It was a mere 5 years into his reign, and Rehoboam’s kingdom was on the verge of destruction. The dynasty his grandfather, King David, had established was hanging in the balance. Shishak, king of Egypt, had launched an attack against the Southern Kingdom and captured the newly fortified cities of Judah, with Jerusalem in his sights. But even more startling, the word of the Lord arrived through the prophet Shemaiah to Rehoboam and all the leaders who were gathered in Jerusalem from fear of Shishak, “You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.” 2 Chronicles 12:5
In the attack, Shishak stole all the vast wealth that Rehoboam’s father and grandfather, Solomon and David, had acquired. All the treasures of the House of the Lord and all from the Royal Palace, along with all of the gold shields King Solomon had made, were taken. Treasures that had taken 80 years to build up. Gone.
Going back to Rehoboam’s grandfather, King David, the Lord spoke, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” 2 Samuel 7:16 So what happened? We need to look back in Israel’s history for clues to better understand where it all started to unravel.
Approximately 500 years prior, God had given foundational commands to the Israelites before they were to take possession of the Promised Land of Canaan. Commands given, that if obeyed, would keep them in covenant and under His protection. Commands were given if they were to choose a king over them, cautioning them against becoming like the surrounding nations and their practices (Deut 17:16-20) as follows:
“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’” This is a reminder to rely on and trust in God for the nation’s strength and security. The second part serves as a reminder of their bondage in Egypt. For us, it has the dual meaning of never returning to past sins that we have been delivered from.
“The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord.” This not only reflects God’s original design of marriage consisting of one man and one woman (Titus 1:6-9; 1 Tim 3:2), but it also aligns with other scriptures that forbid marriage with pagans who would lead one away from God and out of His will. (Deut 7:3-6)
“And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” While God does bless and entrust individuals with wealth, the overall message points to the danger of self-reliance and trusting in one’s skills or abilities, forgetting that we are but vessels filled with gifts and talents from God our Creator and Provider. Also, in some cases, vast wealth breeds pride and complacency.
“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way, he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.” This command acknowledges God in all that we do and keeps Him in the center. It’s meditating on His word day and night, and having a reverential fear of God. It also speaks to living in humility, loving one’s neighbor as himself, and staying on the straight and narrow path. Overall, these commands to Israel’s future king, if followed, would result in an enduring kingdom.
Moving forward from the covenant given, 1 Kings 6:11-13 says, “The word of the Lord came to Solomon: “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.” Such a wonderful promise given! And while Solomon did start humbly serving God, his actions later in life changed the course of Israel’s history from the path that God intended.
While King Solomon was famed as the wisest king to have ever lived, He did not remain faithful in using the gift of wisdom that God had bestowed on him for the glory of God during his entire reign. For one, He was not wise in his choice to disobey God in marrying many foreign wives. (Deut 17:17) Nor did he practice wisdom in not being fully devoted to the Lord, as his father David was. Instead, he went after the gods of his pagan wives, even Molech, the false god who required child sacrifice. (1 Kings 11:7) In 1 Kings 11:6, it says that Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord. This faulty foundation set the stage for failure and a kingdom that would fall if not corrected.
Rehoboam began his reign from 931 to 913 BC. His mother, one of Solomon’s 700 wives, was Naamah, an Ammonite. He grew up in the lap of luxury and with a pagan mother who, along with his father gone rogue, had undoubtedly influenced his upbringing. And though he became king at age 41, he lacked wise leadership skills, acting foolishly from day one.
It started at his coronation in Shechem. And the very man who was chosen to represent the people of Israel to present their demands to the prospective king was no other than Jeroboam, son of Nebat. The same of which Solomon sought to kill in response to God’s judgment against him for his idolatry.
Before he fled to Egypt, the Prophet Ahijah had brought the word of the Lord to Jeroboam, that he would be given 10 of the 12 tribes, “For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.” 1 Kings 11:33
The moment arrived. Rehoboam had asked for three days to consider their requests for him to lighten the tax burdens imposed on them by his father, Solomon, stating that if so, they would be loyal subjects. Perhaps for the sake of appearance, he asked the advice of the experienced elders who served under his father, as he immediately rejected their recommendation for compassion to the people as if their wise counsel was not what he wanted to hear. Instead, he presented the advice of those inexperienced, the young men he grew up with.
Their advice was quite shocking: “The young men replied, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! 11 Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!” 1 Kings 12:10-11
And in that moment, Rehoboam lost most of his kingdom as the 10 northern tribes rebelled against his rulership. He then moved on to make another poor decision in attempting to collect tribute from them, “Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.” (2 Chr. 10:18; 1 Kgs. 12:18)
This marked the end of the 80-year Davidic dynasty as Israel forsook the house of David and made Jeroboam their king, forming the Northern Kingdom. This fulfilled the word of the Lord to Solomon, that because of his idolatry, God would tear the kingdom from him and would give it to his servant under his son’s rulership. In God’s mercy and love for King David, Solomon’s judgment was delayed. Then, through Rehoboam’s pride, foolishness, and lack of consulting God, all was fulfilled.
Yet again, Rehoboam made another bad decision. He assembled 180,000 warriors to fight against Israel in an attempt to restore the kingdom by force. However, God sent word through His prophet Shemaiah, “This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing! So, they obeyed the message of the LORD and went home, as the LORD had commanded.” 1 Kings 12:24 Fortunately, Rehoboam listened.
Meanwhile, in the Northern Kingdom, instead of trusting God’s promise to give Jeroboam an enduring kingdom, he feared that the people’s loyalty would change if they were to go to Jerusalem to worship God. So, he chose to follow in Solomon’s example of rebellion and idolatry by erecting two golden calves, placed in Bethel and Dan, telling the people that those were the gods who brought them up from Egypt (1 Kings 12:26-30)
With Jeroboam’s ushering in of state-sponsored idolatry, the priests and Levites, along with others in Israel who remained faithful to God, left everything behind to relocate to Jerusalem, siding with Rehoboam, so they could be free to worship the God of their ancestors. “The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed his priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made.” 2 Chronicles 11:14-15
With faithfulness to God comes blessing. Under the priests and Levites’ influence, not only was the Southern Kingdom of Judah strengthened, but they followed after the way of King David for 3 years. Prov 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Sadly, this was short-lived as after Rehoboam’s kingdom was established, strengthened, and fortified, he trusted in his own strength and all Israel turned from serving the Lord.
“Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed, they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.” 1 Kings 14:22-24
In their unfaithfulness, they had broken their covenant with the Lord. With God’s hand of protection lifted, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked, and their destruction was imminent. With reality sinking in, King Rehoboam and Israel’s leaders humbled themselves, saying, “The Lord is just”. And with this act of humility, the Lord who is merciful, took notice.
“When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: ‘Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. 8 But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.” 2 Chron 12:7-8
Even after being spared, Rehoboam never truly gave his heart to God to love Him with all his heart, mind, and soul. 2 Chronicles 12:14 states, “He did what was evil, because he did not try to find the Lord’s will.” He may have shown up at the temple for worship and offered sacrifices, but his heart was not committed. To the very end, Rehoboam continued to disregard God’s commands, including the one not to fight his brethren in the Northern Kingdom: “There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.” 1 Kings 14:30
Rehoboam’s life contrasts with his grandfather, David, who, while he did stumble and fall short, remained faithful in humble pursuit of God and His will. Acts 13:22 says, “But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.” Because of his sincere devotion and obedience to the Lord, David became the standard by which all future kings thereafter were measured.
Rehoboam would have been wise to have learned from both his father’s and grandfather’s leadership and the consequences of their choices in devotion to God vs rebellion, and how their actions impacted the nation as a whole with blessing vs judgment. While judgment stemming from Solomon’s rebellion was unavoidable, Rehoboam could have course corrected in truly seeking God’s will and would have reaped the benefits of blessing and an enduring kingdom, vs continuing on the path, leading the nation in the direction of exile.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
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