God

But in time, after Rechav'am had consolidated his rulership and had become strong, he, and with him all Isra'el, abandoned the Torah of ADONAI.

In the fifth year of King Rechav'am, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim, because they had acted faithlessly toward ADONAI.

Now Sh'ma'yah the prophet came to Rechav'am and the leaders of Y'hudah who had gathered in Yerushalayim because of Shishak and said to them, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Because you have abandoned me, I have abandoned you to the hands of Shishak.'"

In response, the leaders of Isra'el and the king humbled themselves; they said, "ADONAI is right."

When ADONAI saw that they had humbled themselves, this word of ADONAI came to Sh'ma'yah: "Because they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will grant them a measure of deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Yerushalayim through Shishak.

However, they will become his slaves, so that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving me and serving earthly kingdoms."

So Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim. He took the treasures in the house of ADONAI and the treasures in the royal palace - he took everything, including the gold shields Shlomo had made.

Whenever the king went to the house of ADONAI, the guard would come and get the shields; later they would return them to the guardroom.

After he humbled himself, the anger of ADONAI turned away from him, so that he did not altogether destroy him; moreover, some good things were found in Y'hudah.

So King Rechav'am consolidated his rule in Yerushalayim. Rechav'am was forty-one years old when he began his reign; and he ruled seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city ADONAI had chosen from all the tribes of Isra'el to bear his name; his mother's name was Na'amah the 'Amonit.

He did what was evil, because he had not set his heart on seeking ADONAI.

Don't you know that ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, gave rulership over Isra'el to David forever, to him and his descendants, by a covenant of salt [which is unbreakable]?

Now you expect to withstand the kingdom of ADONAI in the hands of the descendants of David. Yes, there are a great number of you, and you have with you the gold calves that Yarov'am made as gods for you.

Yes, you drove out the cohanim of ADONAI, the descendants of Aharon, and the L'vi'im; and you made yourselves priests as do the peoples in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of those non-gods.

"But we are different. ADONAI is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have cohanim performing the service for ADONAI, descendants of Aharon. With the L'vi'im doing their work,

they burn to ADONAI every morning and evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of ADONAI our God. But you have abandoned him.

"So look here! God is with us, leading us and his cohanim with the battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. People of Isra'el! Don't fight against ADONAI, the God of your ancestors; because you will not succeed."

Thus when Y'hudah looked back, the battle had to be fought in front of them and behind them. They cried to ADONAI, and the cohanim sounded the trumpets.

Then the men of Y'hudah gave forth a shout, and as the men of Y'hudah shouted, God struck Yarov'am and all Isra'el before Aviyah and Y'hudah.

The people of Isra'el fled before Y'hudah, and God handed them over to them.

Thus the people of Isra'el were subdued that time, and the people of Y'hudah won the victory, because they relied on ADONAI the God of their ancestors.

Yarov'am did not recover his strength during the time of Aviyahu. Finally ADONAI struck him, and he died.

Asa did what was good and right from the perspective of ADONAI his God;

He ordered Y'hudah to seek ADONAI, the God of their ancestors, and to obey the Torah and the mitzvah.

Because the land was quiet, and he had no war during those years, since ADONAI had given him rest, he built fortified cities in Y'hudah.