And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
Rehoboam has just lost ten of the twelve tribes. His first instinct as king in Jerusalem is to raise an army of 180,000 men and take them back by force. It raises a question bigger than ancient politics: when God's people split, may the stronger side force the weaker back?
C. Knapp traces the thinking behind the muster.
Such a huge loss, such terrible results coming so suddenly, are not easy to accept. Force may still work. There is the army, one hundred and eighty thousand strong: these rebels should soon feel the force of its unbeatable power. Might must make right, if right cannot be shown in any other way.
Rehoboam wanted something God Himself wants: one undivided people.
Rehoboam at once sets to work to bring the people of God together again, and, using the methods that suited that age, he gathers together an army for this purpose. There is no question that it was in accord with God's thoughts that the people should be one. They had been one in the start of God's ways with them, and in the day to come they will be one according to the word of the prophet, "I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all" (Ezek. 37:22). So it might seem that Rehoboam was right to try to end the division and unite the people of God.
A single sentence from the prophet Shemaiah stops the campaign: this thing is from Me. Commentators tie that sentence back to God's earlier word to Solomon.
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brothers," and they are not to "go up or fight against" them. And Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is done by Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and said to him, "Since this has been your practice… I will surely tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is done by Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
So the 180,000 were not marching against Jeroboam only.
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment of the sins of Solomon (1 Kings 11:33), brought on by the folly of Rehoboam; it must therefore stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, good as the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes.
The order sounds like a limit. Writers read it as rescue, and they point to a later king who fought Israel anyway.
It was mercy on God's part to send this message, for otherwise there might have been a terrible slaughter with no problem resolved at all. Later on, Amaziah, a king of Judah, attacked Joash king of Israel, but Joash badly defeated him (2 Kings 14:8-12). At least Rehoboam had sense enough to listen to Shemaiah and to obey the Word of the Lord.
Delivering it took nerve, and receiving it took more.
Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man to stand in front of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people, and declare a message which must have been decidedly unwelcome. And one cannot but admire the gracious submission of king and people.
The ban is specific. The difference matters wherever believers are divided.
God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation, or to find out why the breach had happened, or to confess their failure together, but He did forbid them to fight with their brothers… I wish we had all rightly learned the lesson that this part of the story teaches so plainly. Where there has been general failure, it is best to drop the sword and for everyone to go to their knees.
Obedience here is not passivity. Accepting the split still leaves work to do.
Would it not be our wisdom to recognise the governmental hand of God upon us because of our worldliness and departure from the Word? To bow under the chastening hand of God? To accept the reproach and sorrow of division? To remain in quiet obedience to the Word, on God's ground for His people, seeking to strengthen the things that remain, and feed the people of God? And would not those who firmly acted this way, in devotion and faithfulness to the Word, become a refuge for the distressed people of God from every quarter?
- Muster — Rehoboam loses ten tribes and raises 180,000 men. If right cannot be shown another way, might must make right.
- Motive — His goal, one undivided people, matched God's own thought; a good aim does not make the method good.
- Message — Shemaiah says the split came from God. To reverse it by force was to fight against God.
- Mercy — The order to stand down spared a slaughter that would have settled nothing. Amaziah later attacked Israel and was crushed.
- Mandate — The sword was forbidden; reconciliation was not. Confess the failure, bow under God's hand, strengthen and feed what is left. Such people become a refuge for others.
But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Rehoboam has mustered 180,000 fighting men to force the ten tribes back under his rule. At that moment God speaks — not to the army, but to a prophet. What follows turns a civil war into a lesson about accepting God's hand in a loss you brought on yourself.
(Where these writers quote "brethren," the ESV reads "relatives.")
The verse calls Shemaiah "the man of God." The word comes to him, not to the king. One writer sees this as a kindness to a collapsing kingdom.
It should be noted that the role of the prophet becomes more and more prominent as the kingship falls into ruin... Now here is Shemaiah, who turns Rehoboam from his plans of war. The role of the prophet was a great grace. It allowed relations between God and His people to continue despite the ruin. Above all the prophet was the mouthpiece for the Word of God. God addressed this Word to him, and he could say, "Thus says the Lord."
Delivering it took nerve.
Shemaiah (whose name means "heard of the Lord"), a man of God, brought the message from the Lord not to fight against Israel. They obeyed, and there was no war... Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man to stand in front of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people, and declare a message that must have been very unwelcome. And one cannot help admiring the gracious submission of king and people.
The message that follows calls him king of Judah, not king of Israel. Rehoboam still had an army, and force looked like the answer.
Force may still work. There is the army, one hundred and eighty thousand strong: it will soon make these troublemakers feel its unbeatable power. Might must make right, if right cannot be shown any other way. But "the God of peace," who loves His people even when they are misguided and in error, warns the king of Judah (note the deliberate limiting of his title, 2 Chron. 11:3) by the word of the man of God, Shemaiah.
The division was real. But the reason for standing down goes back to what God had already said to Solomon.
However, he has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brethren." They are not to "go up nor fight against" them... God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and said to him, "Since this has been done by you... I will tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is done by Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
Reuniting the nation sounds like a worthy aim. But the split was God's own sentence on Solomon's sin.
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment for the sins of Solomon (1 Kings 11:33). Rehoboam's folly brought it about, and it therefore had to stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, however good the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes.
Rehoboam is the one who provoked the revolt, so he is not the man to punish it.
Rehoboam would fight (2 Chronicles 11), but God stops him. It was his own fault, and it was not fitting for him to fight... The man who is guilty of a fault is not the man who can rightly or fairly rebuke another. In any case, he must be thoroughly humbled about his own fault before he is in a moral condition to do it. The Lord therefore disciplined Rehoboam: He tied his hands and would not even let him punish his rebellious subjects.
One writer marks the limits of the ban.
God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation. He did not forbid them to find out why the breach had happened, or to confess their failure together. But He did forbid them to fight with their brethren... Where there has been general failure, it is just as well that everyone drop the sword and go to their knees.
- Sin — the split punished Solomon's sin, and Rehoboam's folly brought it about.
- Sent — with the kingship in ruins, God keeps contact through a prophet who can say, "Thus says the Lord."
- Brothers — the ten tribes remain brothers; the division changes the map, not the family.
- From Me — since God's own hand made the breach, a war to undo it would have been war against Him.
- Knees — drop the sword, but keep seeking peace and owning the failure.
Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
God sends Shemaiah with a message for two named parties: Rehoboam, "king of Judah," and "all Israel in Judah and Benjamin." Both titles raise a question — why is Rehoboam no longer king of Israel, and why does the name Israel now belong to the two tribes that stayed?
Rehoboam had an army of 180,000 and a plan to take back what he had lost. One writer sees meaning in the way God limits his title here.
It must have been clear to him now that the rebellion was very real and serious. It was not a passing wave of discontent that would soon die away by itself and be forgotten. But a loss this huge, and results so terrible and unexpected, are not easy to accept. Force may still work. There is the army, one hundred and eighty thousand strong. Might must make right, if right cannot be shown any other way. But "the God of peace," who loves His people even when they are misguided and in error, warns the king of Judah (note the intentional limit of his title, 2 Chron. 11:3) by the word of the man of God, Shemaiah.
Here the name Israel belongs to Judah and Benjamin. One writer, weighing the same wording a chapter later, ties the name to loyalty and not to size.
Why is it said here, "all Israel with him," when the ten tribes had forsaken the law and the temple, led by Jeroboam's priests? Perhaps Judah is called Israel because it stayed true to David's house, and so was still on covenant ground. The ten tribes had left it, and in moral terms they were no longer Israel. So the name here belongs only to the two tribes that clung to the house of David and to the temple.
Shemaiah had to carry this message to a nation already under arms.
Shemaiah (heard of Jehovah), a man of God, brought the message from the Lord not to fight against Israel. They obeyed, and the war never happened. Many Israelites who were true to Jehovah, as well as all the priests and Levites, remained in the kingdom of Judah. As failure had come in, prophecy at once reappeared. Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man. He stood in front of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people, and declared a message that must have been most unwelcome. And one cannot help admiring the gracious submission of king and people.
God names the king here as "the son of Solomon." One writer links the division back to God's earlier word to Solomon, and still calls the ten tribes "brethren."
However, he has to learn, and all Israel with him, that the ten tribes are still their "brethren" despite the division. They are not to "go up nor fight against" them. Moreover Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is from Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and said to him, "Since this has been your practice … I will surely tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is from Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
Reuniting the nation was not a wicked wish. Yet pressing it would have cost Rehoboam dearly.
2 Chronicles 11 tells us two important facts. Rehoboam had thought to bring the ten tribes back under the yoke of obedience. But in doing so, he would have been opposing God's governmental dealings with Judah. The prophet Shemaiah turns him away from this decision. It would have led to his ruin, and it would have had the most serious consequences for the tribe of Judah. The eyes of the Lord were still resting on that tribe, despite His judgments.
The prohibition was specific. It closed one door and left others open.
But read that Old Testament story with care. God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation. He did not forbid them to find out why the breach had happened, or to confess their failure together. He did forbid them to fight with their brethren. I wish we had all learned the lesson that this part of the story teaches so clearly. Where there has been general failure, it is as well to drop the sword and for all to go to their knees.
- Named — God calls him king of Judah, not king of Israel. The title itself admits the loss his army meant to reverse.
- Reframed — God calls the loyal two tribes "all Israel." The name follows faithfulness to David's house and the temple, not numbers.
- Related — the tribes that broke away are still "brethren." Division changed the map, not the family tie.
- Restrained — wanting unity was right. Winning it back by force would have opposed God's own act, and Shemaiah's word saved Rehoboam from that ruin.
- Redirected — God forbids the sword, but not reconciliation, honest confession and prayer. That is the door left open.
Thus saith Jehovah Go not up, nor fight with your brethren; return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
The kingdom has just split, and Rehoboam has gathered 180,000 fighting men to force the ten tribes back under his rule. One sentence from God, carried by the prophet Shemaiah, stops the whole army and turns a political disaster into a divine act.
The words "this thing is from me" reach back past Rehoboam's folly to his father's sin. One writer sets them beside what God had already said to Solomon — some older translations read "this thing is done of me":
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brothers." They are not to "go up nor fight against" them. What is more, Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says "This thing is done of Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and said to him, "Because this is done by you … I will tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam "This thing is done of Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
This also explains the speed of the collapse — why a whole nation swung away behind a runaway servant:
"This thing is done of me." This explains how ten tribes, as if with one mind, so suddenly threw off their loyalty to the house of David. A fugitive servant no sooner blows his trumpet than they follow him. It was the judgment of the Lord, announced in Solomon's day, carried out in the days of his son.
Rehoboam's aim was not itself wrong.
There is no question that it was in line with God's thoughts that the people should be one. They had been one at the beginning of God's ways with them. In the day to come they will be one again, according to the word of the prophet… So it might look as if Rehoboam was right in his efforts to end the division and unite the people of God.
But once God has named the split as His own act, the campaign changes target:
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment for Solomon's sins, brought on by the folly of Rehoboam. So it had to stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, good as the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes.
God does not call the ten tribes traitors. He calls them family. (The ESV says "relatives"; older translations say "brethren," and the writers quoted here use that word.) Notice who sends the warning, and what He is called:
But "the God of peace" loves His people even when they are misguided and in error. He warns the king of Judah by the word of the man of God, Shemaiah.
Another writer measures that mercy by what the battle would have cost:
It was mercy on God's part to send this message, for otherwise there might have been a terrible slaughter with no problem resolved at all.
Delivering this word took nerve, and receiving it took humility.
It required courage to deliver such a message while the great preparations for war were under way. Rehoboam and the people obeyed and did not go to war… And the LORD also blessed the king and his people for believing the Word and being obedient. He always blesses when there is obedience.
Standing down was not the same as doing nothing.
From now on Rehoboam stays inside the smaller area the division has left him, for we read that "he lived in Jerusalem." Does this mean he settles down to quiet ease and inaction? Does he stop caring about the interests of the people of God? Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder… As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." He also provided "store of food, and of oil, and of wine." He provided food for the people of God.
Commentators apply this to splits among Christians today. Notice what God forbids here — and what He does not:
But look closely at that Old Testament story. God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation, or to find out why the break had happened, or to confess their failure together. What He did forbid was fighting with their brothers… Where all have failed, it is best to drop the sword and for everyone to go to their knees.
- Cause. The split was judgment for Solomon's disobedience; Rehoboam's folly was only the occasion.
- Claim. God takes responsibility for it — "this thing is from me" — so attacking the ten tribes meant fighting God Himself.
- Kinship. God still calls the rebels brothers, and He loves His people even when they are wrong.
- Obedience. Shemaiah spoke to an armed nation, and Rehoboam listened. Obedience brought blessing where war would have brought ruin.
- Rebuilding. The king bowed to God's hand, then built, fortified and fed what remained. The answer to division is not the sword but strengthening what is left.
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
Rehoboam was left with only two tribes, and God had forbidden him to fight for the rest. So instead of fighting he built, and Bethlehem heads the list.
The building happened because a war did not. Rehoboam had gathered an army, but God's word stopped him, and he listened. One writer explains why fighting on would have meant fighting God:
Under God's government this division of the kingdom was the punishment for Solomon's sins, brought on by Rehoboam's folly. So it had to stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, good as the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes. And he seems to have been thankful, because "they listened to the word of the LORD and returned and did not go against Jeroboam." So he set himself to secure what God had left him. He built, or garrisoned, fifteen cities inside his reduced territory. A successful rebel may turn invader, and Rehoboam, wiser now, will guard against that. There was war between him and the rebel leader Jeroboam all their days, and Solomon's son had to guard carefully what was left to him.
Losing most of the kingdom did not leave Rehoboam idle. His work now went into the part of the nation left to him — and into feeding it:
Does this however mean that he settles down to a life of quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder: he "built cities for defense in Judah." As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." He also provided stores of food, oil, and wine. He provided food for the people of God.
Yet a wall is an admission of danger. One writer asks who these new forts were built against:
Yet that the glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone, what greater proof than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as against others. While he dealt wisely, he prospered.
The first name on the list is the smallest town and the best known. Its later history makes its small size part of the point:
David was anointed in the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite, so it seems this was the place of David's birth. That is why Luke 2:11 calls it the "city of David." It was also the birthplace of Jesus. Though it was "too little to be among the clans of Judah," that suited His humiliation all the better. Bethlehem means "house of bread." It is a very fitting name for the place the Saviour would come from as a man — He who was the living bread that came down from heaven.
Tekoa is the third name in the verse. Its hill gave it more than one use:
Rehoboam built or fortified it "for defense." … It stood on a hill, so it was a good place for blowing the trumpet in time of danger, as in Jeremiah 6:1. The prophet Amos was among its herdsmen.
The threat these walls faced was not only foreign:
He realized now he was in danger from attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. Sadly this has happened again in the Church of God, where believers find themselves in danger from attacks by other professing Christians. For this we need the preparation of the nourishing and refreshing of the Word of God. We should certainly write this deep in our hearts, together with the ministry of the Spirit of God (the oil).
- Submit. Rehoboam stopped fighting for the kingdom he had lost. The loss was God's own act of government.
- Build. He accepted the smaller kingdom, but he did not sit still in it. He strengthened what remained.
- Stock. Walls were not enough. He stored food, oil and wine inside them — the Word of God feeding His people, with the Spirit's ministry.
- Shelter. Bethlehem leads the list. The "house of bread" was too little to count among Judah's clans, yet it became the birthplace of the One who is the living bread.
- Watch. Tekoa stood on a hill where a trumpet could warn the people. The danger was real, and it came from their own nation as much as from strangers.
and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
God had just stopped Rehoboam from marching against the ten tribes that broke away. So instead of an army he raised walls — a chain of fortified towns across Judah, and this verse names three of them. The list looks like dry geography. Commentators read it as a record of what a king does when he has lost most of his kingdom and may not win it back.
The fortifications only make sense against what Rehoboam gave up. He had set out against the ten tribes, then turned back at God's word.
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment of the sins of Solomon, brought about by the folly of Rehoboam; so it had to stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, good as the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes. And he appears to have been, for "they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam." He now sets himself to make sure of what had been left him.
Beth-zur shows why a town made the list.
Rehoboam built or fortified the city when the tribes divided… It commanded the road from Beer-sheba to Jerusalem.
Adullam was famous long before Rehoboam fortified it. A cave there had sheltered David and the men who came to him.
The "Cave of Adullam" has become a proverbial expression for a refuge in distress, because there gathered to David, besides his relatives, "everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul," and he became their commander. David was God's anointed king, and the prophet Gad went to him, and Abiathar the priest. So that outcast company had God's prophet, priest and king with them, even though all the outward forms of worship were somewhere else. This pictures the Lord Jesus in His rejection. When He was on earth the outward forms were not with Him.
(The ESV reads "bitter in soul" where older versions have "discontented.")
So what did Rehoboam do with the little he had left?
Does this mean that he settles down to a life of quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it, for at once we read he becomes a builder; he "built cities for defence in Judah." As we might say in our day, he "strengthened the things that remained." Moreover he provided "store of victual, and of oil, and of wine." He provided food for the people of God.
Still, a shadow hangs over the whole project.
Yet what greater proof that the glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as against others. While he dealt wisely, he prospered. But the same snare which caused Solomon's fall brings Rehoboam into more open guilt. When he had strengthened himself he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.
The danger came from inside the nation, and one commentator brings that home to readers today.
He realised now that he was in danger of attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. How sadly this condition has been repeated in the Church of God, where believers find themselves in danger from the attacks of other professing Christians. For this we need the preparation of the nourishing and refreshing of the Word of God. We should certainly store this in our hearts, along with the ministry of the Spirit of God (the oil).
- Obey first. Rehoboam built walls only because he accepted God's word not to fight. Forcing the nation back together would have been fighting against God.
- Then strengthen. He could not expand, so he "strengthened the things that remained." Beth-zur, Soco and Adullam were part of the little that God's love to David had left him.
- Store, don't just build. Stone alone feeds nobody; the cities held food, oil and wine, so the walls served the people inside them.
- Shelter the distressed. Adullam had been David's refuge for the distressed, the indebted and the bitter in soul. That outcast company had God's prophet, priest and king with them.
- Guard the heart. The forts faced his own people, and Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord once he had strengthened himself. So the defence that lasts is the Word of God stored in the heart.
and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
God has just told Rehoboam not to fight the ten tribes that broke away from him, so instead of marching north he starts building. Verse 8 names three of his strongholds — but why fortify towns he already owns, and what does it say about him that this is the best work left to do?
A ring of fortresses looks like strength. One writer reads it as the opposite — a measure of how much had already slipped away since Solomon's best days:
For three years this foolish son acted wisely. Yet what greater proof could there be that the glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as much as against others. As long as he acted wisely, he prospered.
Building was what remained because fighting had been forbidden, and the reason lay in Rehoboam himself:
Rehoboam wanted to fight (2 Chronicles 11), but God stops him. The fault was his own, and it was not fitting for him to fight. As far as I remember, God never stopped the other kings from fighting with Israel in the same way; but Rehoboam must not fight. A man who is guilty of a fault is not the man who can correct another well or rightly... So the Lord disciplined Rehoboam: He tied his hands and did not even allow him to punish his rebellious subjects.
One of the three towns named here, Gath, had a long history before Rehoboam ever walled it:
One of the five royal cities of the Philistines, and the city Goliath belonged to... David went to Achish king of Gath when his faith in God's protection failed him... Later, when he was king and in power, he took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines.
Judah's line of fortresses now included a town that had once belonged to its enemies.
Rehoboam did not sit idle in what was left to him:
At once we read that he becomes a builder; he "built cities for defence in Judah" (vv. 5-10). As we might say in our day, he "strengthened the things that remained." He also provided a "store of food, and of oil, and of wine" (v. 11). He provided food for the people of God.
Another writer asks how he could guard a kingdom that evil was already destroying from the inside:
His only duty was to keep what was left to him. But how could he do that when evil was already inside the kingdom, destroying it? The evil was beyond repair, yet that did nothing to lessen his responsibility to guard the people.
These walls faced two kinds of enemy:
Kept from the folly of attacking the ten tribes, Rehoboam turned to a strategy of defence, building fifteen cities in Judah and Benjamin as strongholds. He now realised he was in danger of attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. Sadly, the same thing has happened again in the Church of God, where believers find themselves in danger from the attacks of other professing Christians. For this we need the preparation of the nourishing and refreshing of the Word of God.
The fortresses of verse 8 stood only as long as obedience did. Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord, and in his fifth year Shishak king of Egypt took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. One writer names what that fall really meant:
Judah did not fall to their brother Israel, against whose religion they were right to defend themselves. They fell into the hands of a world from which God had once redeemed them — and that was a far deeper fall.
- Cause — The walls exist because the kingdom had split. The building itself is the clearest sign that Solomon's glory had already passed.
- Correction — God tied Rehoboam's hands because of his own fault. A man guilty of a fault is not fit to punish others for it.
- Commission — He could not win back what was lost. One duty remained: keep what was left, and feed the people inside the walls.
- Caution — The danger came from his own countrymen as much as from foreigners. For days like that, the writers point to the nourishing of God's Word.
- Collapse — Walls without obedience hold nothing. When he forsook the law, Egypt took the fortified cities he had built.
and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
This verse names three of the towns Rehoboam fortified after the kingdom split in two. The list looks dry, but it answers a hard question: what do you build when half the kingdom is gone?
The first name still sits on a map today.
A fortified city built by Rehoboam. It is identified with Dura, a large village that lies to the west of Hebron.
Lachish was fought over long before Rehoboam, and long after him.
An Amorite city in the lowlands of Judah. Its king was one of four kings called on by the king of Jerusalem to attack Gibeon, because Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites. But the Amorites lost the battle, and Joshua took Lachish after a two-day siege. It was a fortified city on the route running from north to south. When the kingdom divided, Rehoboam put a garrison in it. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, took it later. Among the slabs found at Nineveh is one showing the king sitting on his throne, with captives from Lachish kneeling before him, while his troops, passing in review, display the spoils they have taken. This slab is now in the British Museum.
Rehoboam had gathered troops to force the ten tribes back. A prophet stopped him.
It required courage to deliver such a message while great preparations for war were under way. Rehoboam and the people obeyed and did not go to war. They must have realised that if they disobeyed they would have been fighting against God. And the LORD also blessed the king and his people for believing the Word and being obedient. He always blesses when there is obedience. He built and fortified fifteen cities.
Rehoboam built against more than foreign armies.
Being kept from the folly of attacking the ten tribes, Rehoboam then concentrated on the strategy of defence... He realised now he was in danger of attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. How sadly the same thing has happened in the Church of God. Believers find themselves in danger from the attacks of other professing Christians.
The list also measures how far the kingdom fell in one generation.
Yet the glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone. What greater proof than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as well as against others.
A smaller kingdom did not mean a smaller job.
From now on Rehoboam stays inside the smaller area the division has created. We read that "he lived in Jerusalem." Does this mean he settles down to quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it, for at once we read that he becomes a builder... As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." What is more, he provided a store of food, oil and wine. He provided food for the people of God.
The walls and the stores drew people in.
What was the result? Judah became a refuge for the people of God. We read that the priests and the Levites throughout all Israel came to him from every district where they lived. From all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Rehoboam. "So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah."
Strong walls did not save Judah.
This brief blessing, through which the kingdom of Judah was strengthened and Israel established itself, became a snare for Rehoboam. The flesh uses even God's favours as an occasion to depart from Him. When Rehoboam's kingdom was established and he had become strong, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. Chastening soon follows. In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, because they had sinned against the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took the fortified cities of Judah. Judah did not fall prey to their brother Israel, against whose religion they rightly defended themselves. They fell, in a much deeper downfall, into the hands of a world from which God had once redeemed them by a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
- Obedience first. A prophet forbade the war. Rehoboam and the people obeyed, and God blessed them for it.
- Then build. He could not expand, so he strengthened what was left inside his borders.
- Then feed. He stocked the cities with food, oil and wine for the people of God.
- Then refuge. Judah became a refuge. Priests, Levites and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD came to Rehoboam.
- Then the warning. Rehoboam grew strong and then forsook the law of the LORD. Egypt took those same fortified cities. God's own favours can become the occasion for leaving Him.
and Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
This verse ends the list of towns Rehoboam fortified. Only two tribes are left to him, Judah and Benjamin. So the chapter raises a hard question: what should a man do when God has taken away most of what he had?
Rehoboam had first raised an army to win the ten tribes back. God's word stopped him. So he built cities instead. One writer explains why the fighting had to stop.
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment of the sins of Solomon (1 Kings 11:33), brought on by the folly of Rehoboam. So it had to stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, however good the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes. And he seems to have been thankful, for "they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam." Now he set himself to secure what was left him. A rebel who succeeds may turn invader, and Rehoboam, wiser now, will guard against this. There was war between him and Jeroboam, the leader of the revolt, all their days, and Solomon's son had to guard carefully what remained to him.
Why fortify cities inside your own borders? One writer sees in it the loss of Solomon's glory, and asks a pointed question: who were the walls facing?
What greater proof was there that the glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone? Rehoboam was building and fortifying cities in Judah. Against whom? Against Israel, as well as against others. While he acted wisely, he prospered.
A smaller kingdom did not mean retirement. The walls of verse 10 come with supplies in verse 11, and one writer sees real service in both.
From now on Rehoboam stays inside the smaller area the division has left him. We read that "he lived in Jerusalem." But does that mean he settles down to a life of quiet ease and doing nothing? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it, for at once we read that he becomes a builder; he "built cities for defense in Judah" (vv. 5-10). As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." What is more, he provided "stores of food, oil, and wine" (v. 11). He provided food for the people of God.
The walls were built to keep enemies out. One writer points out where the danger was now coming from.
He realized now he was in danger from attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. The same sad thing has happened again and again in the Church of God. Believers find themselves in danger from the attacks of other professing Christians. For this we need the preparation of the nourishing and refreshing of the Word of God. We need to store this in our hearts, along with the ministry of the Spirit of God (the oil).
Hebron is the last name in the verse. One writer collects what else Scripture says about it.
Hebron was one of the "cities of refuge" (1 Chronicles 6:57); you find an atmosphere of safety and mercy there. It was also a "fortified city" (2 Chronicles 11:10). And from Hebron you could see the victory of Samson (a man of faith — Hebrews 11) over the Philistines (Judges 16:3). Safety, strength and victory are all ours to enjoy now in what Hebron speaks of — the company of the people of God.
One chapter later these same fortified cities fell. The cause was not weak walls.
"In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, because they had transgressed against the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem… and he took the fortified cities of Judah." Judah did not fall prey to their brother Israel, against whose religion they rightly defended themselves. They fell much further: into the hands of a world from which God had once redeemed them by a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
- Obey first. Rehoboam built only after he accepted God's word and gave up the war he wanted. Forcing the nation back together would have meant fighting against God.
- Guard what is left. Most of the kingdom was gone. His task shrank to securing what remained, and the new walls showed that the old glory had gone.
- Feed while you fortify. The walls came with stores of food, oil and wine. Strengthening the people of God means feeding them, not only fencing them in.
- Watch the near frontier. The danger came from his own nation. The same thing happens when other professing Christians attack believers.
- Walls fail where hearts fail. Five years later Egypt took the same fortified cities. The real breach was transgression against the Lord, not a gap in the wall.
And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and of oil and wine;
God had just stopped Rehoboam from marching against the ten tribes who broke away. To fight them would have been to fight God, so instead of attacking, Rehoboam fortifies, garrisons and supplies the little that is left to him.
One writer notes that Rehoboam had good reason to expect the trouble to keep coming.
He now sets himself to make sure of what had been left him. He built, or garrisoned, fifteen cities within his reduced territory... A successful rebel may sometimes turn invader, and Rehoboam, wiser now, will guard against this. He and the rebel leader Jeroboam were at war all their days. So Solomon's son had to guard with care what was left to him.
Commentators differ over who the strongholds were aimed at. Some read them as preparation against Egypt, where Jeroboam had taken refuge. Another sees the fortifications as a sign of how far things had fallen.
Was the glory of Solomon's earlier years gone? What greater proof could there be than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as well as against others.
The verse pairs two kinds of preparation. Commanders belong to defence. Food, oil and wine belong to daily living. One writer asks whether the king had settled into idle retirement.
Does this mean he settles down to a life of quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder: he "built cities for defence in Judah." As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." He also provided "stores of food, oil, and wine." He provided food for the people of God.
The danger was no longer only foreign. Rehoboam's own countrymen had become his enemies. One writer carries that picture straight into Christian experience.
He realised now that he was in danger from attack, not only from foreign nations, but from his own nation Israel. Sadly, the same thing has happened again in the Church of God. Believers find themselves in danger from the attacks of other professing Christians. For this we need the preparation of the nourishing and refreshing of the Word of God. We should certainly store this in our hearts, along with the ministry of the Spirit of God — the oil.
Oil and wine are more than supplies. One writer finds in each a picture of what God gives His people.
Wine is produced to make glad the heart of man. The wine is typical of redemption by the blood of Christ. The oil pictures the Holy Spirit of God, who makes our face shine.
The building followed an act of obedience. A prophet told Rehoboam not to fight his brothers, and he obeyed. One writer reads what came next as God's answer.
Rehoboam and the people obeyed and did not go to war. They must have realised that if they disobeyed, they would have been fighting against God. And the LORD also blessed the king and his people for believing the Word and being obedient. He always blesses when there is obedience. He built and fortified fifteen cities. In several places he put shields and spears. So he made ready for a possible invasion from Egypt, since Jeroboam, his rival, had been there.
That season did not last. The strengthening proved to be the high point of a reign that then collapsed.
For three years this prosperity continued. Then, sadly, Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord (2 Chron. 12:1) and disaster quickly followed. Had he only continued in obedience, who can say how much further prosperity might have been known?
- Stopped. God forbade the war to win back the lost tribes. So Rehoboam turned from recovery to defending what was left.
- Strengthened. He garrisoned fifteen cities and put captains over them. A successful rebel can turn invader.
- Stored. Alongside shields and spears he laid in provisions, oil and wine; he did not only defend the people of God, he fed them.
- Surrounded. The threat now came from his own nation as well as from abroad — the same danger the Church knows from within.
- Squandered. Three years of obedient prosperity ended when he forsook the law of the Lord, and disaster quickly followed.
and in every several city, targets and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.
God has just stopped Rehoboam from marching against the ten tribes that broke away, so the record turns from war to walls. Its closing line says he held Judah and Benjamin, which raises a hard question: is being strong the same as being safe?
These two tribes are all that survived a split Rehoboam himself caused. One writer notes what this record leaves out:
Next Rehoboam throws away all but Judah and Benjamin, and Israel rebelled against David's house (2 Chron. 10). But here the contrast with the earlier books is striking. We have no account except of what stayed loyal and in faith.
God's word turned him back from civil war, and his work changed shape. He now had to hold ground, not take it:
From then on Rehoboam's only task was to build a system of defence against the enemies outside. Those enemies were his own people, and they had once been under his rule. Rehoboam surrounds the territory of Judah and Benjamin with fortresses (2 Chron. 11:5-12). His only duty was to preserve what was left to him. But how could he do that, when evil was already inside and ruining the kingdom?
The building starts right after the king and people listened to God's word instead of their own anger. One writer links the blessing that followed to that obedience:
Rehoboam and the people obeyed and did not go to war. They must have realized that if they disobeyed they would have been fighting against God. And the LORD also blessed the king and his people for believing the Word and being obedient. He always blesses when there is obedience. He built and fortified fifteen cities. In several places he put shields and spears. So he made ready for a possible invasion from the side of Egypt, for Jeroboam, his rival, had been there.
One writer sees the two weapons in every city as a picture of the Christian's own equipment — one for defence, one for attack:
He also provided shields and spears in every city. This reminds us of "the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16). The spear is the only offensive weapon mentioned, but it reminds us of "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). How much wiser it was for Rehoboam to make these preparations than to try to force the ten tribes back under his control!
A smaller kingdom did not leave Rehoboam idle. One writer draws out what he did with what was left:
Does this mean he settles down to a life of quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder: he "built cities for defence in Judah." As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained." He provided food for the people of God.
Not every writer sees the walls as a good sign. One asks what they prove about the kingdom, and who they were built against:
The glory of Solomon's earlier years was gone. What greater proof than Rehoboam building and fortifying cities in Judah? Against whom? Against Israel, as against others. While he acted wisely, he prospered. But the same snare that caused Solomon's fall brings Rehoboam into more open guilt.
Holding Judah and Benjamin was real, but it did not last. The very security described here is what he later traded away:
This blessing lasted only a moment. Through it the kingdom of Judah was strengthened and Israel established itself. Then it became a snare for Rehoboam. The flesh uses even God's favours as an occasion to depart from Him. "And when the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him." Chastening soon follows. Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took the fortified cities that belonged to Judah. Judah did not fall prey to their brother Israel, against whose religion they rightly defended themselves. They fell much deeper — into the hands of a world from which God had once redeemed them with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
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- Obey first. The building starts where Rehoboam stopped fighting his brothers. Obedience to God's word came first, and blessing followed.
- Guard, don't grab. The kingdom had shrunk, so his one duty was to keep what remained — defence, not reconquest.
- Arm every city. Shields and spears in every city picture the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit — one weapon for defence, one for attack.
- Strengthen what remains. A smaller kingdom did not mean an idle king. He built, and he fed the people of God.
- Watch the strength. The verse ends with both tribes secure. That security became the snare: once he was strong he abandoned God's law, and Egypt took the fortified cities.
And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their districts;
The kingdom had just split in two, and the priests and Levites in the northern tribes now lived under a king who had no use for them. They packed up and moved south to Rehoboam — but what drove them out, what did it cost, and what did it gain?
They did not leave for a better life. They left because there was no place left for them at home.
God had appointed the family of Aaron as priests, and the Levites to serve them. But Jeroboam refused this claim and appointed priests of his own choosing for the worship of idols in high places. So the priests and Levites moved to Judah, leaving the lands that had been given to them among the ten tribes. What else could they do? Jeroboam's idolatry had left no room for priests of the Lord.
What they walked away from was not just property. God had assigned those lands to them throughout the tribes, so giving them up looks like disobedience at first. But the order behind them was already gone.
The Levites showed their faithfulness by leaving their possessions and going to Jerusalem. But it was also a proof that the whole system set up under David, and instituted by the Lord, was broken and gone. They had their appointed possessions in all the territories of Israel. It was one of the outward marks of God's order in Israel; to give them up would be disobedience to God's command. But the nation's sin broke that order. Then it was according to God's mind to leave possessions that had now become defiled, and to gather at the place where the Lord's name was still recorded. So now, when we find defilement and sin allowed in something that claims the Lord's name, complete and absolute separation from evil, whatever it looks like, is the true path for every believer who honours Christ.
The priests were not the only ones who left. Ordinary people in the north made the same move, and for the same reason.
Thankfully, large numbers hated these evils, because the Word of God had some authority over their hearts. They turned their backs on Jeroboam's evil inventions, in some cases giving up their homes and lands. They went south, where there was still some respect for the Lord's Word, and where at least they could worship in the house that bore His name.
Rehoboam had just lost ten tribes. What came to him instead was a stream of God's people looking for shelter.
What was the result? Judah became a refuge for the people of God.
Jeroboam pushed the Levites out to protect his throne. Judged as politics alone, it backfired — and later history repeated the pattern.
Even viewed as a piece of policy, this ejection of the Lord's priests and the Levites was a blunder. They went over almost as one body to Jeroboam's rival, and by doing so "strengthened the kingdom of Judah." By being over-anxious to keep his power, he lost what was without doubt the choicest part of his kingdom. Something similar happened when France banished the Huguenots. They were the most intelligent, enterprising and God-fearing part of its citizens. That country has still not fully recovered from the act, and perhaps never will.
The incoming priests steadied a weak king. But the record of those good years leaves something out.
The priests and Levites whom Jeroboam drove away had a healthy influence on the otherwise weak son of Solomon. "They made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, strong." They all walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. Most likely fear had much to do with it. We read nothing of turning to the LORD and seeking His face.
- Cast off — the exodus began with exclusion. Jeroboam's own priests left the Lord's priests no room to serve, so they left.
- Cost — they surrendered God-given lands. The nation's sin had broken the order those lands belonged to. Holding on would have meant staying in defilement.
- Reach — the move spread beyond the priests. Large numbers in the north hated Jeroboam's inventions and went south, some leaving homes and lands behind.
- Strength — what Jeroboam threw away became Judah's strength. Guarding his throne cost him the best part of his kingdom, and it made Judah a refuge.
- Warning — borrowed strength is not the same as a changed heart. Rehoboam walked well for three years, with no record that he ever sought the Lord's face.
for the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from exercising the priesthood to Jehovah;
When the kingdom split in two, Jeroboam set up a rival worship in the north. This verse records what God's own servants did: they left the towns and land He had given them and went south to Judah and Jerusalem.
They did not leave by choice. Jeroboam put his own priests in place of God's, and that left the Levites with no work to do.
God had appointed the family of Aaron as priests, and the Levites to serve them. But Jeroboam refused this claim and appointed priests of his own choosing for worship of idols in high places. So the priests and Levites moved to Judah, leaving the lands that had been given them among the ten tribes. What else could they do? Jeroboam's idolatry had left no room for priests of the Lord.
The "common lands and holdings" were not private wealth. They were the provision God made for a tribe that owned no share of the land.
The Levites had no inheritance in the land. So that they might be free to serve the Lord, they received the tithes. They also received forty-eight cities to live in, with the surrounding lands for their cattle.
God had settled the Levites in those towns on purpose. Leaving them looked like plain disobedience.
The Levites showed their faithfulness by leaving their possessions and going to Jerusalem. But it proved just as clearly that the whole system set up under David, and established by the Lord, was broken and gone. They had their appointed possessions throughout all the territory of Israel. It was one of the outward marks of God's order in Israel. To leave them would be disobedience to God's command. But the nation's sin broke that order, and their possessions had now become defiled. So it was according to God's mind to leave them and gather at the place where the Lord's name was still recorded. In the same way now, when we find defilement and sin approved in something that claims the Lord's name, complete separation from evil, whatever it looks like, is the true path for every believer who honours Christ.
Jeroboam did not leave the office empty. He filled it with men he picked himself.
He did not stop there. He viewed the lawful priests and the Levites with special suspicion, and he rejected their services. He "appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made." Abijah, in his speech before the battle with Jeroboam, says to him and his followers, "Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands?"
Jeroboam removed the Levites to protect his throne. The move backfired.
Even viewed as a piece of political strategy, this ejection of the Lord's priests and the Levites was a blunder. Almost all of them went over to Jeroboam's rival, and in doing so they "strengthened the kingdom of Judah." He was over-anxious to keep his power, and so he lost what was, no doubt, the choicest part of his kingdom. France did something similar when it banished the Huguenots — the most intelligent, enterprising and God-fearing part of its citizens. That country has never yet fully recovered from it.
The Levites were not the only ones who left.
Happily, large numbers hated these evils, because the Word of God had some authority over their hearts. They turned their backs on Jeroboam's evil inventions, in some cases giving up their homes and lands. They went south, where there was still some respect for the Lord's Word, and where at least they could worship in the house that carried His name. The influence of these godly newcomers was so good that for three years the two tribes "walked in the way of David and Solomon."
- Cast out. The Levites did not resign. Jeroboam threw them out and handed their work to priests he chose himself.
- Cost. Their "common lands and holdings" were their whole livelihood, because the tribe owned no share of the land. Leaving meant giving up everything they had.
- Conscience. God Himself had placed them in those towns. But the nation's sin defiled that order, and moving to the place where His name was still honoured became the obedient step.
- Consequence. Jeroboam expelled God-fearing men to guard his throne. He handed the best part of his kingdom to his rival, and for three years Judah walked in the way of David and Solomon.
- Continuing call. When sin is approved in something that claims the Lord's name, complete separation from evil is the true path for every believer who honours Christ.
and he ordained for himself priests for the high places, and for the he-goats and for the calves that he had made.
When the kingdom split after Solomon's death, Jeroboam took the ten northern tribes and built a religion to match his new border. This verse names the priests he installed for it, and raises the question the chapter turns on: what happens when a man arranges worship his own way?
The appointment described here was not an addition to God's order but a replacement of it. One writer sets Jeroboam's move beside God's own law for the priesthood, and beside a charge made against him later:
This was a direct violation of the law of God in reference to the priesthood. See Numbers 18:1-7. And he did not stop there. He plainly viewed the rightful priests and the Levites with special suspicion, and he rejected their services... Before the battle with Jeroboam, Abijah speaks to him and his followers. He says, "Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are no gods."
Older translations say Jeroboam "ordained" these priests. Today that word means something it never meant for God's servants:
In the Old Testament there are eleven words translated this way, with a variety of meanings and applications. God ordained the moon and the stars (Psalm 8:3). Jeroboam ordained priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made (2 Chronicles 11:15). None of God's priests or prophets were ordained in the sense now understood by that word. No man put them into a spiritual position and handed them power and authority.
The old English word "devils" hides what the middle object of this worship was. The term describes an animal:
The word is sair, which means "hairy one," and so a "he-goat." It is translated "goat" and "kid" many times. In Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15 translators put "devils," but "demons" would have been better. The word points to the gods which the heathen worshipped without knowing it.
That unknowing worship is the serious part. The idol itself has no power. Something real stands behind it:
Scripture also shows that idolatry was essentially demon-worship, the idol itself being nothing... Jeroboam had fallen so low as to have ordained priests for the demons (sair) and for the calves which he had made... The things worshipped may have been unseen objects. They may have had some mystical form. Or they may have been mere idols. But behind all of them were real beings: evil, unclean spirits. So it was morally impossible to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with these demons.
Jeroboam did not invent something unrecognisable. He copied Jerusalem, item by item, and changed the source of authority:
He copies the pattern of worship that the law of Moses laid down. "A house of high places" replaces the temple. In place of the Levitical priesthood he puts "priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi." Israel had its Feast of Tabernacles, so Jeroboam set up a feast of his own, a month later. He sets up an altar at Bethel to match the bronze altar. He places it before the idol and burns incense on it instead of burnt offerings. All this "he had devised of his own heart"!
The same writer draws a wider principle from this:
This is always the consequence of abandoning God who has revealed Himself in His Word. Man cannot live without religion. If he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false one to satisfy his conscience and answer to his instincts... When man's own will becomes his god, Satan masters him and triumphs.
This verse also explains why the priests and Levites left their homes. They had no real choice:
God had appointed the family of Aaron as priests, and the Levites to serve them. But Jeroboam refused this claim. He appointed priests of his own choosing for the worship of idols in high places (v. 15). So the priests and Levites moved to Judah, leaving the lands that had been given to them among the ten tribes... What else could they do? Jeroboam's idolatry had left no room for priests of the Lord.
Their departure is not recorded as a loss but as a commendation:
The spiritual energy that leads to separation from real evil is always precious in the sight of God.
- Made. Jeroboam made the calves, then made the priests. Every part of this religion started with a man's decision, not God's Word.
- Copied. It copied Jerusalem point for point: a substitute temple, priesthood, altar and feast. The likeness made it easy to accept, and no less false.
- Unauthorised. No priest or prophet of God was ordained in the modern sense, with men handing over authority. Jeroboam's priests are the counter-example.
- Demonic. The goat idols were nothing in themselves. But real unclean spirits stood behind them, so no one can hold to the Lord and to them at once.
- Costly. Faithful priests and Levites gave up their homes rather than stay. God prizes that kind of break with real evil, even when it costs everything.
-- And after them, those out of all the tribes of Israel that set their heart to seek Jehovah the God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Jehovah the God of their fathers.
The kingdom of David and Solomon has just split in two, and the northern tribes now have their own king and a new religion to match. This verse follows those who refused it, travelling south to Jerusalem to sacrifice, and it raises a hard question: what does a believer do when God's people split?
Rehoboam first tried to reunite the nation by force. God stopped him, and the reason was not politics but the government of God:
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brothers." They are not to "go up or fight against" them. Moreover Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is from Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience, and said to him, "Since this has been your practice … I will surely tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is from Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
So the people in our verse are not mending the division. They seek the Lord inside a situation God Himself had brought about.
They came "to Jerusalem to sacrifice." God had appointed one place for that, and the shrines in the north were counterfeits:
To the Israel of God, there was one great moral reason for journeying to the appointed place. That reason lay in the glorious motto — Jehovah Shammah — "the LORD is there." Suppose an Israelite had made up his mind to stay at home, or to go to some place of his own choosing. He would have met neither the Lord there nor his brothers, so he would have eaten alone. Such a course would have brought the judgment of God on him. There was only one centre, and it was not of man's choosing, but of God's. The godless Jeroboam dared to interfere with the divine order for his own selfish political ends. He set up his calves at Bethel and Dan. But the worship offered there went to demons, not to God.
The verse puts the decision in the heart, and the heart moved their feet. Scripture records to their honour that they left the country, and Jerusalem was the only place left to sacrifice:
The golden calves at Bethel and Dan were a far smaller corruption than Baal worship. People claimed the calves were the worship of Jehovah, but for worldly reasons they mixed Egyptian practices into it. Even then, Scripture mentions with honour that out of all the tribes of Israel those who set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel separated from them and left the country… As to Jerusalem, no one could have gone away from the Temple, or he would have had no sacrifice at all.
God tied Rehoboam's hands. He watched his people leave him, yet others kept arriving in Jerusalem:
So the Lord disciplined Rehoboam. He tied his hands and would not even let him punish his rebellious subjects. Rehoboam has the sorrow of seeing his people leave him. Yet for a while there were the priests and the Levites, and faithful Israelites, who still went to Jerusalem to sacrifice there.
This devotion did not last long. One writer faces that, and still counts it a gain:
For three years a remnant of Israel came to God's centre, Jerusalem, to seek Jehovah and to sacrifice to Him. Three years! Not a long time but it was something recovered out of the wreckage of a disastrous division… Division among believers is always a test of faithfulness to God. Where there is humility of spirit over the disgrace brought on the Name of the Lord, there will be some measure of recovery. Where there is arrogance and bitterness, worse follows. Faithfulness in weakness brings blessing.
The same writer who traced the division to God's hand turns the passage into a question for readers today:
Would it not be our wisdom to recognise the governmental hand of God upon us, because of our worldliness and departure from the Word? To bow under His chastening hand? To accept the reproach and sorrow of division? To remain in quiet obedience to the Word, on God's ground for His people, seeking to strengthen the things that remain and to feed the people of God? And would not those who firmly acted in this way, in devotion and faithfulness to the Word, become a refuge for the distressed people of God from every quarter?
- Heart first. It all begins with hearts set on seeking the Lord. Nothing outward happened without that inward choice.
- Heart moves. A set heart did not stay put. They left the golden calves and their own country to sacrifice at the one centre God had chosen.
- Heart obeys. They sought the Lord, but did not try to reverse the division. God had said of the split, "This thing is from Me."
- Heart gathers. God chose the one centre, not man. There a worshipper met God and his brothers in the same place.
- Heart recovers. Three years is short. Yet it was something rescued out of the wreckage: faithfulness in weakness brings blessing, and makes the faithful a refuge for others.
And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong three years; for during three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
After the kingdom split in two, priests, Levites, and everyone in the northern tribes who wanted to seek God moved south to Judah. This verse says their coming made Judah strong — and the strength lasted just three years.
The verse traces Judah's new strength to people. One writer describes why they left the north and what it cost them:
Thankfully, large numbers hated Jeroboam's new worship, because the Word of God had some authority over their hearts. They turned their backs on his evil inventions. Some of them gave up their homes and lands. They went south, where there was still some respect for the Word of the Lord. There at least they could worship in the house that was called by His name.
Rehoboam's three good years began with a command that cancelled his war plans:
When Rehoboam gathered an army to punish the tribes that had revolted, the Lord forbade him. "You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me" (2 Chron. 11:4). They obeyed. This looks like bowing to God's judgment, and for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon. The priests and the Levites leave their possessions and come to Jerusalem. They come because Jeroboam's policy would not let them carry out the priest's office to the Lord. And so they strengthened the kingdom of Judah. For three years this foolish son acted wisely… While he dealt wisely, he prospered.
Commentators differ on how much heart lay behind those three good years. One writer points to what the record does not say:
Jeroboam drove the priests and Levites away, and they strengthened the kingdom of Judah. They had a healthy influence on the otherwise weak son of Solomon. "They made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure." They all walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. Most likely fear had much to do with it. We read nothing of turning to the LORD and seeking His face.
The blessing this verse records became the very thing that undid Rehoboam:
Through this brief blessing the kingdom of Judah grew strong and Israel established itself. But the blessing became a snare for Rehoboam. The flesh uses even God's favours as an occasion to depart from Him. "When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him" (2 Chron. 12:1). One man only needs to turn aside — a man the Lord commissioned to shepherd His people — and all the rest will follow his example. What a responsibility for him!
Another writer notices who is included in that "all Israel":
The priests and the Levites had earlier left their possessions for the sake of the temple. Now they follow the king as he departs from the Lord. And so it is "all Israel with him."
The verse measures those three years by David and Solomon. One writer describes how David's influence surrounded those who gathered in Jerusalem:
Three years! Not a long time, but it was something recovered out of the wreckage of a disastrous division. Those three years strengthened the kingdom of Judah, where David's throne stood. David's influence was all around them. He captured the city from the Jebusites. The Temple was a standing witness to his affection for his God. His compositions would be sung in the Temple of worship. Those influences would strongly shape how they lived. Scripture testifies that they walked in the way of David.
One writer turns the same situation into a question for Christians whose fellowships are divided today:
Would it not be our wisdom to recognise the governmental hand of God on us, because of our worldliness and our departure from the Word? Would it not be wisdom to bow under His chastening hand, and to accept the reproach and sorrow of division? Would it not be wisdom to stay in quiet obedience to the Word, on God's ground for His people? Would it not be wisdom to strengthen the things that remain and to feed the people of God? And would not those who acted this way, in devotion and faithfulness to the Word, become a refuge for the distressed people of God from every quarter?
- Obedience began it. Rehoboam bowed to God's word and did not fight his brothers. That submission opened the door to three years of blessing.
- People strengthened it. Priests, Levites and others gave up homes and land to worship where God's name was. They brought Judah its strength.
- David measured it. One yardstick dates the good years: they walked in the way of David. Jerusalem kept his example in front of them.
- Strength ended it. Once he was strong and secure, Rehoboam abandoned the law. All Israel followed him. God's favours became his occasion for leaving God.
- The lesson outlives it. Where no one can heal a division, bow under it. Guard what remains, feed God's people, and become a refuge for others.
And Rehoboam took Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David as wife, [and of] Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.
Rehoboam's kingdom is secure, and the record now turns to his family — starting with a wife whose father and mother both come from David's house. The names look respectable, yet writers read this verse as the place where Rehoboam's downfall begins.
Mahalath belongs to David's family on both sides. One writer traces her father's line:
Mahalath is mentioned as his wife, a daughter of Jerimoth, probably the son of one of David's concubines (1 Chron. 3:9).
Her mother's father was Eliab. A Bible dictionary places him in the family:
Eldest son of Jesse, and brother of David.
Commentators differ over how directly these names connect. One writer takes Abihail to be a later descendant of Eliab, not his daughter:
So Abihail, 2 Chronicles 11:18, is evidently only a descendant of Eliab's.
Set beside Solomon's foreign marriages, Rehoboam's first marriage looks like an improvement. It was still not obedience:
On the surface, Rehoboam was more careful than Solomon about the wives he took. He first took Mahalath, David's granddaughter, and then added Maachah, Absalom's granddaughter. But looking right on the outside does not make a man godly. And it was no more right for Rehoboam to have 18 wives and sixty concubines than it was for Solomon to have his large harem of wives and concubines (v. 21). Of course a man is deeply affected by relationships like these.
Rehoboam did not invent this failure. He copied it, and one writer traces his later collapse back to this very point:
He had many wives and concubines. So he gave in to the same taste for many wives that his father and grandfather had, and his turning away from God most likely began with this sin.
The trouble began before Rehoboam. He grew up in a house Solomon had filled with wives:
The black cloud, still far off, first formed in Rehoboam's reign. In moral terms its dark shadow began when Solomon took many wives; it was the outer shadow of the eclipse that was coming. Surrounded by such a crowd of pagan women, is it any wonder that Rehoboam turned out to be a foolish son — the son who made Solomon say, "A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him."
One writer sets Rehoboam's marriages beside Solomon's and marks the same turn in both:
We read that Solomon loved many foreign women, and then that idol worship was set up. In the same way, here is the turning point in Rehoboam's prosperity: he wanted many wives, and then, once he was strong in his kingdom, he abandoned the law of the Lord.
Rehoboam later passed over Mahalath's sons. One writer weighs that against the law, and against the grace of God:
Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set them aside in favour of Abijah, the son of Maachah, whom he preferred over Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against this. A man must not give firstborn status to the son of the wife he loves instead of the son of the wife he does not love, who is the true firstborn. Maybe Rehoboam did not know this scripture, but he should have. A king in Israel had to get himself a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). Still, the grace of God rose above Rehoboam's failure, because Abijah has his place in the family line of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1:7.
- Family. Mahalath came from David's house on both sides. Her father's line runs back to David, her mother's to Eliab, David's eldest brother. Writers differ over how direct that descent is.
- Shadow. The trouble started before Rehoboam was born. Solomon's many wives cast the dark shadow, and the son who grew up among them proved foolish.
- Pattern. Rehoboam copied his father and grandfather. One writer traces his later turning from God back to this sin.
- Mask. Marrying inside David's family looked better than Solomon's foreign marriages. But looking right on the outside does not make a man godly, and eighteen wives were no more right for Rehoboam than a harem was for Solomon.
- Turn. Wanting many wives came first; abandoning the law of the Lord came next. Yet grace rose above the failure, and Abijah still appears in the family line of the Lord Jesus.
And she bore him children Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
These three sons were born to Mahalath, the first wife Rehoboam took. They matter because of what comes next in the chapter: the king passes them over and lifts up the son of the wife he loved best.
Rehoboam's first choice of wife looked better than his father's. One writer weighs what that appearance was worth.
Outwardly, Rehoboam was more careful about the wives he took than Solomon was. He first took Mahalath, the granddaughter of David, and he added also Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom. But outward orthodoxy does not guarantee godliness. And besides, it was no more right for Rehoboam to have eighteen wives and sixty concubines than it was for Solomon to have his large number of wives and concubines (v. 21). Of course such relationships will have a strong effect on a man.
The size of Rehoboam's household was not a small detail. One writer draws the line back to Solomon, then points to something Chronicles still praises.
The great number of Rehoboam's wives and concubines copies Solomon's sin, the sin that led to the ruin of Solomon's kingdom. You would expect the link between the conduct of son and father to be mentioned. But nothing is said. In 2 Chronicles, as we have often said, Solomon is looked at as being without fault, and judgment falls on Rehoboam alone. Still, even in the middle of this disorder, God is pleased to acknowledge that Rehoboam "dealt wisely" in scattering his sons throughout all the lands of Judah, to avoid discord in the kingdom. And He says it even as Rehoboam raises the daughter of Absalom, the rebel, and Abijah, this woman's son, to the first place (2 Chron. 11:18-23).
Mahalath's sons came first. Yet the crown went to another son, and Israel's law had already ruled on such a case.
Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set those aside in favour of Abijah the son of Maachah, whom he preferred above Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against such an arrangement. It said that a man may not treat the son of the loved wife as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the true firstborn. Rehoboam may not have known this scripture, but he ought to have. A king in Israel was responsible to get himself a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). Still, the grace of God went beyond the failure of Rehoboam, for Matthew 1:7 confirms Abijah in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
Under the law, the loss to Mahalath's sons had a price.
In Israel, or under the law, the birthright carried the double portion. The firstborn was to have a double share of the father's goods. The law required that this should be his by a title no one could challenge. A father could not give the double portion to any other child of the family on any ground of personal affection or partiality whatever. Deut. 21:15-17.
Rehoboam's plan for his many sons worked. One writer turns it into a challenge for Christians.
He displayed wisdom, however, in spreading his sons over the countries of Judah and Benjamin. He placed them in the garrison towns and gave them food in abundance. He probably remembered what happened among the sons of his grandfather David at the end of David's life, and he wanted to avoid the same thing. I wish Christians always had as much spiritual wisdom as Rehoboam showed natural wisdom here. There would be less strife among us if God's people were well fed with truth and well taken up with the affairs of Christ in the various services of His kingdom... Rehoboam's wisdom brought its reward. At the end of his seventeen years' reign, his son Abijah quietly took the crown without opposition from his many brothers.
Scripture tells us nothing else about these three men. Looking at another list in Chronicles, one writer asks why a barely known name is kept in it at all.
Even Segub is named there, though he was only half-brother to Ram. Is it not because of his connection with the ancestry of David, with that line which was always so precious to God that even the slightest link with it entitles a man to a place in these genealogies?
- Start. Rehoboam's first wife came from David's own family, but a careful appearance is not godliness.
- Slide. Many wives repeated the sin that ruined Solomon's kingdom, and such relationships shape a man.
- Setting aside. The son of the favourite wife displaced Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. The law forbade it, and a king had to read that law daily.
- Shrewdness. Scattering his sons through the fortified cities was real wisdom, but only natural wisdom. Christians should match it in spiritual things.
- Sovereignty. Grace overruled the failure. Abijah, chosen against the law, still stands in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus, and even little-known names are kept for their link to David's line.
And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
After Mahalath, Rehoboam took another wife, Maachah, and she bore him four children. The first named, Abijah, would take the throne. Two questions sit inside this short family record. Who was this woman? And what did her son's promotion cost Judah?
Commentators differ over which Absalom the verse means, and over Maachah's exact place in his family. One writer untangles the names:
Abijah is called Abijam in Kings. His mother was Maachah. In 2 Chronicles 13:2 she is called Michaiah, probably because she was the queen-mother. There is no contradiction between chapter 11:20 and chapter 13:2, where she is called the daughter of Uriel of Gibeath. Josephus is probably correct when he states that Uriel was the husband of Tamar, the daughter of Absalom. In chapter 11:20 she is called a daughter of Absalom, or rather granddaughter, for one word is used in Hebrew for daughter and granddaughter.
Another writer weighs the dates, leaves the question open, and adds a note on the title "mother":
It is possible she may have been Absalom's granddaughter... If 2 Chronicles 11:20-21, 22 are directly connected, it is clearly so. In the East the mother's place was, and still is, something of an official position — not the wife's.
Rehoboam chose his wives more carefully than his father Solomon did. One writer shows why that counted for little:
On the surface, Rehoboam was more careful than Solomon about the wives he took. He first took Mahalath, the granddaughter of David, and he added Maachah, the granddaughter of Absalom. But looking right on the outside does not guarantee godliness. Besides, it was no more right for Rehoboam to have eighteen wives and sixty concubines than for Solomon to have his large harem of wives and concubines. Of course such relationships shape a man deeply.
Another writer traces the habit back through the family, and forward to where it led:
He had many wives and concubines. In this he gave in to the same habit of many wives that his father and grandfather had, and in all probability his turning away from God started with this sin.
Rehoboam's favourite wife also decided his heir:
Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set those aside in favour of Abijah the son of Maachah, whom he preferred above Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against such an arrangement. It says a man "may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn." Maybe Rehoboam did not know this scripture, but he ought to have. A king in Israel had to provide himself with a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life. Still, the grace of God rose above the failure of Rehoboam, for Abijah's name stands in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1:7.
What Maachah later became says much about this choice of wife. One writer follows her from the marriage to the crowning of her son:
His favourite wife was Maachah, the daughter of Absalom. But from 2 Chronicles 13:2 we gather this was not Absalom the son of David. He appointed Abijah, the son of this woman Maachah, to be king in his place. From 1 Kings 15:13 we learn that she worshipped idols and "had made an abominable image for Asherah." What a woman to choose for the mother of the future sovereign of God's people.
One writer explains why a mother's character weighs so heavily:
A godless or worldly mother is all the more dangerous to the moral development of her children. By God's order, in nature and in family ties alike, the guiding of their early years falls to her. So during the three years of his reign Abijam walked in all the sins of his father.
Her influence lasted into her grandson Asa's reign, and he met it head on:
His grandmother Maachah tried to promote idolatry during his reign. But Asa's faith fought this influence, rebuked it, and destroyed it, so that Judah might know the rights of the Lord again. Maachah held the position of queen, perhaps regent mother, at Asa's court. Asa stripped her of her dignity and standing.
Another writer draws out the test in it:
Asa was no respecter of persons. He did not spare his own mother (or grandmother), but deposed her for her idolatry... It is in a man's own family circle that his faithfulness is really put to the test.
- Choice. Rehoboam loved Maachah most, so her son took Judah's throne. The law had already forbidden putting the loved wife's son above the true firstborn.
- Cost. The choice carried a mother into the palace who later made an idol; her son Abijah walked in his father's sins.
- Reach. Her influence outlived two kings, still shaping the court in her grandson's reign.
- Break. Asa broke the pattern. He removed his own grandmother from her position, because faithfulness is tested first at home.
- Grace. Despite Rehoboam's failure, Abijah's name stands in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
The reign of Rehoboam pauses here for a family record: many wives, many children, and one wife he loved most. Commentators treat it as the point where a promising reign starts to slip, and it raises two questions — why count the wives at all, and who was Maachah?
Rehoboam's crowded household repeats his father's sin. One writer notices that Chronicles never draws the line between them.
Rehoboam's many wives and concubines copy the sin of Solomon that ruined his kingdom. You would expect someone to point out the link between the son's conduct and the father's. But nothing is said. In 2 Chronicles, as we have often said, Solomon appears without fault, and the judgment falls on Rehoboam alone.
Rehoboam's favourite wife decided who would inherit the throne. One writer measures that choice against the law.
Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set them aside in favour of Abijah, the son of Maachah, whom he preferred above Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against such an arrangement. A man must not give firstborn status to the son of the wife he loves over the true firstborn, the son of the wife he loves less. Perhaps Rehoboam did not know this scripture, but he should have. A king in Israel had to make his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). Yet the grace of God rose above Rehoboam's failure, for Abijah appears in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1:7.
On paper Rehoboam chose better than his father did. One writer weighs how much that appearance was worth.
On the surface, Rehoboam was more careful than Solomon about the wives he took. He first married Mahalath, David's granddaughter, and then added Maachah, Absalom's granddaughter. But looking right on the outside does not make a man godly. Besides, it was no more right for Rehoboam to have 18 wives and sixty concubines than it was for Solomon to have his large harem of wives and concubines (v. 21). Of course such relationships have a strong effect on a man.
One writer reads the closing line of the chapter as God's own summary of Rehoboam. He then asks who the favourite wife was.
Like his father and grandfather, he took many wives — eighteen wives and sixty concubines. "He desired many wives" is God's comment on this man. His favourite wife was Maachah, the daughter of Absalom; but from 2 Chron. 13:2 we gather that this was not Absalom the son of David. He appointed Abijah, the son of this woman Maachah, to be king in his place. From 1 Kings 15:13 we learn that she worshipped idols and "made an abominable image for Asherah." What a woman to choose as the mother of the future king of God's people.
Commentators differ over Maachah. Was she Absalom's daughter or his granddaughter? One writer works through the dates and leaves it open:
I am not sure whether Maachah was Absalom's daughter or his granddaughter. If she was his daughter, and we allow only five years from Absalom's death, she must have been six years old when David died... It is possible that she was Absalom's granddaughter, since Chronicles does not say that his mother was Maachah.
Another writer settles on granddaughter, and explains it from the Hebrew word itself:
In chapter 11:20 she is called a daughter of Absalom, or rather a granddaughter, because Hebrew uses one word for both daughter and granddaughter.
The same writer traces Rehoboam's later drift from God back to this sin. He also credits the way Rehoboam handled a crowded household.
He had many wives and concubines. He gave in to the same appetite for many wives that his father and grandfather had, and his turning away from God very likely began with this sin. But he acted wisely and spread all his children throughout the whole country. With twenty-eight sons and many more daughters, plots against him were a real danger, and he avoided them by scattering his children in different directions.
- Desire. One writer reads the chapter's closing line as God's verdict on Rehoboam: he wanted many wives.
- Imitation. His household copies the sin that ruined Solomon's kingdom, yet Chronicles blames Rehoboam alone.
- Respectability. He married inside the royal family, not outside it. But looking right on the outside did not make him godly.
- Influence. He loved Maachah most and made her son king. She worshipped idols, so his favourite shaped the next reign.
- Decline and grace. This sin is very likely where his turning from God began. Yet Abijah, the son of that marriage, still appears in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
And Rehoboam established Abijah the son of Maachah at the head, to be ruler among his brethren; for [he thought] to make him king.
Rehoboam picks his heir by affection, not by birth order: Abijah is the son of Maacah, the wife he loved most. The note looks minor, yet it raises two questions — what did God's law say about such a choice, and who was this woman?
Rehoboam had sons by an earlier wife. One writer weighs the decision to pass over them against the law, then points to where Abijah's name still appears:
Though Rehoboam's first wife bore him sons, he set those aside in favour of Abijah the son of Maacah, whom he preferred above Mahalath. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 had warned against such an arrangement, saying that a man "may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn." Perhaps Rehoboam did not know this scripture. But he ought to have. A king in Israel had to provide himself with a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life (Deuteronomy 17:18-19). Still, the grace of God rose above Rehoboam's failure: Matthew 1:7 confirms Abijah in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
Maacah is more than the favourite wife. She will be the mother of the next king. One writer traces the line from Rehoboam's own mother to the woman he now chooses:
We leave Solomon sick at heart, but when we find that his son Rehoboam had for mother "Naamah the Ammonite" (2 Chron. 12:13) we are not surprised that he did not turn out a better man. Like his father and grandfather, he multiplied wives — eighteen wives and sixty concubines. "He desired many wives" is God's comment on this man. His favourite wife was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. But from 2 Chronicles 13:2 we gather this was not Absalom the son of David. He appointed Abijah, the son of this woman Maacah, to be king in his place. From 1 Kings 15:13 we learn that she was an idolater. She "made an abominable image for Asherah." What a woman to choose as the mother of the future ruler of God's people!
Commentators differ on whether this Absalom was David's son.
The same passage records a shrewd move: Rehoboam spread his other sons across the land. God credits it:
Even in the middle of this disorder, Rehoboam raises the daughter of Absalom the rebel, and Abijah her son, to the first place. Yet God is pleased to acknowledge that Rehoboam "dealt wisely" in spreading his sons throughout all the lands of Judah to avoid discord in the kingdom (2 Chronicles 11:18-23). This is like the master commending "the dishonest manager for his shrewdness" (Luke 16:8).
Another writer suggests a family memory lay behind the move, and draws a lesson from it:
He probably remembered what happened with his grandfather David's sons at the close of David's life, and he wanted to avoid the same thing. If only Christians always had as much spiritual wisdom as Rehoboam showed natural wisdom here. If God's people were well fed with truth, and taken up with the affairs of Christ in the various services of His kingdom, there would be less strife among us. His wisdom paid off: at the end of his seventeen-year reign, his son Abijah took the crown quietly, with no opposition from his many brothers.
Abijah inherited more than a throne. One writer traces his going astray back to his father:
We see from this record that it was his father's evil example that led this king astray. What a voice to those of us who are fathers! May the Lord keep us from leaving behind a trail of sin for our sons to follow! For this was just what Rehoboam did for Abijah.
Maacah kept her influence long after Rehoboam's death. His grandson Asa ended it:
Asa is not content with driving out evil publicly; he purifies his own house. These two things must go together, or our Christian life will be only an empty show. "Maacah, his mother, King Asa also removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron." In fact Maacah was Asa's grandmother. She had probably been called to be regent, with the title of queen, when Abijah died. With what energy Asa passes over natural ties, making no allowance for them when the honour of his God is involved! ... We are far too ready to treat Satan cautiously when it is a matter of sin in our own families.
- Preference — Rehoboam chose his heir by love for the mother, setting aside the sons of his first wife.
- Law — Deuteronomy forbade this exact preference, and a king had to keep reading the law.
- Influence — the choice put an idol-making woman at the centre of the royal house, and her son walked in his father's sins.
- Grace — God still noticed the one wise thing Rehoboam did, and Abijah's name still stands in the genealogy of Jesus.
- Reckoning — Asa removed his own grandmother from her place, refusing to spare evil in his own family.