Read 2 Chronicles 11
11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.
2 But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies Judah
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah:6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 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 15 when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. 16 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. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. 23 He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.
Go Deeper
In today’s reading, we see Rehoboam on the brink of war. He wasn’t just contemplating war. The Chronicler tells us that he rounded up 180,000 men to go to war against Israel in hopes of expanding his own kingdom (v. 1). But something interesting happens next: a prophet named Shemaiah, who is described as “a man of God”, is given a message by God to deliver to Rehoboam. God doesn’t want them to go fight against their fellow Israelites. Maybe Rehoboam was trying to do the faithful thing. Maybe he simply got cold feet. Whatever the reason, Rehoboam listened to what Shemaiah said and they turned around.
We then see how Rehoboam starts to fortify Judah in order to preserve and protect his kingdom (v. 5-12). Then something really interesting happens: the priests and the Levites (who were living in the northern kingdom) abandoned their land and moved south to be part of Judah (v. 13). Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom, had constructed idols to worship and led the charge on what was essentially state-sponsored idolatry. The Levites couldn’t reconcile being part of such an unfaithful kingdom and were deeply insulted by Jeroboam’s actions, so they abandoned their homes and their lands in order to move south.
By choosing to do so, we see a shift in the culture of Rehoboam’s reign. This influx of godly men and women into the Kingdom of Judah “strengthened the kingdom of Judah” (v. 17). It wasn’t just the Levites that left; there were people from “every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord” (v. 16)! While the strengthening of the kingdom was short-lived, that was more likely a result of Rehoboam’s bent towards ungodliness that was prevalent throughout his reign.
What we can take away from this passage is the impact godly men and women can have on a place and a group of people when they have the courage to do the right thing. When fellow believers resolve to not simply follow the culture, but instead live with their hearts set on seeking the Lord, the outside world takes notice. They live differently. They don’t prioritize the things of this world, but instead the things of God. That’s how culture changes: one faithful group of people at a time.
Questions
- What stuck out to you in your first reading of this chapter? Why?
- How have you seen godly people shift a culture? What did things look like before and after?
- What are ways you can strengthen the area(s) and change the culture around you? What would it look like for you, your family, your Life Group, etc. to live in a counter-cultural way?
Keep Digging
The rift between Jeroboam and Rehoboam is an important one to understand. To learn more about these two kings, check out this article from GotQuestions.org.
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2 responses to “2 Chronicles 11”
So a civil war. BUT GOD intervened and it was stopped. But Judah obeyed what God commanded. While Judah kept their high places and idol worship, they also continued to sacrifice to God and walk in a way that pleased him for three years. This was cut short, because of Rehoboam’s tendency to idolatry and ungodly living.
The important lesson I see is that I cannot worship God and have an idol in my life, without being lead astray. God will show you where your idols are if you ask Him. If you find it hard to let go of something that you know God has put his finger on, it’s a pretty good indication that thing has become an idol.
God thank You for showing me and giving me the push to get rid of idols. Help me strong willed in letting it go and helping me to continue to search for .You. Thank You for today, these minutes of this day. God continue to open the eyes of my understanding in and through Your Word in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have experienced God’s favor countless times as he allowed godly people to cross my path to speak truth with grace that impacted my decisions. I’m forever grateful for the “Shemaiah’s” that valued and spoke the word with courage and clarity. I wonder what shifted in Rehoboam this time from rejecting the advice of elders to obeying the word of the Lord given by Shemaiah? May we remain teachable, discerning the righteous path, then walking faithfully in it.