I Kings 14:21-29
“And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.” (I Kings 14:21)
God had promised to leave one tribe with Solomon’s family. Rehoboam reigned for seventeen years over Judah , in Jerusalem, five years less than Jeroboam reigned in Israel. His mother was an Ammonite, one of the groups God had forbidden Israel to marry, according to I kings 11:1-2. “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.” One of the false God’s Solomon had turned to was Molech, the Ammonite God.
The Moabites and Ammonites were distant relatives of Israel, being descendants of Lot. As such their treatment of Israel was despicable. In Deuteronomy 23:3-4 God had commanded, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.” Since his father was a Jew, Rehoboam was considered a Jew.
“And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.” (I Kings 14:22-24)
Since his mother was an Ammonite and follower of Molech and Solomon himself began to worship other gods, Rehoboam had no strong example to serve God. . For three years after his becoming king, Judah served the Lord, but II Chronicles 12:1 advises, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” The leader plays a major role in the attitude of their followers, and the people turned gradually away from God, worshipping various idols and in various places. Their religious decline was accompanied with a corresponding moral decline, with homosexuality becoming widely accepted.
“And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” (I Kings 14:25-26)
As a result of their religious and moral decay, God’s protection was removed, and Judah was invaded by the Egyptians, who pillaged Jerusalem, taking away the treasures Solomon had accumulated within five years of Rehoboam’s ascension to the throne.
It was exactly what had been prophesied in II Chronicles 12:5-7. “Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.”
Because they turned back to God. Judah was not destroyed although they remained under Egyptian domination.
“And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.” (I Kings 14:27-28)
In an effort to maintain an illusion of greatness and prosperity, Rehoboam replaced Solomon’s gold shields with polished brass so people wouldn’t realize how much they had lost.
“Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.” (I Kings 14:29-31)
Little else is given about Rehoboam, except that he and Jeroboam were constantly at war throughout his life.
“And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.” (I Kings 14:21)
God had promised to leave one tribe with Solomon’s family. Rehoboam reigned for seventeen years over Judah , in Jerusalem, five years less than Jeroboam reigned in Israel. His mother was an Ammonite, one of the groups God had forbidden Israel to marry, according to I kings 11:1-2. “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.” One of the false God’s Solomon had turned to was Molech, the Ammonite God.
The Moabites and Ammonites were distant relatives of Israel, being descendants of Lot. As such their treatment of Israel was despicable. In Deuteronomy 23:3-4 God had commanded, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.” Since his father was a Jew, Rehoboam was considered a Jew.
“And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.” (I Kings 14:22-24)
Since his mother was an Ammonite and follower of Molech and Solomon himself began to worship other gods, Rehoboam had no strong example to serve God. . For three years after his becoming king, Judah served the Lord, but II Chronicles 12:1 advises, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” The leader plays a major role in the attitude of their followers, and the people turned gradually away from God, worshipping various idols and in various places. Their religious decline was accompanied with a corresponding moral decline, with homosexuality becoming widely accepted.
“And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” (I Kings 14:25-26)
As a result of their religious and moral decay, God’s protection was removed, and Judah was invaded by the Egyptians, who pillaged Jerusalem, taking away the treasures Solomon had accumulated within five years of Rehoboam’s ascension to the throne.
It was exactly what had been prophesied in II Chronicles 12:5-7. “Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.”
Because they turned back to God. Judah was not destroyed although they remained under Egyptian domination.
“And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.” (I Kings 14:27-28)
In an effort to maintain an illusion of greatness and prosperity, Rehoboam replaced Solomon’s gold shields with polished brass so people wouldn’t realize how much they had lost.
“Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.” (I Kings 14:29-31)
Little else is given about Rehoboam, except that he and Jeroboam were constantly at war throughout his life.
Although growing up in a Christian home is certainly no guarantee of salvation, it at least ideally provides Godly examples of parents who will raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is so much less likely for children to be saved if their parents are not.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post & God bless,
Laurie
Amen. Parents largely set the attitudes their children will have by example. it's too bad more parents don't consider this in raising their children.
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