11:1Rehoboam’s foolishness divided his kingdom, and he tried to reunite it by force. True unity, however, cannot be forced— it must be the free response of willing hearts. If you want the loyalty of employees, children, or anyone else in your charge, win their respect through love instead of trying to gain their submission through force.
Life Application Study Bible2 ChroniclesChapter 11
2 Chronicles 11
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 680, 681
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112 Chronicles 11
Shemaiah’s Prophecy
1When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin— 180,000 select troops—to fight against Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. 2But the LORD said to Shemaiah, the man of God, 3“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: 4’ This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the LORD and did not fight against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies Judah
55Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various towns for the defense of Judah. 9He built up Bethlehem, Etam, TeKoa, ’ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 2Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These became the fortified towns of Judah and Benjamin. 11Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. 12He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control. 13But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam. 14The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the LORD as priests. 5Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. 15From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors. '’This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon. 2. History of apostasy and reform
Rehoboam’s Family
1818Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David's son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. 19Mahalath had three sons—Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20Later Rehoboam married another cousin, Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. Maacah gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. #1Rehoboam loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22Rehoboam appointed Maacah’s son Abijah as leader among the princes, making it clear that he would be the next king. 22Rehoboam also wisely gave responsibilities to his other sons and stationed some of them in the fortified towns throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin. He provided them with generous provisions, and he found many wives for them.
Textual footnotes
- lacks realized, 10:18 Hebrew Hadoram, a variant spelling of Adoniram; compare 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14; 12:18,
Life Application Notes 3 notes
11:4Why would God support this rebellion? It was part of the nation’s punishment for turning away from God (1 Kings 11:11). tt may also have been God's way of saving Rehoboam’s smailer kingdom from defeat. In doing so, God preserved David's line and kept intact his plan for the Messiah to be a descendant of David (see 2 Samuel 7:16). When we see division, especially in a church that splits, we wonder what God would have us do. God desires unity, but while we should always work toward reconciliation, we must recagnize that only God knows the future. He may allow a division in order to fulfill his greater purposes.
11:13,14Before the nation split, the center of worship was in Jerusalem, and people flocked there for the three great annual
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religious festivals. During the rest of the year, other worship services and rituals were conducted in the tribal territories by priests and Levites who lived throughout the land. They offered sacrifices, taught God’s laws, and encouraged the people to continue to follow God and avoid pagan influences. After the nation split, Jeroboam, the new king of Israel, saw these priests and Levites as threats to his new government because they retained loyalty to Jerusalem, now the capital of Judah. So he appointed his own priests, effectively banning the Levites from their duties and forcing them to move to the southern kingdom. Jeroboam’s pagan priests encouraged idol worship. With the absence of spiritual leaders, the new northern kingdom was in danger of abandoning God. 11:16: These people obeyed God rather than Jeroboam. By their actions, they preserved their integrity and strengthened the southern kingdam. {n the future, most of the people in the northern kingdom would go along with the evil designs of the kings, hoping to benefit by cooperating. Don’t follow their example and rationalize away God's teachings in order to gain earthly reward. 12:1, 2 Here “Israe\” refers to Judah, the southern kingdom. During his first three years on the throne, Rehoboam made an attempt to obey God, and as a result, Judah prospered. But then, at his peak of popularity and power, he abandoned God. The result was destruction because God allowed Judah to be conquered by Egypt. How could this happen? Often it is more difficult to be a believer in good times than in bad. Tough times push us toward God; but easy times can make us feel self-sufficient and self-satisfied. When everything is going right, guard your faith closely.