2 Chronicles 12:5

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."

2 Chronicles 12:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 12:5

Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam
The same as in ( 2 Chronicles 11:2 ) , there called the man of God:

and to the princes of Judah that were gathered together to Jerusalem
because of Shishak;
through fear of him, and for safety and protection from him, and to consult what was to be done at this critical juncture, whether to fight him, or make peace with him on the best terms they could:

and said unto them, thus saith the Lord, ye have forsaken me;
his law, his word, worship, and ordinances, ( 2 Chronicles 12:1 ) ,

and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak;
suffered him to invade their land, take their fenced cities, and come up to Jerusalem without any opposition, as a punishment of their apostasy; and to explain this providence to them, and call them to repentance, was the prophet sent.

2 Chronicles 12:5 In-Context

3 He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 cavalry, and soldiers from all over - the Egyptian army included Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.
4 They took the fortress cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem itself.
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.
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.