Rehoboam went to Shechem for his coronation ceremony after the death of his father King Solomon. There, although Solomon had made Israel rich, the people complained to his son about the heavy taxes he had charged them. They told Rehoboam, they would not serve him unless he agreed to lighten them.
Unfortunately, the young man listened to the perverse advice of his peers and announced, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I shall make it heavier. My father whipped you, but I shall flay you" (I Kings 12:14). At that all the tribes except Judah and Benjamin split off to form the northern kingdom of Israel under King Jeroboam I. This happened because the Lord had sworn to tear the kingdom from Solomon's son as a punishment for Solomon's worship of foreign gods.
Rehoboam did not follow after the Lord. He permitted the people of Judah to erect shrines and sacred pillars for the worship of foreign gods. Their idolatry was greater than that of the nations Israel had dispossessed. By the 5th year of Rehoboam's reign the behavior of the people was so wicked that God sent King Shishak of Egypt to attack Jerusalem. At this, Rehoboam repented of his wickedness and the Lord did not allow Shishak to destroy the city. He did, however, allow Egypt to carry away the Temple and palace treasures. For the rest of Rehoboam's reign, Judah was a vassal of Egypt.
1 Kings 11:43-12-28; 14:21-29; 1 Chron 3:10; 2 Chron 10-12; Mt 1:7
All scripture quotes are from the REB Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "Jesse Tree Advent Calendar - December 18
- Rehoboam." ChristStory Christian Bestiary. 1998.
http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/18rehobo.htm ().