Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah. – 2 Chronicles 12:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 12, 2026): 2 Chronicles 12

If all of your friends did something stupid, would you do it too? It is a classic question of a parent whose child wants to do something dangerous or uncalled for. It is actually not a very good question. If all of my friends are going to jump off the local bridge, no, I am not jumping. What that event will do is make you go and find new friends. And the thing that I am planning to do is obviously not that objectively stupid. Jumping off a bridge or a cliff, especially onto land, is objectively stupid. I know that jumping won’t hurt me, but the sudden stop will. Jumping off a cliff into water, depending on how high the cliff is, might seem like fun. I am still not sure I would do it, but I know others who probably wouldn’t give that jump a second thought.

Often, these sorts of things are comparative in nature. If a friend has done it and survived, I might be more likely to do it. Maybe. I tend to have a fairly strong independent streak, but even I have heard the phrase about jumping off a bridge from my mom during my teenage years. However, it was usually pointed at me because I wanted to go out in the middle of a snowstorm in just a jean jacket or some other foolish, but relatively small, action. What going out in a snowstorm has to do with jumping off a bridge, I am still more than a little unclear.

Rehoboam was not a good King. His father, King Solomon, had laid the foundation for a divided empire, but with a bit of wisdom, Rehoboam could have saved the nation; he didn’t. He tried to set Israel up to defend itself against Egypt and lost anyway. He ignored his own spiritual health, as well as that of his family and his nation. He followed in the path of his father, marrying many wives, although only a fraction of the number Solomon had married, against the instructions of God. He carried on a civil war with Israel, even though he was given the chance to avoid it early in his career. The list could go on. All of this happened because Rehoboam chose the wisdom of his friends over that of his God-appointed advisors.

However, as bad as Rehoboam might have been, he wasn’t as bad as Jeroboam. And so, while Egypt would defeat them and rob the Temple of its treasure, including, according to Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” carrying away the Ark of the Covenant, Egypt did not occupy Judah. Egypt had fought to support Israel, but Jeroboam was unable to defeat Judah as well. This passage reminds us that there was some good in Judah, and probably more than in Israel. And that good saved Rehoboam from possibly having to jump off a bridge.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 4