2 Chronicles 12:2
“In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Yahweh,”
What does 2 Chronicles 12:2 mean?
When King Rehoboam's kingdom had been established for just five years, the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah and attacked Jerusalem. The writer makes clear that this wasn't random misfortune, but a direct consequence: the people had turned away from God. In that ancient world, military invasion often felt like the ultimate evidence that you'd lost divine protection, so this would have been a terrifying and humbling moment for the nation. The passage reminds us that there are real consequences when we drift from what matters most, though it also sets up the question of what happens next when we turn back around.