Would Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, serving God any better? He started out building cities and fortifying his kingdom.
II Chronicles 11:5, 11- And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.
As King Jeroboam turned to idols, the Levite Priests and those who wished to serve the True God of Israel moved from their homes in Jeroboam's kingdom to the land ruled by Rehoboam. King Rehoboam had the chance to serve the LOrd and turn his kingdom around!
II Chronicles 11:13,16,17- And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.And 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. So 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.
For three years Rehoboam served the Lord. But, he didn't learn from the mistakes of his father, Solomon. He should have realized that taking a worldly wife would entice him to worship idols. He started out with good women as his wives, but then he took his Uncle Absalom's daughter- the man who would have taken the kingdom from his father.
II Chronicles 11:20-21- And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. And 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.)
The wicked rebellion that was in Absalom's heart was also in the heart of his daughter. But, this wouldn't be realized until it was too late! Solomon decided that it was her son that would take the throne after him.
II Chronicles 11:22- And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.
In the fourth year of his reign, Rehoboam started to worship false gods. They built temples and idols and places to worship them all over the kingdom of Judah. And, so the Lord had to punish them.
I Kings 14:22-25- 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. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
God sent and Egyptian king into Judah to battle Rehoboam. This Egyptian king won and took all the treasures that Solomon had filled Jerusalem with during his reign.
I Kings 14:26-28- 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. 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.
When Solomon was king he had made golden shields for the guards of the temple to hold. They were beautiful and shined in the sunlight. The Egyptian king took these with the other treasures.
Rehoboam made shields of brass to hold in their place. If you polish brass well it shines in the sunlight, too.
Some people act like Rehoboam with his shields. They want to look like Christians who serve and worship God, but really they're just shiny brass fakes. The Bible warns us to watch out for these, to avoid these types of people.
II Timothy 3:1, 2a, 5- This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
I Kings 14:21, 30, 31 - 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 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.
Rehoboam reigned for seventeen years. His mother was from the Ammonites. This nation was descended from Abraham's nephew, Lot. They didn't follow in Abraham's footsteps. They started serving the false gods of the people around them. It was Rehoboam's mother who encouraged him to depart from serving the Lord, and it was his rebellious wife that discouraged him from repenting.
Everything that Solomon had built in his 40 years reign had been destroyed by his foolish son in only 5 years! How sad is that?
