Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORDis righteous.
The humbling took place in the fifth year of Rehoboam, during the invasion by Shishak of Egypt that took the fenced cities of Judah. The invasion was punishment from God for apostasy in forsaking His law through disobedience and unfaithfulness. The king and the princes humbled themselves after being told by the prophet that their disobedience had put them under Shishak's power. They had not yet gone so far in apostasy as to despise divine judgments, so in the losses caused by the invasion they recognized the hand of God.
By saying the Lord is righteous they acknowledged that God was right and just to punish them for forsaking Him, recognizing their losses as His just judgment. Because of this humility Jerusalem was spared from destruction and given some deliverance, though the people would remain subject to Shishak. Their humbling was genuine but lasted only for a time.
The humbling took place in the fifth year of Rehoboam, during the invasion by Shishak of Egypt that took the fenced cities of Judah. The invasion was punishment from God for apostasy in forsaking His law through disobedience and unfaithfulness. The king and the princes humbled themselves after being told by the prophet that their disobedience had put them under Shishak's power. They had not yet gone so far in apostasy as to despise divine judgments, so in the losses caused by the invasion they recognized the hand of God.
By saying the Lord is righteous they acknowledged that God was right and just to punish them for forsaking Him, recognizing their losses as His just judgment. Because of this humility Jerusalem was spared from destruction and given some deliverance, though the people would remain subject to Shishak. Their humbling was genuine but lasted only for a time.