11:1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from Judah and Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
Rehoboam did another foolish thing. He attempted civil war against Israel. Civil war is foolish, because it diminishes the male population. It makes both nations weaker, meaning that other foreign nations can easily invade them.
High taxes cause many civil wars. The Fall of Rome, the American Revolution, Shays' Rebellion, the French Revolution, and the Texas Revolution are a few examples of where high taxes led to civil war. High taxes are a result of the nation’s aristocrats wanting to fleece the middle and lower classes of their hard-earned money.
11:2 But the Lord told Shemaiah the prophet, 11:3 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 11:4 ‘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.
God sent Shemaiah the prophet to warn Rehoboam that this division of the Kingdom came from God. There was to be no civil war. God’s will was to have two states of Israel with both worshiping Jehovah in Jerusalem. God even offered Jeroboam an eternal dynasty, similar to that of David.
11:5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; he built up these fortified cities throughout Judah:
Judah only had two tribes in their nation, so their male population had greatly diminished. Therefore, King Rehoboam built up fortified cities to protect himself from Egypt.
11:6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 11:7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 11:8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 11:9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 11:10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.
These cities established a fortified circle which faced Egypt and protected Judah.
11:11 He fortified these cities and placed officers in them, as well as storehouses of food, olive oil, and wine.
Judah was preparing for military invasion from Egypt.
11:12 In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
Judah and Benjamin were still very wealthy from David and Solomon’s reign. They used their wealth to fortify their cities against foreign enemies.
11:13 The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided.
The priests and Levites owned 48 cities throughout all of Israel and Judah. The Levites who were now living in Israel still supported the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem.
11:14 The 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.
Jeroboam established calf worship in Israel, so the Levites left Israel and moved to Judah. Judah now contained the three tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.
11:15 Jeroboam 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.
The goat idols were a part of demonic worship. Israel rejected the worship of Jehovah and began worshiping demons. Israel’s main religion was satanism. Any cult or ism that denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and/or salvation by faith alone in Christ alone is satanism. Much os satanism is a mixture of Christianity and paganism.
11:16 Those 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.
There were many true believers in Israel. They did not want to worship demons, so they moved to Judah. Therefore, the nation of Judah possessed messianic believers from all 12 tribes. This is why there are no lost tribes who moved to Great Britain and America.
11:17 They 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.
For the first three years, these messianic believers in Israel supported the Davidic dynasty in Israel. The Messiah was to come from the line of David, not from the line of Jeroboam.
11:18 Rehoboam married Mahalath the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.
King Rehoboam married inside of the Davidic line.
11:19 She bore him sons named Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
These three sons were part of the messianic seed line.
11:20 He later married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. She bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
Like King David and King Solomon, King Rehoboam committed the sin of polygamy. Polygamy was never approved of in Scripture. God’s way is one right man to marry one right woman so that they become one flesh. Polygamy always leads to disastrous results. It leads to jealousy, family strife, and anger.
11:21 Rehoboam 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.
In the past, the Mormons used verses like this one to approve of polygamy inside of their cult. The Holy Spirit simply recorded the sins of these kings. This was not a doctrine for polygamous marriage. The doctrine for New Testament marriage is found in Paul’s letters. Marriage was to be between one right man and one right woman. Divorce was not allowed, except for unfaithfulness and abandonment.
11:22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the leader over his brothers, for he intended to name him his successor.
Abijah was the favorite son of Rehoboam. Rehoboam wanted Abijah to become the next king of Judah.
11:23 He 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.
Rehoboam placed his other sons in high military and political positions so that they could survive a coup from their other brothers.