2 Chronicles 12:7

7 When God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah: "Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them - I'll give them a break; I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 12:7

And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves
Though but externally; the Lord takes notice of external humiliation, as he did of Ahab's, ( 1 Kings 21:29 ) ,

the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, they have humbled
themselves, therefore I will not destroy them;
not now, at least not altogether, ( 2 Chronicles 12:12 ) ,

but I will grant them some deliverance;
yet not a complete one, for they were brought into servitude by Shishak, ( 2 Chronicles 12:8 ) , or only for a short time:

and my wrath shall not be poured out against Jerusalem by the hand of
Shishak;
that is, to the uttermost; that was reserved to another time, and to be done by another hand, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

2 Chronicles 12:7 In-Context

5 Then the prophet Shemaiah, accompanied by the leaders of Judah who had retreated to Jerusalem before Shishak, came to Rehoboam and said, "God's word: You abandoned me; now I abandon you to Shishak."
6 The leaders of Israel and the king were repentant and said, "God is right."
7 When God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah: "Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them - I'll give them a break; I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem.
8 What I will do, though, is make them Shishak's subjects - they'll learn the difference between serving me and serving human kings."
9 Then Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He plundered the treasury of The Temple of God and the treasury of the royal palace - he took everything he could lay his hands on. He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.