“After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.”
~ 2 Chronicles 12:1
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you ever disagree with each other? Would you ever stop talking to each other? Your grandpaa is the oldest kid in his family. Your grandpaa has three bros and two sisters. When your grandpaa was a kid, your grandpaa and your dad’s Aunt Cathy – who is fifteen months younger than your grandpaa, would sometimes fight. Your grandpaa and his sis like each other now. Sometimes kids in a family when they get older do not get along with each other. Jacob had twelve sons. Joseph was Jacob’s second to the youngest kid. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite kid. Joseph’s bros came to dislike Joseph so much that they put him in a dry well. When one of Joseph’s bros – Judah, spotted a Ishmaelite camel caravan passing, Judah saw to it that Joseph was sold to some Midianite merchants who were in the caravan who took Joseph to Egypt where they sold him to Potiphar. Potiphar was Pharaoh’s captain of the guard. God would divinely through a famine and having Joseph in a position to help would have Jacob and his family relocate to Egypt to live. About 350 years later, Jacob’s extended family had grown into a nation of probably well over two million guys, gals and kids. This nation was called Israel after the name that God had renamed Jacob. God had promised the Israelite nation’s patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that their extended families would always have the land that they were living in as their very own land. This nation of God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids was made up of tribal clans representing Jacob’s and Joseph’s sons. After God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids had mostly purged Canaan – the land area that God was giving to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . Canaan was divided by lots among twelve tribal clans representing Israel’s and Joseph’s sons. After living for about 400 years in the land that God had given to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . and because the nations around them had kings, the Israelite people group’s guys and gals decided that they, too, really needed to have a king to rule over them. The Israelite people group’s guys and gals really did not have a good king as their first king. Saul was their first king. David would be the next king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. David was a much better king than Saul. Solomon – after his dad – David, died, would be the next king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Solomon did some good things but . . . Solomon did not always do what was the right thing to do. Solomon liked having wisdom but . . . Solomon also liked being the ruler over a lot of territory, having a really lot of money and things and especially having a lot of concubines and wives.
Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and Namaah. Namaah was one of Solomon’s 700 or so wives. What do you think that Rehoboam’s home was like that he grew up in as a kid? Do you think that Rehoboam got everything that he wanted? Do you think that Rehoboam’s dad – Solomon, helped Rehoboam grow up to be a good kid? What do you think that Rehoboam wanted to be when he got older? 2 Chronicles 12 has the chronicler recounting what Rehoboam became when he grew older. Rehoboam became king after his dad – Solomon, died. During the time that Solomon was the king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, Solomon had a young guy by the name of Jeroboam overseeing the Israelite nation’s public works. Jeroboam was from the Ephraim tribal clan. After Solomon died, Jeroboam decided that he and not Rehoboam would be the guy to take on the king’s job of ruling over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Jeroboam and Rehoboam were about the same age. Jeroboam and Rehoboam had known each other for years. Jeroboam and Rehoboam did not like each other. When Solomon died, the tribal clans that made up the Israelite people group nation had to make a choice. God’s specially chosen guys and gals could have accepted Rehoboam as their king but instead, the ten northern tribal clans decided that they wanted Jeroboam to be their king. Two of the southern tribal clans chose Rehoboam to be their king. The ten northern tribal clans retained the name Israel while the two southern tribal clans began using the name Judah. Rehoboam became Judah’s first king. Even though Rehoboam’s grandpa – David, had been a good king, Rehoboam did not start out being a good king as Judah’s king. Verse 1 says, “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.” Do you think that God was happy with Rehoboam for not choosing to obey the laws which He had given through Moses to His specially chosen guys and gals? God was not happy. Five years after Rehoboam became Judah’s first king, God gave Rehoboam a wakeup call to obey Him or . . . God had an Egyptian king – Shishak, show up with 1200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and Libyan, Sukkite and Cushite troops in Judah’s land area to attack and capture Judah’s land area’s cities. God let Shishak overrun Judah and Jerusalem so that Rehoboam and the guys and gals who were living in the land area would know what it was like to have to serve a king – like Shishak, instead of being blessed from being obedient to God.
After the Egyptian king – Shishak, and his troops had raided Jerusalem, they carried off the royal palace and temple treasures. God had a prophet on the scene – Shemaiah, who God sent to Rehoboam to tell Rehoboam that God was abandoning him just like he – Rehoboam, had abandoned God. Rehoboam got the wakeup call. Rehoboam humbled himself before God but . . . it was almost too late for Rehoboam to have God bless him. God would let Rehoboam be a Judah king for another twelve years. God’s specially chosen guys and gals saw their nation torn in two because one guy thought that he was the best guy around to be king and the other guy listened to bad advice.
2 Chronicles 12 (215)