King Rehoboam the first King of Judah, 1 Kings 14:21-31

RULERS OF JUDAH

 RULER & DATE

	FATHER & MOTHER	SCRIPTURE
1. Rehoboam 930-913	Son of Solomon Mother: Naamah the Ammonite	1 Kings 11:42-14:31 2 Chronicles 9:31-12:16
2. Abijam (Abijah) 913-911	Son of Rehoboam Mother: Maacah (Micaiah) descendant of David's son Absalom	1 Kings 14:31-15:8 2 Chronicles 13:1-23
3. Asa 911-870	Son of Abijam Gebirah = grandmother Maacah	1 Kings 15:8-24 2 Chronicles 13:23-16:14
4. Jehoshaphat 870-848	Son of Asa Mother: Azubah	1 Kings 15:24-22; 41-51 2 Chronicles 17:1-21:1
5. Jehoram 848-841	Son of Jehoshaphat Mother: ?	2 Kings 8:16-24 2 Chronicles 21:1-20
6. Ahaziah 841	Son of Jehoram Mother: Athaliah	2 Kings 8:24-29; 9:14-26 2 Chronicles 22:1-12
7. Athaliah (Queen Mother) 841-835	Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel	2 Kings 11:1-20 2 Chronicles 22:1-15
8. Jehoash (Joash) 835-796	Grandson of Athaliah and son of Ahaziah; Mother: Zibiah (Beersheba)	1 Kings 11:1-12:21 2 Chronicles 22:10-23; 24:27
9. Amaziah 796-781	Son of Jehoash Mother: Jehoaddan	2 Kings 14:1-22 2 Chronicles 26:1-23
10. Uzziah 781-740	Son of Amaziah Mother: Jecoliah	2 Kings 15:1-7 2 Chronicles 26:23-27:9
11. Jotham 740-736	Son of Uzziah Mother: Jerushah	2 Kings 15:32-38 2 Chronicles 26:9-27:9
12. Ahaz 736-716	Son of Jotham Mother:?	2 Kings 15:38-16:20 2 Chronicles 27:9-28:27
13. Hezekiah 716-687	Son of Ahaz Mother: Abijah	2 Kings 16:20; 18:1-20:21 2 Chronicles 28:27-32:33
14. Manasseh 697-642	Son of Hezekiah Mother: Hephzibah	2 Kings 21:1-18 2 Chronicles 32:33-33:20
15. Amon 642-640	Son of Manasseh Mother: Meshullemeth	2 Kings 21:18-26 2 Chronicles 33:20-25
16. Josiah 640-609	Son of Amon Mother: Jedidiah	2 Kings 21:26-23:30 2 Chronicles 33:25-35:27
17. Jehoahaz 609	Son of Josiah Mother: Hamutal	2 Kings 23:30-34 2 Chronicles 36:5-8
18. Jehoiakim	Son of Josiah Brother of Jehoahaz Mother: Zebidah	2 Kings 23:34-24:6 2 Chronicles 36:5-8
19. Jehoiachin 598-597	Son of Jehoiakim Mother: Nehusta	2 Kings 24:6-17 2 Chronicles 36:8-10
20. Zedekiah 597-587/6	Son of Josiah Parental uncle of Jehoiachin Mother:  Hamital	2 Kings 24:17-25:30 2 Chronicles 36:10-13; Ezekiel 17:13-16

 

King Rehoboam the first King of Judah, 1 Kings 14:21-31

 At the death of King Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two. The Southern kingdom was called the house Judah and the northern kingdom was called the house of Israel.

 Rehoboam in Hebrew means: Free of the people.

 The southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal to King Rehoboam.

The northern Ten tribes rebelled and got themselves another king called King Jeroboam

 Jeroboam, acting under God's direction, led a rebellion against the evil King Rehoboam. The outcome was that Israel was divided. Jeroboam became the first king over the larger portion, still called Israel, and Rehoboam remained king over the smaller portion, named Judah, after Rehoboam's tribe.

 

Jeroboam's Rise Prophesied

In a private meeting, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh got Jeroboam's full attention by ripping his brand new robe into 12 pieces — a startling act, given the high cost of clothing in those days. Ahijah told Jeroboam to take 10 of the 12 pieces for himself, as a symbol that God was going to divide the kingdom of Israel, and make Jeroboam king over 10 of its 12 tribes. 

 God would do this, the prophet said, because King Solomon had rejected God, establishing idol cults whose worship required extreme sins, including human sacrifice. So Solomon's heir would inherit only a small portion of the kingdom — out of respect for Solomon's father, the faithful King David.

 In this prophecy, God made Jeroboam a stunning promise: if, like David and unlike Solomon, Jeroboam would be faithful to the LORD, God would assure Jeroboam a great and lasting dynasty. Unfortunately, Jeroboam ignored and rejected God's promise.


When King Solomon learned of this prophecy, he ordered Jeroboam killed. But Jeroboam escaped to Egypt, and lived there until Solomon's death.
Source: 1 Kings 11:29-40 

Jeroboam's Rise to Power

When King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took his office. When Jeroboam learned of Solomon's death, he returned from exile in Egypt to attend Rehoboam's coronation.
At the coronation, the nation's local leaders met for collective bargaining with the new king, hoping for relief from the oppressive tax burden. Jeroboam's leadership skills were recognized by everyone; he had been a construction worker so capable that he was promoted to general manager for an entire tribe. So the local leaders procured Jeroboam to present their requests to the king.

 King Rehoboam, however, refused to negotiate, insisting instead that he would raise taxes, probably to sponsor massive public works projects, as Solomon had done. Upon this, the leaders of 10 of Israel's 12 tribes abandoned the coronation, determined to secede from the union.

 Jeroboam, having led the negotiations, was the obvious choice to be king of the newly formed nation of Israel.

 King Rehoboam, naturally enough, refused to recognize the independent half-nation, instead viewing it as an internal rebellion to be brought under control. He assembled an army for this purpose. But just as civil war was ready to begin, God sent word to Rehoboam that he must call off the war and go home; the secession and Jeroboam's ascension had happened at God's bidding.
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Jeroboam devised a cunning plan, creating two golden calves for the people to worship, and strategically placed them at the northern and southern ends of the country.


Jeroboam, an effective administrator under King Solomon, pleaded Israel’s cause before Solomon’s son and successor, Rehoboam: “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you” (1 Kings 12:4)

Jeroboam, chosen spokesman for most of the tribes of Israel, addressed Rehoboam at Shechem, not Jerusalem. That their meeting was in this northern city added to Rehoboam’s troubles, for he knew the northern tribes were chafing at the heavy-handed tax and labor policies administered from Jerusalem.

Under Solomon’s long and peaceful rule, Israel had lived in the lap of luxury, attributable at least in part to a heavy tax burden that allowed Israel to militarily and economically dominate the area and control its profitable trade routes. But this tax burden eventually generated considerable resentment among the people.

 Rehoboam wanted to keep his father’s affluent kingdom intact. But Jeroboam had different ideas: He planned to rule over a new kingdom to be formed from 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Rehoboam unwittingly played right into his hands

 King Rehoboam needed a little time to consider his position and determine his response: “Depart for three days, then come back to me” (1 Kings 12:5).

 In the privacy of his court, Rehoboam turned to the elders who had counseled his father and asked: “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

The elders answered wisely: “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever” (1 Kings 12:6-7).

Jeroboam’s Background

Jeroboam had significantly gained prominence during King Solomon’s reign. “The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph” (1 Kings 11:28)


First-century Jewish historian Josephus adds further details: “… When Solomon saw that he was of an active and bold disposition, he made him the curator of the walls which he built round about Jerusalem; and he took such care of those works, and the king approved of his behaviour, and gave him, as a reward for the same, the charge of the tribe of Joseph” ( Antiquities of the Jews, book VIII, chapter vii, section 7).

Confrontation with Rehoboam

After Solomon’s death and Rehoboam’s ascension of the throne, Jeroboam’s countrymen summoned him from Egypt. Shortly thereafter he and Rehoboam had the confrontation.

 After the northern 10 tribes announced their intention to reject the House of David, Rehoboam became desperate: “… He assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon

Jeroboam's Apostasy

As soon as Jeroboam took office, he faced a political crisis. Many Israelites were heartbroken that the nation was divided, and there were rumblings of reuniting. A reunion could only happen under David's rightful heir, King Rehoboam — and the result would be certain death for King Jeroboam. So naturally, he was opposed to reunion. 
 Fueling the longings for reunion were the annual pilgrimages; the LORD required every worshipper to attend a festival at Jerusalem, Rehoboam's capital, three times every year. Jerusalem was a splendid place, rich with meaning for all the Israelites. Solomon had built beautiful palaces, and his temple was one of the architectural wonders of the world. Not only that, but King Rehoboam himself would be presiding over the ceremonies. All this was very inviting to Jeroboam's public.


God had promised Jeroboam that his kingdom would be secure. But Jeroboam didn't trust God's promise. He decided the pilgrimages to Jerusalem were too dangerous, and he had to stop them.
To stop the pilgrimages, Jeroboam changed the national religion. He abolished worship of the LORD and in its place built two golden calf idols, modeled no doubt after the one built centuries earlier by the high priest Aaron. He placed the idols strategically — one in the extreme northern city of Dan, very convenient for the northern population; the other in the southern border town of Bethel, so any pilgrim to Jerusalem would have to pass right by it on their journeys.
Jeroboam also fired all the Levitical priests, who were established according to the LORD's instructions, were familiar with the LORD's regulations, and would influence the people against Jeroboam's new religion. He established a priesthood of his own, designed to take their orders from him. Many Levites and others faithful to the LORD emigrated to Judah.
The golden calf cult, and the sexually immoral practices historically associated with their worship, became an ongoing snare to the people of Israel. 

The Prophet from Judah Rebukes Jeroboam

It was customary for kings to preside over religious gatherings, and so on this occasion Jeroboam was front and center at Bethel, leading a public ceremony in a sacrifice to his golden calf idol there. As he was about this, a prophet visiting from Rehoboam's kingdom caused a disturbance. 

Jeroboam's Decline and Fall

Late in Jeroboam's career, one more in a series of wars broke out between Israel and Judah. It's not clear how the war started, but Judah's King Abijam, son of the late King Rehoboam, used the occasion to appeal to Jeroboam's cabinet to reject Jeroboam and his cult and return to the worship of the LORD, predicting that the LORD would give Judah victory over Jeroboam. 

 Jeroboam had masterminded an ambush, and the battle began. God did indeed fight on behalf of those who trusted him, and Judah inflicted half a million casualties on Jeroboam's forces, and captured and occupied several towns as well. Significantly, they captured Bethel, where one of Jeroboam's golden calves was housed. 


Jeroboam died not long after, and was succeeded by his son Nadab. But soon Nadab was murdered by a soldier named Baasha, who pronounced himself king, and murdered the entire family of Jeroboam, fulfilling Ahijah's prophecy.
Source: 2 Chronicles 13; 1 Kings 15:28-30




http://agapebiblestudy.com/charts/Institution%20of%20the%20Gebirah.htm
http://bibleview.org/en/Bible/Prophets/KingRehoboam/
http://www.vtaide.com/gleanings/Kings-of-Israel/biography_Jeroboam.html