REHOBOAM, KING OF JUDAH

Passage: 1 Kings 14:21-31

Key verse: 27

NIV

Rehoboam King of Judah(A)

21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(B)

22 Judah(C) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger(D) more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones(E) and Asherah poles(F) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(G) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes(H) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable(I) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked(J) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple(K) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields(L) Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.(M) 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare(N) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(O) And Abijah[a] his son succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam
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Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah

21 (A)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, (B)the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. (C)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 (D)And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (E)provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves (F)high places (G)and pillars and (H)Asherim on every high hill and (I)under every green tree, 24 and there were also (J)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

25 (K)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. (L)He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold (M)that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

29 (N)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? 30 (O)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. (P)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And (Q)Abijam his son reigned in his place.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord (21-24) Rehoboam came from excellent stock. His father was the wise Solomon and David, a man after God's own heart, was his grandfather. But Rehoboam didn't learn from either of them. He was foolish and rebellious. He sinned greatly against the Lord, and caused all of Judah to participate in that sin. They didn't behave like God's people. They behaved like the nations the Lord drove out before them. The idol worship and male shrine prostitutes brought the Lord to anger. 2. The consequences of Judah's sin (25-31) The Lord punished Judah through Shishak, king of Egypt. He attacked Jerusalem, broke into the temple and took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields, made to look like the original ones, but not worth much. This is an apt metaphor of Judah. Because of Rehoboam's sin, while things may have looked ok, the nation had become worthless to God.

Prayer: Lord, keep this nation and its leaders from sin. Help us to know your grace.

One Word: Be a gold shield, not a bronze