Study Desk

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers.

and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, "My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!"

King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.

He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control.

The 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.

Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made.

Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David's son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.

Rehoboam 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.

Rehoboam 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.

But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers."

King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon.

But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart.

When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king.

He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam.

Don't you realize that the Lord , the God of Israel, made a lasting covenant with David, giving him and his descendants the throne of Israel forever?

Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David's son Solomon, rebelled against his master.

So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!"

Meanwhile, Jeroboam had secretly sent part of his army around behind the men of Judah to ambush them.

Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel's select troops were killed that day.

Abijah and his army pursued Jeroboam's troops and captured some of his towns, including Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their surrounding villages.