²Jeroboam heard about it. He was the son of Nebat. Jeroboam was in Egypt at that time. He had gone there for safety. He wanted to get away from King Solomon. But now he returned from Egypt.

³So the people sent for Jeroboam. He and all of the people went to Rehoboam. They said to him, ⁴“Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. But now make our hard work easier. Make the heavy load on us lighter. Then we’ll serve you.”

⁵Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶Then King Rehoboam asked the elders for advice. They had served his father Solomon while he was still living. Rehoboam asked them, “What advice can you give me? How should I answer these people?”

⁷They replied, “Be kind to them. Please them. Give them what they are asking for. Then they’ll always serve you.”

⁸But Rehoboam didn’t accept the advice the elders gave him. He asked for advice from the young men who had grown up with him and were now serving him. ⁹He asked them, “What’s your advice? How should I answer these people? They said to me, ‘Make the load your father put on our shoulders lighter.’ ”

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him gave their answer. They replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. Make it lighter.’ Tell them, ‘My little finger is stronger than my father’s legs. ¹¹My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.’ ”

¹²Three days later Jeroboam and all of the people returned to Rehoboam. That’s because the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.”

¹³The king answered them in a mean way. He didn’t accept the advice of the elders. ¹⁴Instead, he followed the advice of the young men. He said, “My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.”

¹⁵So the king didn’t listen to the people. That’s because God had planned it that way. What the Lord had said through Ahijah came true. Ahijah had spoken the Lord’s message to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Ahijah was from Shiloh.

¹⁶All of the people of Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them. So they answered the king. They said,

“We don’t have any share in David’s royal family.

We don’t have any share in Jesse’s son.

People of Israel, let’s go back to our homes.

David’s royal family, take care of your own kingdom!”

So all of the people of Israel went home.

¹⁷But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard for King Rehoboam. The king sent him out among the Israelites. But they killed him by throwing stones at him. Rehoboam was able to get away in his chariot. He escaped to Jerusalem. ¹⁹Israel has refused to follow the royal family of David to this very day.

11Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem. He brought together 180,000 fighting men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He had decided to make war against Israel. He wanted his fighting men to get the kingdom of Israel back for him.

²But a message came to Shemaiah from the Lord. He was a man of God. The Lord said to him, ³“Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Speak to all of the people of Israel in Judah and Benjamin. Tell them, ⁴‘The Lord says, “Do not go up to fight against your relatives. I want every one of you to go back home. Things have happened exactly the way I planned them.” ’ ”

So the fighting men obeyed the Lord’s message. They turned back. They didn’t march out against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Builds Up Judah’s Towns

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He made Judah more secure by building up their towns. ⁶He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷Beth Zur, Soco and Adullam. ⁸He also built up Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. All of them were cities in Judah and Benjamin that had high walls around them.

¹¹Rehoboam made those cities even more secure. He put commanders in them. He gave them plenty of food, olive oil and wine. ¹²He put shields and spears in all of those cities. He made them very strong. So he ruled over Judah and Benjamin.

¹³The priests and Levites were on Rehoboam’s side. They came from their territories all over Israel. ¹⁴The Levites even left their grasslands and other property behind. They came to Judah and Jerusalem. That’s because Jeroboam and his sons had refused to accept them as priests of the Lord. ¹⁵Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the high places. He had made statues of gods that looked like goats and calves. His priests served those gods.

¹⁶Some people from every tribe in Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem. With all their hearts they wanted to worship the Lord. He is the God of Israel. They came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to him. He was the God of their people of long ago.

¹⁷All those who came to Jerusalem made the kingdom of Judah strong. They helped Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During that time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸Rehoboam got married to Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. ¹⁹Mahalath had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham.

²⁰Then Rehoboam married Maacah. She was the daughter of Absalom. She had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maacah. In fact, he loved her more than any of his other wives and concubines. He had a total of 18 wives and 60 concubines. And he had a total of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²²Rehoboam appointed Maacah’s son Abijah to be the chief prince among his brothers. He did it to make him king. ²³He acted wisely. He scattered some of his sons through all of the territories of Judah and Benjamin. He put them in all of the cities that had high walls around them. He gave them plenty of food and everything else they needed. He also gave them many wives.

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