Di – Rehoboam King of Judah 1 Kings 14:21-31 and Second Chronicles 12:1-16

Rehoboam King of Judah
First Kings 14:21-31 and Second Chronicles 12:1-16

Rehoboam king of Judah DIG: Why did Rehoboam abandon following the Torah at this time? Why did the so anger ADONAI? What prompts Shishak to attack and Shemaiah to warn Jerusalem? What do you think of Rehoboam’s punishment and deliverance? If Second Chronicle 12 shows the rewards for obedience to God, what covenant principle does this show?

REFLECT: If this chapter was your point for rediscovering God, what would you learn about His character and purpose? What examples does Rehoboam leave for you to follow? To avoid? When are you tempted to compromise with God’s Torah: When you feel strongest or most vulnerable? Why is that? Do you have a friend like Shemaiah who keeps you in line?

Rehoboam lost his peace as well as his prosperity.

The background of the king: Rehoboam the son of Solomon was reigning in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began his reign; and he ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city ADONAI had chosen from all the tribes of Isra’el to bear His Name, despite all the sins of the kings of Judah. So, the divine status of Jerusalem had not changed. His mother’s name was Na‘amah the Ammorite, again Solomon married many foreign women (First Kings 14:21; Second Chronicles 12:13b). But this did not affect Rehoboam’s Jewishness since the Jewishness is passed down by the means of the father. Na’amah is mentioned twice, here and in First Kings 14:31 and reemphasizes Solomon’s love for foreign women (to see link click Bx – Solomon’s Wives). This sets up the four basic elements of the kings of Judah. The background of the king, the significance of his reign, the summary of his reign, and finally, the death of the king.³⁵³

The significance of his reign: But in time, after Rehoboam’s strength and position were established and he had consolidated his rulership in Jerusalem, he, and with him all Isra’el, abandoned the Torah of ADONAI. Judah did what was evil from ADONAI’s perspective because they had not set their hearts on seeking ADONAI. They made Him zealous (zealous over His exclusive relationship with Isra’el, and His covenantial loyalty to His wife) because of their sins, which were worse than any their ancestors had committed. For they erected high places, standing-stones, representing male gods, and sacred poles, representing the female goddesses, on every high hill and under every green tree. Also there were male and female cult-prostitutes in the land attached to these shrines, doing all the disgusting things which the nations did that ADONAI had expelled ahead of the people of Isra’el (First Kings 14:22-24; Second Chronicles 12:1 and 12-13a and 14).

Therefore, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, because they had acted faithlessly toward ADONAI. Since the last pharaoh of the Twenty-First Dynasty did not have a male son, he opted to promote a Libyan military commander named Shishak to a position of virtual heir to the throne. When Pharaoh Psusenne II died, Shishak became pharaoh, founding the Twenty-Second Dynasty. He came out of Egypt with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and a numberless army including Libyans, Sukkites and Ethiopians. He captured the fortified cities of Judah, then went to Jerusalem (1 Kgs 14:25; 2 Chron 12:2-4). The multiethnic African coalition raised by Shishak likely reflects a combination of Shishak’s Libyan heritage as well as Egyptian control over Ethiopia to the south of Egypt.³⁵⁴ On a number of occasions, the superiority of Judah’s enemies is noted to stress that divine power was the source of victory. As we will see, Rehoboam’s ability to withstand Shishak to some degree was the result of God’s intervention.

Just as the destruction of Jerusalem seemed imminent, Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because of Pharaoh Shishak and said to them, “Here is what ADONAI says: Because you have abandoned My Torah, I have abandoned you to the hands of Shishak.” For Ha’Shem to abandon His people was the same as placing them under the covenant curses (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ff – Curses for Disobedience). Although Shemaiah didn’t explicitly offer any hope or reprieve, the leaders of Judah and the king humbled themselves. The response of Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah reminds us of God’s promise to Solomon where blessings are promised to those who humble themselves (2 Chronicles 7:12-16). Humility is an attitude of submission and utter dependence upon ADONAI. The king and leaders expressed their humility in a simple prayer: ADONAI is just (2 Chron 12:5-6). They didn’t resign themselves to destruction; instead, they humbly sought God’s favor. As the following verses indicate, Rehoboam’s response to the prophetic word was a model for the Chronicler’s readers. As they heard the prophetic word, they should react as Rehoboam and his nobles reacted.

When ADONAI saw that they had humbled themselves, this word of ADONAI came to Shemaiah: “Because they have humbled themselves, I will not utterly destroy them but will grant them a measure of deliverance. For the sake of My son David, My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. Nevertheless, Ha’Shem didn’t completely reverse His previous judgment. Rehoboam and his leaders needed a vivid demonstration that their sin was serious. As a result, the prophet declared that the Israelites would become Pharaoh’s “slaves.” Judah would become a vassal of Egypt, subject to taxation and other exploitations. The purpose of this oppression was that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving God and serving earthly kingdoms (Second Chronicles 12:7-8). Here, YHVH spoke as Judah’s great Emperor whose benevolence had been ignored. Now, perhaps, the nation would see how much better it was to have God as their King rather than some foreign human oppressors. However restrictive the Torah may have seemed to Judah, they would soon understand that its burden was light compared to the yoke of foreign domination. The Chronicler’s readers also faced the temptation to turn from God’s Torah. Yet, the experience of the exile (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) had taught them the lesson Rehoboam was about to learn.

Shishak attacked Jerusalem and won the victory. He took the treasures in the house of ADONAI and the treasures in the royal palace – he took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. To replace them, King Rehoboam made shields of bronze. The mention of Solomon’s gold shields opens the way for a wonderfully symbolic scene. The exchange of bronze for gold nicely symbolized the changes in Rehoboam’s kingdom. He had not lost everything, but had lost the glory inherited from Solomon. Along with his economic losses, Rehoboam no longer felt secure. He entrusted to the commanders of the contingent guarding the gate to the royal palace in charge of the bronze shields. Whenever the king went to the house of ADONAI, the guard would bring the shields. Apparently, Rehoboam wanted to keep what little he had close by. Later, when they returned to his palace, the shields were safely locked away in the guardroom (First Kings 14:26-28; Second Chronicles 12:9-11). This scene of timidity stands in sharp contrast with the opening of this story. The record of Rehoboam began with him being established and strong (Second Chronicles 12:1); at this point, he could barely hold on to his kingdom.

The Chronicler added a comment to the end of this narrative to explain his understanding of the Shishak invasion. After he humbled himself, the anger of ADONAI turned away from him, so that he did not altogether destroy him. The king’s contrition averted a horrible fate. Moreover, some good things were found in Judah (Second Chronicles 12:12). Despite the Egyptian victory, the Chronicler was deeply concerned that his readers take to heart the effect of Rehoboam’s humble response to the prophetic word. Humility before God and His prophet led to forgiveness and blessing.³⁵⁵

The summary of his reign: From a spiritual standpoint, Rehoboam’s kingship was a huge disappointment. Back in Chapter 12 we saw how he disregarded his elders and divided the Kingdom (see Dc – A House Divided). Here in Chapter 14 we see his sin of false worship – a spiritual failure that led to the loss of his peace and prosperity. This was not Rehoboam’s sin alone, but also the sin of his people (First Kings 14:22-24). But as the king went, so went the Southern kingdom. By rejecting the true worship of YHVH, He led Judah into all kinds of ungodliness. They did what was evil in God’s sight. In fact, they were even more sinful than their fathers, which is saying something, given their history of grumbling, complaining, and idolatry.

The activities and accomplishments of Rehoboam from beginning to end are written in the genealogically organized histories of Shemaiah the prophet, ‘Iddo the seer, and the Annals of the Kings of Judah. But there were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam (First Kings 14:29-30; Second Chronicles 12:15). What is noticeable in this brief account of Rehoboam’s reign is that there is no prophecy about the end of David’s house to match the prophecy about the end of Jeroboam’s (see Dg – The Prophecy of Ahijah). Rehoboam does suffer a setback at the hands of Shishak, king of Egypt, losing the treasure that his father had so carefully stockpiled in both the Temple and his palace (First Kings 14:26 and 7:51, 10:14ff). The golden age of Solomon was replaced by the rather duller bronze age of Rehoboam; and the peace that Solomon had known was replaced by continual warfare (First Kings 14:30). All this, however, was little more than the fatherly discipline of Second Samuel 7:14. It is not insignificant, then, that the authors’ introduction to Rehoboam’s reign is placed alongside the information about his Ammonite mother with a reminder that Jerusalem is the chosen city. For it is, of course, ADONAI’s choice of David and Jerusalem (First Kings 11:31-39) that is the only explanation for the difference in the treatment of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. And what symbolizes this difference more than anything is that Jeroboam’s son Abijah dies, even though there is some good in him, whereas Rehoboam’s son Abijah lives to succeed him, in fact, have a stable dynasty throughout the period when Isra’el was like a reed swaying in the water; and Asa, the descendant of two wicked Judean kings, will be sitting comfortably on the Judean throne at the very time when Nadab, the descendant of one wicked Israelite king, loses his Israelite throne.³⁵⁶

The death of the king: Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Na’amah; she was an Ammorite. Then Aviyam his son became king in his place (First Kings 14:31; Second Chronicles 12:16). Rehoboam’s death comes after a lifetime of struggle. Unlike David, he could not defeat his enemies; unlike Solomon, he was unable to collect wisdom, wealth or prestige. Unlike both men he was unable to keep the kingdom together. The decline of the monarchy coincides with the decline of the nation as a whole and decline of the nation’s spiritual commitment.³⁵⁷

Rehoboam’s death would not stop the LORD’s promise that He would build an everlasting house for David and establish the throne of His Kingdom forever. However, the Messiah would not descend from Solomon but from Nathan the ancestor of Miriam, the mother of Yeshua (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ai – The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary). David would always have a descendant of his sitting on the throne (see the commentary on the Life of David Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David). Today, that descendant, sitting on the throne in heaven, is Yeshua Messiah. He is called the Son of David (Mattityahu 1:1, 12:23, 21:9 and 15, 22:42); Yeshua is called the root of David (Revelation 5:5, 22:16); Messiah is called the offspring of David (Revelation 22:16); He is also called the key of David (Revelation 3:7). In fact, David will have a special role in the Messianic Kingdom in that he will be the co-ruler with Messiah over Isra’el (see the commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom).

The great blessing of Rehoboam’s life was to sit on David’s throne, ruling as king in Jerusalem. Many things could be said about his seventeen years of kingship, but the Bible has only one, highly selective interest. the Bible is not very interested in what the kings of Judah and Isra’el built, or the size of their economies, or other details of their political history. the Bible’s main interest is their faithfulness to God. Even when other subjects are discussed – the battles and building projects – the Bible’s primary concern is always personal godliness.

The most important thing to know about anyone is whether or not that person has a heart for ADONAI. We may accomplish many things in life. We may also fail to accomplish many things. But the most important thing about us – the one thing that will make a difference for all eternity – is whether we have a saving relationship with the living God. This is the great question of existence that everyone has to settle: Have I given my life to Yeshua Messiah, the Son of God?