2 Chronicles 10–11

10TH CHAPTER

King Rehoboam Foolishly Rejects Israel’s Request—1 Kings 12:1–19

¹Rehoboam went to Shechem because all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ²Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon. When he heard ⸤about Rehoboam⸥, he returned from Egypt. ³⸤Israel⸥ sent for Jeroboam and invited him back. Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak to Rehoboam. They said, ⁴“Your father made us carry a heavy burden. Reduce the hard work and lighten the heavy burden he put on us, and we will serve you.” 

⁵He said to them, “Come back the day after tomorrow.” So the people left. 

⁶King Rehoboam sought advice from the older leaders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive. He asked, “What do you advise? How should I respond to these people?” 

⁷They told him, “If you are good to these people and try to please them by speaking gently to them, then they will always be your servants.” 

⁸But he ignored the advice the older leaders gave him. He sought advice from the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we respond to these people who are asking me to lighten the burden my father put on them?” 

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is heavier than my father’s whole body.¹¹If my father put a heavy burden on you, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions.’ ” 

¹²So Jeroboam and all the people came back to Rehoboam two days later, as the king had instructed them. ¹³The king answered them harshly. He ignored the older leaders’ advice. ¹⁴He spoke to them as the young men advised. He said, “If my father made your burden heavy, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will use scorpions.” ¹⁵The king refused to listen to the people because the Lord was directing these events to carry out the promise he had made to Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) through Ahijah from Shiloh. 

¹⁶When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, 

“What share do we have in David’s kingdom? 

We won’t receive an inheritance from Jesse’s son. 

Everyone to his own tent, Israel! 

Now look after your own house, David!” 

So all Israel went home to their own tents. ¹⁷But Rehoboam ruled the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah. 

¹⁸Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram to the Israelites. He was in charge of forced labor, but they stoned him to death. So King Rehoboam got on his chariot as fast as he could and fled to Jerusalem. ¹⁹Israel has rebelled against David’s dynasty to this day. 

11TH CHAPTER

Israel’s Priests Come to Judah—1 Kings 12:21–33

¹When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered the people of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of the best soldiers, to fight against Israel and return the kingdom to Rehoboam. 

²But God spoke his word to Shemaiah, the man of God. He said, ³“Speak to Judah’s King Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and all Israel in Judah and Benjamin. ⁴This is what the Lord says: Don’t wage war against your relatives. Everyone, go home. What has happened is my doing.” So they obeyed the Lord’s word. They turned back from their attack on Jeroboam. 

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judah. ⁶He rebuilt Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹He strengthened them and put army officers with reserves of food, olive oil, and wine in them. ¹²In each city he stored shields and spears. He made the cities very secure. So Rehoboam held on to Judah and Benjamin. 

¹³The priests and Levites in every region of Israel sided with Rehoboam. ¹⁴The priests abandoned their land and property and went to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his descendants rejected them as the Lord’s priests. ¹⁵Instead, Jeroboam appointed ⸤his own⸥ priests for the illegal worship sites and the goat and calf statues he had made as idols. ¹⁶People from every tribe of Israel who were determined to seek the Lord God of Israel followed the Levitical priests to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors. 

¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah by supporting Rehoboam, son of Solomon, for three years. During ⸤those⸥ three years they lived the way David and Solomon had lived. 

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth. (Jerimoth was the son of David and Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse.) ¹⁹Mahalath gave birth to the following sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 

²⁰After marrying Mahalath, he married Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter. She gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter, more than all his other wives and concubines.^a(He had 18 wives and 60 concubines. He fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.) 

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah, son of Maacah, as family head and prince among his brothers. By doing this, Rehoboam could make him king. ²³He wisely placed his sons in every region of Judah and Benjamin, in every fortified city. He gave them allowances and obtained many wives for them.