When Rehoboam defaulted on his faith in God, his life went from gold to bronze

3 min read

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 

-Paul, Galatians 6:7

First the shields were gold. That was the original material used for these protective pieces issued to the soldiers guarding Rehoboam’s palace and the Temple. Not only were they strong, they were also beautiful. They gleemed in the sunshine. Their brilliance was a symbol of a kingdom that was once united and strong.

But the beauty of the shields would only be a memory after the Egyptians came:

So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the LORD’S Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes…2 Chronicles 10:9-10

Sadly, the shields told the story. Downgraded from gold to bronze, they depicted what had happened to a nation. Because of the leader’s departure from the Lord, things had taken a sad downturn. It became a season of loss and reversal. The golden days were but a memory. The sparkle had faded.

Sobering, huh?

Sin always brings a downgrade. When we choose to go against God’s good plan, we know that it will result in our own decline. The Bible is pretty clear about this. Sin causes us to forfeit the golden quality of life in God’s will for the tarnished bronze of self-centered living. Though sin will not cause us to lose our most precious gift – eternal life in Christ – still it has a way of negatively affecting just about everything else, including our relationships, our well-being, our finances, etc.

As the Proverb puts it, “The way of the transgressor is hard.”

Not that bad things don’t also happen even when we’re living right. We know better. Trouble sometimes knocks on the door of those who are living righteously, too (e.g., Job; John the Baptist). But when we abandon the path that the Lord has kindly marked out for us in His word, we have a guarantee that things are about to go downhill. We’re about to go from gold to bronze.

As for Rehoboam, he would come back around later and God was merciful to him (he always is), yet his choices would have lingering consequences. The downgrade effect would still be felt for a long time.

Sin causes us to forfeit the golden quality of life in God’s will for the tarnished bronze of self-centered living.

May the Lord help us today to resist the downgrade of sin. And for those of us who have already made the unfair trade, here’s to an upgrade! May the Lord forgive us and restore to us once again the golden luster of life lived in fellowship with Him.

After all, why settle for bronze when you can have gold?

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.