1 Kings Chapter 14
The End of Jeroboam and Rehoboam
A. The End of Jeroboam, King of Israel
1. 1 Kings 14:1–3 KJV
“At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him. He shall tell thee what shall become of the child.”
a. At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick
Jeroboam had risen to political greatness, yet he could not escape the universal burdens of fallen humanity. His son became sick, and this affliction pierced him in a way political concerns never did. The king who built altars of idolatry and reshaped the religious life of Israel according to his own convenience suddenly found himself desperate for divine intervention. His pagan shrines offered no comfort. His counterfeit priests could offer no intercession. His false gods were silent. When crisis struck his own household, he instinctively turned toward the God he had spent years rejecting.
This detail exposes the hollowness of idolatry. When life strikes at its deepest places, people do not run to their inventions, they run to the living God. Jeroboam’s actions admit that he knew where truth and power resided even though he refused to submit to it.
Cross references fully quoted in KJV:
2 Kings 1:2
“And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick. And he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.”
Even an apostate king instinctively sought prophetic insight about illness. Jeroboam follows the same pattern, seeking the word of the Lord in desperation while refusing obedience.
2 Kings 4:22
“And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.”
2 Kings 5:3
“And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy.”
These examples demonstrate that throughout Israel’s history people sought prophets during sickness because prophets were the mouthpieces of God. Jeroboam is no different.
b. Disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam
Jeroboam’s hypocrisy becomes unmistakable. He sought the prophet he had previously rejected. He sought the God he had ignored. Yet he attempted to reach Him through deceit. This reveals the deep contradiction of idolatrous religion. Jeroboam trusted Ahijah enough to seek him but not enough to submit to him.
His command for his wife to disguise herself reflects his own spiritual instability. He understood that true prophecy would expose him, his sins, and his rebellion. He feared the truth and therefore tried to manipulate the situation by concealing his identity. This is the same impulse Adam showed after the fall.
Genesis 3:10 KJV
“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. And I hid myself.”
Jeroboam hid not with leaves, but with disguise, sending his wife as if God could be fooled by appearances.
This act also exposes his spiritual cowardice. Jeroboam himself would not go. He sent his wife to carry the burden of facing the prophet. His idolatry had hardened his heart so deeply that even in desperation he refused to humble himself.
c. He shall tell thee what shall become of the child
Jeroboam desired information but not intercession. He wanted revelation but not repentance. He wanted to know the future, not be confronted with his sin. This is the classic attitude of the unrepentant. He treated the prophet as a fortune teller rather than a servant of the living God.
Had Jeroboam asked for prayer, sought forgiveness, or cast down his idols, the Lord may have shown mercy. God restored the king’s withered hand earlier. He was not unwilling to save. But Jeroboam wanted predictions, not holiness.
The commentator Matthew Henry rightly warns that many would rather hear their fortune than their faults. Jeroboam is the perfect example. He feared what true repentance would cost him more than he feared losing his son.
2. 1 Kings 14:4–6 KJV
“And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say unto her, for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam. Why feignest thou thyself to be another, for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.”
a. Ahijah could not see
This explains why Jeroboam thought the disguise might work. Ahijah was elderly and physically blind. Yet this blindness only magnifies God’s sovereignty. Physical blindness does not stop the prophetic ministry because prophecy depends entirely on revelation, not on human senses.
Jeroboam underestimated the prophet because he underestimated the God who empowered him.
b. The Lord had said unto Ahijah
The disguise meant nothing. Blindness meant nothing. God addressed the situation directly, telling His prophet exactly who was coming and why. This shows two essential theological truths:
God reigns over the affairs of men, including the private schemes of the wicked.
God defends His prophets and equips them to confront sin with accuracy and authority.
Ahijah’s weakness made God’s strength more visible. The prophet who could not see with his eyes saw with perfect clarity because the Lord gave him knowledge.
c. I am sent to thee with heavy tidings
Before she spoke a word, Ahijah announced the nature of the message. This revelation would not be pleasant. God was not responding to a humble king seeking mercy. He was responding to a rebellious king who sought information without repentance.
She learned that though she thought she was sent by Jeroboam, in reality she was sent by God to receive His judgment.
This is the principle found in Proverbs.
Proverbs 19:21 KJV
“There are many devices in a man’s heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”
Jeroboam planned secrecy. God planned revelation. God’s purpose stood.
3. 1 Kings 14:7–11 KJV
“Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee, and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes, But hast done evil above all that were before thee, for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back, Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat, for the Lord hath spoken it.”
a. You have done more evil than all who were before you
The Lord’s rebuke begins with a reminder of grace. God exalted Jeroboam from humble origins, raising him from the people and placing him over ten tribes. This exaltation was not an accident of politics. It was an act of divine judgment against Solomon’s idolatry and an act of divine opportunity for Jeroboam. God tore the kingdom from the house of David and offered Jeroboam a genuine dynasty if he would walk faithfully. Instead Jeroboam squandered grace and perverted his kingship.
God then establishes the standard by which Jeroboam is judged. He is compared directly to David. David sinned, yet David also repented. David never turned to idolatry. His heart orientation remained toward the Lord. Jeroboam exemplifies the opposite pattern. He turned his back on the Lord. He institutionalized idolatry. He corrupted worship. He set up golden calves, new priesthoods, new festivals, and a counterfeit religious system designed to keep the people from returning to the house of David.
This is why God declares that Jeroboam did more evil than all who preceded him. Saul was rebellious. Solomon compromised morally and spiritually. But Jeroboam corrupted the very worship life of the nation. He institutionalized apostasy. His sins would ripple through every generation of the northern kingdom. Every later king of Israel would be judged by the same standard. Scripture repeatedly says of future kings, “He walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”
This makes Jeroboam the measurement of wickedness for all who follow. He introduced a national pattern of false worship that would not be broken until the Assyrian captivity.
Cross reference, fully quoted:
2 Kings 17:22–23
“For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did. They departed not from them, Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.”
This shows the long reach of Jeroboam’s rebellion. His apostasy became the defining sin of an entire kingdom.
Poole’s observation is accurate. David persevered in true worship and repented when he sinned. Jeroboam rejected worship altogether and remained hard hearted. This contrast is the heart of the Lord’s indictment.
b. And have cast Me behind your back
This phrase portrays the depth of Jeroboam’s contempt for God. To cast something behind one’s back is to treat it as worthless. It is intentional rejection, not mere neglect. Jeroboam did not drift. He deliberately turned his back upon the Lord who exalted him.
Ezekiel 23:35 KJV
“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.”
This reveals how the Lord interprets idolatry. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. Jeroboam’s actions amounted to spiritual betrayal. Instead of protecting the worship of God, he replaced it with counterfeit religion to secure his political power.
Dilday notes that the same phrase is used of God casting our sins behind His back, which is mercy, but when man casts God behind his back, it is judgment. The contrast is striking.
Isaiah 38:17 KJV
“Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”
God puts away our sins when we repent. Jeroboam put away God Himself.
This is the essence of apostasy. It is not mere weakness. It is the intentional rejection of God’s authority, God’s worship, and God’s law.
c. I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male
Judgment now falls upon his dynasty. Jeroboam forfeited God’s offer of an enduring house. God declares that He will remove every male of Jeroboam’s lineage, a complete eradication of his line. The wording is intense and unflinching. The Lord says He will sweep away the house of Jeroboam like refuse, meaning like excrement that is carried away until nothing remains.
This judgment perfectly fits Jeroboam’s sin. He polluted the worship of God, therefore God would purge his household completely.
The phrase “every male” is a literal and blunt expression.
“Every male” means literally “he who urinates against the wall.”
It is a crude but deliberate expression, emphasizing totality. No male descendant would survive. No heir would continue his line. No branch of his family would remain to inherit the throne. God intended to cut his dynasty off completely, which He ultimately did through Baasha.
The judgment extends beyond death. Those who die in the city will be eaten by dogs. Those who die in the field will be eaten by birds. This signifies shame, dishonor, and exposure. It shows that Jeroboam’s sin would bring disgrace upon his entire household. Burial was a sign of dignity. To be devoured was a sign of divine curse.
God closes the prophecy with the solemn declaration, “For the Lord hath spoken it.” The judgment is irreversible, certain, and rooted in divine justice.
4. 1 Kings 14:12–16 KJV
“Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house. And when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day. But what? even now. For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.”
a. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die
Jeroboam sent his wife to inquire about the future of his son. The answer came swiftly. As soon as she stepped back into the city, the child would die. This word was devastating, yet it also contained a remarkable mercy. The child would be the only member of Jeroboam’s household granted an honorable burial. The Lord Himself declares that this child alone possessed something good toward Him. This implies a heart that responded to the Lord in sincerity, unlike the idolatrous household around him. The Lord therefore spared him from witnessing the coming destruction on Jeroboam’s descendants.
This teaches the theological principle that God sometimes shows mercy even in judgment. The child’s death was not punishment upon him. It was preservation from greater calamity. This is consistent with God’s character. The righteous are sometimes gathered to avoid the evil to come.
Isaiah 57:1 KJV
“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.”
Jeroboam’s son was blessed in death. The remaining members of Jeroboam’s house would face a far more humiliating judgment.
b. He will uproot Israel from this good land and will scatter them beyond the River
The prophecy shifts from the immediate judgment on Jeroboam’s house to the long term consequences for the entire kingdom of Israel. The Lord declared that Israel would one day be uprooted and carried away beyond the River, meaning the Euphrates. This looked ahead three centuries to the Assyrian captivity.
Jeroboam’s apostasy was not an isolated personal sin. He reshaped the spiritual life of an entire nation. He introduced counterfeit worship, counterfeit priests, counterfeit feasts, and counterfeit altars. Over generations this corrupted the entire northern kingdom. The calves at Bethel and Dan became memorials of rebellion. The worship of the Lord became polluted beyond repair.
The Lord therefore declared that Israel would be uprooted from the land just as one pulls a reed out of the marsh. The image is deliberate. A reed offers no resistance. It bends and is removed easily. So Israel would be removed from the land because its foundation of idolatry rendered it weak, unstable, and vulnerable.
The text states clearly that God gave Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and made Israel to sin. This shows the severe accountability of leadership. Jeroboam’s personal rebellion led an entire nation into apostasy. Leaders who distort the worship of God incur multiplied judgment.
This prophecy was fulfilled in 722 BC when Assyria carried the northern tribes away.
5. 1 Kings 14:17–18 KJV
“And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah. And when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died. And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.”
a. According to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah
The prophecy was fulfilled with absolute precision. As soon as Jeroboam’s wife crossed the threshold of her home, the child died. This immediate fulfillment demonstrated the reliability and authority of the prophetic word. God had also prophesied exile centuries in the future. The immediate fulfillment served as a guarantee that the distant prophecy was equally certain.
This follows the consistent pattern of Scripture where near term fulfillments validate long term promises or judgments.
1 Samuel 2:34 KJV
“And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas. In one day they shall die both of them.”
This near sign authenticated the long range judgment on the house of Eli.
So it is in Jeroboam’s case. The death of the child validated the coming destruction of his house and the future exile of Israel.
6. 1 Kings 14:19–20 KJV
“And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years, and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.”
a. He rested with his fathers
Jeroboam reigned twenty two years. His reign began with promise. It ended under judgment. The scriptural phrase “he slept with his fathers” conceals a deeper truth revealed in 2 Chronicles 13:20.
2 Chronicles 13:20 KJV
“Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah, and the Lord struck him, and he died.”
Jeroboam’s death was not natural. The Lord Himself struck him. Trapp observes that Jeroboam also lost five hundred thousand men in a single defeat prior to his death. This catastrophic loss and his final judgment show that the man who led Israel into sin died under the weight of divine discipline.
His son Nadab took the throne, but Jeroboam’s dynasty would be short lived. The judgment pronounced by Ahijah moved steadily toward fulfillment.
B. The End of Rehoboam, King of Judah
1. 1 Kings 14:21–24 KJV
“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. 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.”
a. Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins
The southern kingdom had the advantage of Jerusalem, the temple, the Levitical priesthood, and the Davidic line. Yet Judah fell into deep spiritual rebellion. Their sins provoked the Lord to jealousy. This is the language of covenant relationship. The Lord is not jealous in the petty human sense. He is jealous in the covenantal sense, the way a faithful husband is jealous for the purity and loyalty of his wife. When Judah turned to idols, it was spiritual infidelity.
The jealousy of God is rooted in His love. He redeemed Israel. He entered covenant relationship with them. Their idolatry was therefore personal betrayal. Scripture consistently describes idolatry as spiritual adultery.
Jeremiah 3:20 KJV
“Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.”
Rehoboam’s reign is marked by this betrayal. Judah’s sin was not superficial. It was deep and generational. It surpassed the wickedness of previous generations. Their compromise with pagan practices made them resemble the nations God expelled.
The lesson is clear. Proximity to truth does not guarantee faithfulness. Judah had the temple yet walked in darkness.
b. There were also perverted persons in the land
The word translated “perverted persons” refers to male cultic prostitutes associated with idolatrous worship. These individuals were not merely immoral. They were part of the ritual systems tied to fertility gods. Their presence indicates that Judah did not merely dabble in idolatry. They adopted the sexual rituals that accompanied pagan religion.
This distinction is reflected in the law.
Deuteronomy 23:17–18 KJV
“There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
The text distinguishes female prostitutes from the male cultic prostitutes called “dogs.” Judah’s acceptance of these practices shows a collapse of moral boundaries. The nation had embraced the sexual abominations that defined the pagan cultures surrounding them.
This also reveals how rapidly spiritual decline spreads when leadership is ungodly. Rehoboam continued Solomon’s drift into idolatry, and the people followed.
c. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel
This statement is severe. The Canaanite nations were infamous for their depravity. God expelled them because their sins polluted the land. For Judah to imitate these practices means they had reached a level of moral and spiritual corruption comparable to the nations God judged.
The Canaanites were characterized by idolatry, child sacrifice, sexual immorality tied to worship, sorcery, and occultism. Judah had become indistinguishable from them. The very sins that required the Canaanites to be removed now began to infest the covenant people.
This is a reminder that spiritual compromise is not neutral. It always moves God’s people downward toward the standards of the world when repentance is absent.
2. 1 Kings 14:25–26 KJV
“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.”
a. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam
Only five years after Solomon’s death, the glory of the kingdom began to collapse. During the reign of David and Solomon, no foreign nation could threaten Israel. Their borders were secure. Their enemies were subdued. The temple was filled with treasure. Their armies were strong.
Yet under Rehoboam, in only five years, Judah became vulnerable. This shows that blessing is not inherited automatically. Faithfulness is required to maintain the blessings of God. Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord. Judah followed him. Divine protection was withdrawn.
This is not simply geopolitical weakness. It is divine chastisement.
b. Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem
Historical and archaeological evidence confirms this invasion. The record in 2 Chronicles 12 expands the details.
From 2 Chronicles we learn:
Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord, therefore God allowed this invasion
2 Chronicles 12:2 KJV
“Because they had transgressed against the Lord.”Shishak brought a massive coalition army
Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians were included.Shishak captured the fortified cities of Judah
Weakening the land before approaching Jerusalem.The leaders of Judah humbled themselves under prophetic rebuke
The prophet Shemaiah confronted them and they repented.God granted mercy but not full deliverance
Jerusalem survived, but Judah became servants to Shishak.
They experienced the consequences of their disobedience while being spared annihilation.
This aligns with the theological pattern that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Even so, the judgment was severe. Egypt plundered the wealth Solomon accumulated over decades.
Wiseman’s note is historically important. Shishak, or Sheshonq the First, recorded his Palestinian campaign on temple walls in Thebes. This confirms the biblical account and shows the extent of Egyptian control over major trade routes.
c. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house
Rehoboam inherited extraordinary wealth from Solomon. The gold in the temple and palace represented decades of prosperity. In only five years, through spiritual failure, that wealth was lost.
Spiritual compromise drains both spiritual and material strength. When God’s favor is withdrawn, what was built through obedience can be quickly consumed.
This loss served as a visible reminder to Judah that sin carries real consequences.
d. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made
These shields were ceremonial and decorative. They were not battle equipment. They symbolized Solomon’s wealth and the outward glory of the kingdom.
However, gold shields have no substance in warfare. They represent image without strength. This reflected a spiritual truth already present in Solomon’s later years and magnified under Rehoboam. External beauty concealed internal weakness.
Knapp’s analogy is powerful. Rehoboam replaced gold shields with bronze ones, attempting to maintain the appearance of wealth without the reality. This symbolizes what happens to individuals or churches that lose spiritual vitality. They cling to forms, rituals, and outward traditions instead of the genuine power of the Spirit.
$33 million worth of shields, in modern value, vanished into the hands of Egypt. Judah could manage to make replacements in bronze, but they could not replace the blessings they forfeited.
3. 1 Kings 14:27–28 KJV
“And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen 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.”
a. King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place
The replacement of Solomon’s gold shields with bronze shields visibly symbolized the rapid decline of Judah under Rehoboam. Gold represented glory, blessing, and divine favor. Bronze represented diminished strength and reduced honor. Within five years of Solomon’s death, the kingdom went from magnificence to mediocrity. The decline was not merely economic. It was spiritual and moral. When a nation falls spiritually, the decline is often reflected in its material condition.
Rehoboam attempted to imitate the appearance of his father’s glory, but the substance was gone. Bronze is a poor substitute for gold. This perfectly pictures the loss of divine blessing when a leader forsakes the law of the Lord. Judah still attempted to maintain ceremonial displays, yet the splendor of Solomon was no longer present.
The observations of Payne capture this contrast. Solomon inherited an empire strengthened by David’s conquests. Rehoboam inherited wealth, power, and a kingdom at peace. Yet within five years he reduced the kingdom to a weakened, impoverished state. Solomon’s wealth had despised silver as commonplace. Rehoboam found himself content with bronze, unable to maintain what he inherited.
This shows how quickly spiritual corruption leads to national decline.
b. And committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard
In Solomon’s reign the shields hung publicly in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not practical battle shields. They were symbols of wealth and prestige. Under Rehoboam, the bronze replacements were not displayed openly. They were locked away in a guarded room, only brought out for ceremonial occasions.
This reinforces the theme of decline. Symbols that once signified glory now represented mere formality. They were no longer public treasures but protected props. Judah maintained the outward appearance of royal ceremony, but the strength behind it was gone.
This is a theological warning. When a believer or a church loses spiritual vitality, they often attempt to maintain the outward forms of past blessing without the inner power. Ritual replaces reality. Ceremony replaces substance. Tradition replaces true devotion. Rehoboam exemplifies this dynamic.
4. 1 Kings 14:29–31 KJV
“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.”
a. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam
The book of 2 Chronicles gives an inspired summary of Rehoboam’s life.
2 Chronicles 12:14 KJV
“And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.”
This diagnosis is profound. Rehoboam did evil not merely because he acted wickedly, but because he failed to prepare his heart to seek the Lord. His sin originated from neglect, passivity, and spiritual carelessness. He did not anchor his heart in devotion to God. He did not cultivate obedience. He merely drifted into sin because his heart was unprepared.
This reveals a core theological truth. The heart must be intentionally established in righteousness. Without preparation the heart naturally drifts toward evil, since the human heart is bent toward sin.
Clarke’s comment draws attention to Rehoboam’s spiritual heritage. He was the son of Solomon in his apostate years and the son of Naamah the Ammonitess. Rehoboam was raised in a compromised spiritual environment shaped by Solomon’s foreign marriages. Therefore it is no surprise that he inherited these divided loyalties.
Dilday’s observation is insightful. The writer mentions Rehoboam’s mother again as a subtle reminder that Solomon’s foreign wives began the spiritual erosion that eventually split the kingdom. This note links Rehoboam’s spiritual decline back to Solomon’s unwise marriages.
b. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days
The reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam stand in dramatic contrast.
Rehoboam was a tyrant at the beginning of his reign. His harsh response to the request of the northern tribes triggered the division of the kingdom. However, later in his life he humbled himself. When confronted by the prophet Shemaiah he submitted to the Lord, and as a result, Judah was spared total destruction.
Jeroboam, by contrast, began with extraordinary promise. God offered him an enduring dynasty if he would obey. Yet he corrupted Israel with idolatry, created a counterfeit religious system, and never repented. His later years were marked by stubborn rebellion and divine judgment.
Rehoboam and Jeroboam were at war all their days because their kingdoms were spiritually divided. Judah followed the line of David, though with imperfection. Israel followed Jeroboam’s invented religion, which defined the nation until its destruction. The conflict between them reflected the deeper conflict between obedience and rebellion, between true worship and false worship.
