Biblical Profile: Rehoboam

Rehoboam

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and an Ammonite woman (1 Kgs 14:21), was forty-one when he became king; he reigned for seventeen years (931–913 BC). He is remembered for instigating the split of Solomon’s kingdom and for being the first king of Judah, the southern kingdom.

When Solomon died (931 BC), Judah immediately proclaimed Rehoboam king. The ten northern tribes were hesitant to support him, demanding relief from Solomon’s harsh policies (see 12:4; 2 Chr 10:4). The king’s mature advisers urged him to agree to their requests, but he rejected their advice and foolishly listened to younger advisers, who advised him to be even tougher than his father. The northern tribes rebelled and proclaimed Jeroboam, Solomon’s former labor official, as their king. Rehoboam went to war, seeking control against the north, but God sent the prophet Shemaiah to tell him this was useless since the split was God’s judgment (2 Chr 11:1-4). So Rehoboam returned to Judah and fortified his boundaries (2 Chr 11:5-12).

When Jeroboam established a new apostate religion in the northern kingdom, priests and Levites streamed to the south, where they strengthened the spiritual fiber of the realm and helped to maintain Judah’s stability (2 Chr 11:13-17). In the end, however, Rehoboam also turned to idol worship. The people of Judah built high places and pagan sanctuaries throughout the land and adopted corrupt religious practices from the heathen nations around them (1 Kgs 14:22-24). God stopped supporting Rehoboam, so he was vulnerable when King Shishak of Egypt attacked him and removed many precious items from the Temple (926/925 BC; 1 Kgs 14:25-26; 2 Chr 12:1-5). Rehoboam then replaced Solomon’s gold shields with bronze ones (1 Kgs 14:27), an act that represented the loss of Judah’s glory because of false worship.