Recently, our news feeds were filled with talk of the United Methodist Church and its potential divide. They are currently the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States and they recently announced a plan to split the church. The split comes because of what they called “fundamental differences” over homosexuality. The whole thing is really sad because of what they used to stand for. All the years have gone by and there is little substantive Christianity that John Wesley would recognize if he were alive today.
By the way, one of the reasons you are not seeing this split in the SBC churches is because we have settled the authority issue. Yes, we have our issues too but we know our source of authority. Our true authority is not what Hollywood says or psychologists say but what does the Word of God says. Splits and divorces are common these days but they should bring a sense of sadness to our spirits. Whenever there is a split, sin is so abundant that there are few other options left.
Tonight, we begin a study of when the nation Israel divides into two nations. It’s the beginning of a sad time in the nation and in our Bibles. King Solomon has died and things were not good during his watch. He allowed a lot of evil stuff to happen in his later days. The “nose of the camel gets in the tent” and it will be impossible for the nation to turn itself around. Yet, Solomon’s reign represents the golden age of Israel in terms of economy and foreign influence. Solomon’s reign represented “the good ole days” for years to come.
If you are following along in your Bibles, you’ll want to find 1 Kings 12 with me.
Quick Overview
Let me offer you a summary of what we’ll see over the next three studies. The Southern Kingdom has 20 kings over its history. These 20 kings will reign from around 930 BC to 587 BC, or The Northern Kingdom will have 19 kings (with a caveat) from around 930 BC to 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom is known a Judah and will last for around 345 years. The Northern Kingdom is known as Israel which is confusing.
This would be similar to our Civil War and had the confederate states won, the northern states may have very well called themselves the United States. So Israel is the name of the nation when it is united and it’s the name of the northern kingdom when the nations are divided. The Northern Kingdom will last for around 210 years (less than the length of the US). Now, Judah’s kings are all sons of King David were in Israel (Northern Kingdom), none of the kings are the sons of David. Judah is the unbroken succession Davidic dynasty were in Israel (Northern Kingdom), you have a series of mini-dynasties.
Only four kings in Judah’s history are godly men (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah) while none of the kings in Israel (Northern Kingdom) are godly men. Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah are all men you want to take home to meet your parents.
Chronology
Old Testament chronology has puzzled people for centuries. This is especially true when it comes to correlating the reigns of the kings of the Divided Kingdoms. The biblical record gives us a vast amount of information, but here the question: how does it all relate? When you are starting reading at 1 Kings 12 through the end of 2 Kings 25, you will find the Bible cites the year in a strange way for modern people. Here’s how it will read “In the X year of the reign of So-and-So of Israel, So-and-So became king of Judah and he reigned Y years.” Instead of giving us a year (such as 2020), we get the beginning year of Judah’s king is correlated to a certain year in Israel’s king. It’s a chicken and the egg kind of thing because you are left with tracing which came first.
1. Rehoboam and Jeroboam
They sound like twins don’t they?
Rehoboam is the Southern Kingdom of Judah and he reigns from around 931-913 Jeroboam is the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s first king from around 931-910. Now, remember this: pig-headedness splits the kingdom.
1.1 Jeroboam
Jeroboam is a widow’s son and was a highly gifted young man who rose up the ranks during Solomon’s reign. Solomon made Jeroboam the overseer of his public works in the northern tribes when there was a united kingdom. The king’s oppressive practices led Jeroboam to revolt, and he finds himself an exile in Egypt until Solomon’s death.
1.2 Rehoboam
It’s here that we should pick up reading from 1 Kings 12: “Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt” (1 Kings 12:1-2).
Remember, it was that pig-headedness splits the kingdom. “And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 ‘Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.’ 5 He said to them, ‘Go away for three days, then come again to me’” (1 Kings 12:3-5). Tellingly we read these words if you skip ahead to the verse: “So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 Kings 12:15).
The demand to alleviate taxation, forced labor, and military draft were all reasonable, for all these had been an increasing burden under King Solomon. Essentially, Rehoboam finds his father’s counselors and asks them what he should do with the people’s request. Having gone to the first counselor and getting a message he didn’t want to hear, he searches out for people who will agree with his thoughts.
Rehoboam is forty-one years old and he finds some “young bucks” who say this in verse 11: “‘I am a lot harsher than my father! 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh’” (2 Kings 2:10b-11).
These “young bucks” even give the king a one-liner to use at the press conference: “My little one is thicker than my father’s waist.” Most translations understand ‘little one’ as the little finger and that’s a reasonable guess. But some people note the reference to “waist/loins,” referring to the middle of the body, suggest that the ‘little one’ was meant as a reference to … well you don’t need me to tell you what they may be referring to, do you? This group probably were smoking big cigars and taking great delight in crafting such a coarse rejoinder.
1.3 King James
In my research for our study, I came across a private letter King James of the legendary King James Version fame, wrote to his 4-year-old son, Henry, the Duke of Rothesay. The document was effective instructions on how to be a good king. King James speaks of the king’s duty toward God as a Christian and the responsibilities of the office. He tells his son not to be a tyrant but to be a good king. To rule with justice and to know the people in his realm by visiting each of his kingdoms every 3 years. Henry should also study the Bible and pay close attention to the kings of the Old Testament, especially the godly kings. Here’s the last piece of advice King James gives his son: “[God} made you a little GOD to sit on his throne, and rule [over] other men.” No surprise that King James advocated what we call today the divine right of kings.
Now, we could focus on the stupidity of King Rehoboam but remember the words of verse 15 again. Because King Rehoboam’s stupidity plays right along with God’s plans before King Rehoboam becomes the king. Turn back to 1 Kings 11:28 with me if you will: “The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt…” (1 Kings 11:28-40).
That was the prediction the prophet Ahijah made. Tragically, Israel breaks away from Judah here. As with all splits, there is a great deal of sadness.
Quick follow-up: Saul’s tribe of Benjamin would also affiliate with Judah and they became known as the one tribe of Judah (1 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 11:1, 10; 15:2, 9).
1.4 Solomon’s Part
Earlier, I stated that Solomon allows the “nose of the camel to get in the tent” in his day. 1 Kings 11:1 explains how this came to be: Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen” (1 Kings 11:1-13).
So you have Solomon’s long-standing sin plus Rehoboam’s pig-headedness to combine to form a deadly combination. Pick up reading with me in verse 16 of 1 Kings 12: “And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only” (1 Kings 12:16-20).
It's at this point Rehoboam almost starts a civil war with the Israel, the Northern Kingdom. A civil war would have taken place had not God spoke to a little-known prophet: “But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’ ” So they listened to the word of the LORD and went home again, according to the word of the LORD” (1 Kings 12:22-24).
Rehoboam is to be commended here because he doesn’t knee-jerk into a fight.
1.5 Jeroboam
Jeroboam’s influence will be felt for generations to come. He wants to maintain the loyalty of the people of the Northern Kingdom. To maintain loyalty, he doesn’t want people of the Northern Kingdom going down into the Southern Kingdom for worship in Jerusalem. He wanted to prevent the ten tribes from eventually drifting back into Southern Kingdon’s sphere of influence by their attending the temple services in Jerusalem. To prevent this from happening, Jeroboam sets up altars of worship in the city of Bethel and the city of Dan: “So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, ‘You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt’” (1 Kings 12:28).
He not only set up calves to worship, he finds clergy outside of the Levite tribe as well. If you visit the Holy Land today, you can visit the remains of Jeroboam’s site on Dan. It’s called Tel Dan and you it’s found in a nature reserve area when you go. The platform at that time was 60 feet long and 20 feet wide and had an altar in front of the steps. You can see an iron frame that outlines the altar located in the same place where Jeroboam placed his altar. You can still see the original steps for the altar. It’ really amazing to look at this place and see the beginning of Israel's drift into pagan practices and values.
Victor P. Hamilton has a great summary on Jeroboam that I want to quote at length here: “Few people cast a shadow over history as much as Jeroboam does through his providing alternate worship and sacrifice centers other than Jerusalem. He does not sleep with somebody else’s wife and kill the husband, as David did. He does not have a thousand wives like Solomon. He is neither an adulterer nor a polygamist, but he does tinker with how and where God is to be worshiped and with the fundamental concept of who God is.
Of the eighteen Israelite kings who follow Jeroboam I, fifteen of them are said to have walked in the way/sins of Jeroboam, or refused to depart from the way/sins of Jeroboam” with only three exceptions. Jeroboam alters the place of worship, the people who led worship, and the time of worship. You’ll note that he moves the festival from the 15th of the 7th month to the 15th day of the 8th month (1 Kings 12:32-33).
2. Jeroboam and the Prophet
An unnamed prophet interrupts the king’s worship: “And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’ ” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel” (1 Kings 13:1-10).
Our unnamed prophet cries out against this altar because it’s not genuine in God’s eyes. He makes an accurate prediction about a descendent of David’s named Josiah. The king seeks to stop the prophet but a paralyzed arm made the king change his tune quickly. Watch the prophet tell the king that he cannot stay a moment longer because God commanded him to go home.
It’s here that a really interesting story only becomes more bizarre: “11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water” (1 Kings 13:11-19).
Our prophet friend fell for a lie. He had obeyed the Lord until this prophet lied to him. We don’t understand why one prophet lied to the other. I find it fascinating that the old prophet said an angel told him in his lie. This reminds me of Paul’s words in Galatians 1:6: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).
Even if an angel is supposedly telling you something, don’t fall for it.
During the 1915 baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals were playing Brooklyn in St. Louis. Miller Huggins, the St. Louis manager, was directing his team from the third-base coach’s box. It was the seventh inning, with two outs, the score tied, and one of Huggins’ Cardinals on third base, ninety feet away from a score. Huggins hollered at the Brooklyn pitcher Ed Appleton: “Hey, bub, let me see that ball!” Appleton was a 23-year-old rookie; with all due respect, he tossed the ball to Huggins. But the St. Louis manager had not called time out. So he simply stepped aside, let the ball roll past, and watched his Cardinal runner trot over home plate with (what proved to be) the winning run. Maybe it was the tone of managerial authority in Huggins’ demand. In any case, Appleton complied and lost.
Remember the Bible calls on us to “Test the spirits” (1 John 4:1)!
Look what happens next: “And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body” (1 Kings 13:20-24).
The old prophet (who lied) instructs his sons to bury his body when he dies by the unnamed prophet (1 Kings 13:31-32). Any confused as of yet? The whole story is told to warn King Jeroboam in verse 33: “After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Anywho would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.” (1 Kings 13:33-34). Jeroboam does not change his ways despite this strange warning.
3. Jeroboam and His Sick Son
Jeroboam's son is sick and the best place to take his sick son was to a prophet in the Southern Kingdom. So Jeroboam sends his wife in disguise with his son to the prophet, Ahijah. Keep the names in their lanes with me because the prophet is named Ahijah and the sick son is named Abijah. Of course, Jeroboam wants his son to live but he also wants an heir for the throne. Remember, Jeroboam knew Ahijah from years before when the prophet accurately predicted Jeroboam would be king. Remember this prophet, he sent his disguised wife and son to him for healing. There’s a real irony to the story because of the end of verse 4: “Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the LORD said to Ahijah, ‘Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her’” (1 Kings 14:4b-5a).
Spurgeon and a Disguised Woman
Charles Spurgeon was preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on Sunday evening, July 31, 1864. A man living in Newington had been converted under Spurgeon’s preaching and became a regular worshiper at the Tabernacle over his wife’s strong objections, for she was a staunch adherent of the Established Church. One Sunday evening, however, after her husband had left for the service and she wanted to hear Spurgeon preach but didn’t want anyone to know. She tried to disguise herself by putting on a thick veil and a heavy shawl, and, to minimize visibility, by going up to the upper gallery. She was, of course, late reaching the building and so just as she entered she heard the preacher announcing his text: “Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings” (v. 6, KJV). She said that Spurgeon pointed directly at her when he announced those words! His sermon was apparently suited to her case, indicating, as he did, that God’s gospel will ‘search you out, and unmask your true character, disguise yourself as you may”
I pick up reading the rest of the story at the end of verse 5: “When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it.” ’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today” (1 Kings 14:.14b).
God had told King Jeroboam, “If you are careful to follow me, I’ll keep your sons on the throne.” Jeroboam’s reign lasted 22 years (931–910 BC), even though he had been promised an unending dynasty (just as Saul had been promised in 2 Samuel 13:13), if he would walk faithfully with God (1 Kings 11:38). Jeroboam did not follow the Lord and what will follow will be one family after another in the Northern Kingdom. “Instead of setting the standard of stability for the Northern Kingdom and the generations to come, Jeroboam set the tone of evil and the basis for instability; indeed, in the brief 210-year history of the Northern Kingdom, it would have no less than five different dynasties.”
4. Rehoboam and Abijah
Rehoboam governs for seventeen years. His mother was an Ammonite, a fact that further underscores Solomon’s love for foreign women. He had been born to Solomon and his wife Naamah of Ammon during Solomon’s brief coregency with his father David.
All this leads to an apt summary of Rehoboam’s time: “And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 24 and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel” (1 Kings 14:22-24).
Judah’s sins stir up “God’s jealous anger.” Judah is trending downwards so we should not be surprised by what happens next.
4.1 Rehoboam and Egypt
Egypt’s invasion of Judah signals the end of Jerusalem’s autonomy. Yes, they will not fall for sometime to come but the writing is on the wall: “In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house” (1 Kings 14:25-27).
One write summarizes this period with these words: “Gold shields replaced by bronze. The splendor is fading. But the pomp and ceremony must continue. And if we cannot have shields of department store quality, we shall have ones of discount store variety. The show must go on…”
Pharaoh Shishak (Shoshenq I, ca. 945–924 B.C.) was a native of Libya and founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty in Egypt. He had given asylum to Jeroboam when Jeroboam fled from Solomon (1 Kings 11:40). Now, Rehoboam is forced to relinquish the temple treasures just to get rid of Shishak. Paying invaders to leave will become standard practice in Judah. Idolatry has political consequences The Egyptian forces carted off tons of gold from Judah. It was in Rehoboam’s fifth year, that Shishak came into Judean territory. In fact, Shishak listed some 150 cities in Palestine that he had conquered. Egypt did this at the behest of Jeroboam the Northern Kingdom and in an attempt to strengthen their hand in the area. “And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually” (1 Kings 14:30).
This maybe has been border skirmishes or a general state of hostility. No matter, what you have are two weak kingdoms fighting each other and draining one another resources.
“Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’ 6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ‘The LORD is righteous.’ 7 When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries” (2 Chronicles 12:5-8).
Rehoboam and all his successors must deal with political and military vulnerability from this point forward. The final twelve years of Rehoboam’s reign, after his run-in with Shishak and his encounter with the prophet Shemiah, are viewed more favorably.
4.2 After Rehoboam
Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem” (1 Kings 15:1-2a). He is called either Abijam or Abijah but the later name is the same as the sick son of the Northern Kingdom. Of this king, the Bible says, “And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father” (1 Kings 15:3). Abijah ruled from 913–911 BC (1 Kings 15:1–8; 2 Chronicles 13:1–22). Even though Abijah did not follow in the ways of David spiritually, yet we read, “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite” (1 Kings 15:4-5).
The fight against Jeroboam continues with Abijam: “Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, 7 and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.
8 “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods” (2 Chronicles 13:2b-8).
The address was directed to Jeroboam and all Israel. The outcome of the battle was defeat and humiliation for Jeroboam and victory for Abijah and the men of Judah because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. Abijah’s only accomplishment is this military victory. We are told he married 14 wives to have 38 sons and daughters. He is succeeded by his good son, Asa. Jeroboam has lost significant power because of this battle but will remain on the throne of the Northern Kingdom after Abijah’s death.
