2 Chronicles — Chapter 11
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1And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.
6He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
7And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam,
8And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
9And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
10And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.
11And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.
12And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
13And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.
14For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD:
15And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
16And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
18And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
19Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.
20And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
21And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)
22And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.
23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
1And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.
6He built Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
7And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
8and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
9and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
10and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
11And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and oil and wine.
12And in every city [he put] shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
13And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border.
14For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest`s office unto Jehovah;
15and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made.
16And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
18And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [and of] Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
19and she bare him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
20And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
21And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.)
22And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, [even] the prince among his brethren; for [he was minded] to make him king.
23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city: and he gave them victuals in abundance. And he sought [for them] many wives.
1When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from Judah and Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2But the Lord’s message came to the prophet Shemaiah,
3“Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin,
4‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam.
5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; he built up these fortified cities throughout Judah:
6Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.
11He fortified these cities and placed officers in them, as well as storehouses of food, olive oil, and wine.
12In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
13The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided.
14The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the Lord’s priests.
15Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made.
16Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.
17They supported the kingdom of Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; they followed the edicts of David and Solomon for three years.
18Rehoboam married Mahalath the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.
19She bore him sons named Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20He later married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. She bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than his other wives and concubines. He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines; he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the leader over his brothers, for he intended to name him his successor.
23He wisely placed some of his many sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin in the various fortified cities. He supplied them with abundant provisions and acquired many wives for them.
1When Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2But Yahweh’s word came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3“Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4‘Yahweh says, “You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers! Every man return to his house; for this thing is of me.”’” So they listened to Yahweh’s words, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.
6He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin.
11He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil and wine.
12He put shields and spears in every city, and made them exceedingly strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
13The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him out of all their territory.
14For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office to Yahweh.
15He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.
16After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.
17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
18Rehoboam took a wife for himself, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.
19She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20After her, he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, the prince among his brothers; for he intended to make him king.
23He dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city. He gave them food in abundance and he sought many wives for them.
Summary
God forbids Rehoboam from attacking Israel, and the Levites and faithful from all tribes relocate to Judah because Jeroboam has rejected them. Rehoboam fortifies cities and initially walks in David's ways, but his strength leads to later unfaithfulness.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Parallels 1-2 Kings but focuses exclusively on Judah (the southern kingdom). Jerusalem and the Temple are the theological center throughout.
- Key locations include various battle sites, reform locations, and high places destroyed or rebuilt by successive kings.
- The book ends with exile to Babylon (586 BC) and Cyrus's decree permitting return — the geographic arc moves from Jerusalem to Babylon and back.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes that Rehoboam's obedience to Shemaiah shows he was capable of hearing God — making his later apostasy all the more tragic. He emphasizes the Levites' migration as demonstrating that true worship is worth any sacrifice of comfort or property.
- Charles Spurgeon: "The Levites left their lands — left everything — to serve at God's altar. When wicked Jeroboam drove them from their calling, they chose God over property. Mark it: these are the people who strengthen kingdoms. Not the wealthy, not the military, but the faithful. And others followed — those from every tribe who 'set their hearts to seek the LORD.' Heart-seekers always find their way to where God is honored. If your church, your city, or your nation honors God, the seekers will come. They cannot help it. The seeking heart always finds the worshiping community."
Reflection
- 1. Sometimes obedience means not fighting (v.4). Rehoboam's instinct was military action — but God said stop. Not every loss requires a battle to recover it. Some situations are God's doing, and the faithful response is acceptance rather than resistance. Can you accept what God has allowed without demanding to reverse it?
- 2. Faithful people will sacrifice comfort for worship (v.14). The Levites left their lands — their inheritance, their homes, their financial security — because true worship was more important than material stability. What would you be willing to leave behind to maintain your access to genuine worship and faithful community?
- 3. Heart-seekers find their way to God (v.16). Those who "set their hearts" to seek God always find where He is honored. If you genuinely seek God, He will lead you to the community and circumstances where you can worship faithfully. But notice: they "set their hearts" — it was a deliberate decision, not a passive drift.
- 4. Faithful people strengthen communities (v.17). The arrival of God-seeking immigrants strengthened Judah for three years. Your presence in a church, workplace, or neighborhood strengthens it spiritually. Don't underestimate the impact of one faithful person in an imperfect community.
- 5. External strength without internal conviction fades quickly (v.17). "Three years" — that's how long Rehoboam's faithfulness lasted. External supports (godly community, favorable circumstances) are valuable but insufficient without personal conviction. Your faithfulness must be rooted in your own relationship with God, not merely in the influence of others around you.