< Back

Read: 2 Chronicles 10
Listen: 2 Chronicles 10

Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you. 2 Chronicles 10:4

God promises to establish a kingdom that will never end through the family line of David. David has a son, Solomon, who then has a son, Rehoboam. Rehoboam has incredible potential. He is the son of the wisest man who ever lived and is handed a kingdom in its golden era. Rehoboam’s family past, however, was a complicated mixture of both faithfulness and failure. Solomon (Rehoboam’s father) had taken many foreign wives as his own (something God explicitly commanded him not to do) and also enlisted forced labor to build his empire. Rehoboam had a choice—he could either reckon with his past or it would bring wreckage to his present.

We each have to deal with our past if we are going to live faithfully and wisely in the present. No matter our upbringing or home of origin, we all have experiences or choices from our past that we need to confront, confess or heal from. We are both sinners and sufferers—those who have been wronged and who have also done wrong. God invites us to bring the experiences and choices of our past to him before they have a further negative effect on our present. He offers redemption and restoration through Jesus.

TODAY: Is there something in your past you need to repent or heal from? Take time to confess sins or acknowledge hurts. Confess wrongdoing knowing that God cleanses us of our sin (1 John 1:9) and acknowledge wounds knowing that God is near the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). If you need additional help to process your past, reach out for help at care@adabible.org.