In our last study session we found the ten northern tribes of Israel seceding from Rehoboam's kingdom. He refused to lighten the burden of heavy taxation and of widescale conscription into hard labor. Instead he threatened to make the people's burden even heavier! In response the ten northern tribes declared they "had no part in David" as a way of rejecting the rule of the Davidic dynasty over them.
Rehoboam did not believe the elders of Israel and attempted to keep collecting taxes from them and conscripting their able-bodied men into forced labor. The people seized the man who was over the forced labor and stoned him to death. Rehoboam barely managed to escape with his life by jumping into his chariot and fleeing toward Jerusalem as fast as possible. This is where we pick up today.
"When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin---a hundred and eighty thousand able young men---to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon." (1 Kings 12:21, 2 Chronicles 11:1) Civil war is imminent. During Solomon's reign there was no kingdom on earth that could rival the glory of Israel but it didn't take long for things to begin falling apart when Rehoboam unwisely antagonized the tribes whose allegiance to the house of David had not always been solid to begin with. If Rehoboam continues with his planned course of action, he could very well bring his entire nation---both north and south---to utter ruin.
But God intervenes. "But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 'Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 'This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is My doing.' So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered." (1 Kings 12:22-24, 2 Chronicles 11:2-4) Rehoboam formerly refused to follow the wisdom of his late father's advisors. This time, to his credit, he heeds the wisdom of the prophet of God. He accepts this man's word as the word of the Lord, which is what it is.
Rehoboam lets the ten northern tribes secede without a fight and turns his attention to building up and strengthening the kingdom that remains to him. "Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoriam, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his." (2 Chronicles 11:5-12) Knowing the kingdom has split in two could encourage enemies to swoop into the territory that remains to King Rehoboam. He takes steps to defend the nation against invaders. I think he must also have taken steps to earn the allegiance of the people who are still with him, having learned his lesson from the harsh way he treated the people of the northern tribes.
"The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made." (2 Chronicles 11:13-15) Later this week we'll study what Jeroboam (who is now king over the northern tribes) has been doing to keep people from his kingdom from going up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. Jeroboam has been sowing the seeds that will eventually sprout into full-fledged widescale idolatry.
"Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time." (2 Chronicles 11:16-17) Rehoboam's kingdom is now made up of the Judahites, Benjamites, Levites, and all those from the northern territories who refused to have anything to do with the system of worship being set up by Jeroboam.
Rehoboam is wise enough to build up his kingdom politically and militarily. He is not wise enough to build it up spiritually. The reason so many people flock to Jerusalem and give him their support is because the temple is there and true worship of the one and only living God is taking place there. The people are not supporting Rehoboam because he's a godly man, because he isn't. We will learn more about this king of Judah and about King Jeroboam of Israel in the coming days and we'll discuss how each of these men's actions began setting the stage for the eventual downfall of both kingdoms.
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