam's epitaph reads this way: "He was an
evil king, for he never did decide really to please the Lord." Sadly,
we spend too little time really seeking God. That is one reason why
recovery is so difficult for us. When we die, our wealth and achievements
will soon be forgotten. Our relationship with God and the things we
do for him are the only things that will last. We would be wise to
put our energy into things of eternal value. [Life Recovery SB]
Don't worry whether God is with you. Concentrate on whether or
not you're walking with Him! [Victor Bible Reader's Companion]
Let God have your life; he can do more with it than you can.
[Daily Walk Bible]
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