2 Chronicles 10-15

New Living Translation

The Northern Tribes Revolt

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. ² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. ³ The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. ⁴ “Your father was a hard master,” they said. “Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects.”

⁵ Rehoboam replied, “Come back in three days for my answer.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. “What is your advice?” he asked. “How should I answer these people?”

⁷ The older counselors replied, “If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. ⁹ “What is your advice?” he asked them. “How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?”

¹⁰ The young men replied, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!’”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam’s decision, just as the king had ordered. ¹³ But Rehoboam spoke harshly to them, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors ¹⁴ and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, “My father laid^[a] heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”

¹⁵ So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.

¹⁶ When all Israel realized^[b] that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,

So all the people of Israel returned home. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,^[c] who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.

Shemaiah’s Prophecy

11 When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin—180,000 select troops—to fight against Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself.

² But the Lord said to Shemaiah, the man of God, ³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and did not fight against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies Judah

⁵ Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various towns for the defense of Judah. ⁶ He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These became the fortified towns of Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. ¹² He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control.

¹³ But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam. ¹⁴ The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests. ¹⁵ Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. ¹⁹ Mahalath had three sons—Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰ Later Rehoboam married another cousin, Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. Maacah gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Maacah’s son Abijah as leader among the princes, making it clear that he would be the next king. ²³ Rehoboam also wisely gave responsibilities to his other sons and stationed some of them in the fortified towns throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin. He provided them with generous provisions, and he found many wives for them.

Egypt Invades Judah

12 But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. ² Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. ³ He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses,^[d] and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.^{[e] 4} Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.

⁵ The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”

⁶ Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!”

⁷ When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. ⁸ But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.”

⁹ So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom. ¹² Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah.

Summary of Rehoboam’s Reign

¹³ King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon. ¹⁴ But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart.

¹⁵ The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Shemaiah the Prophet and The Record of Iddo the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. ¹⁶ When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king.

Abijah’s War with Jeroboam

13 Abijah began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. ² He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah,^[f] the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.

Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Judah, led by King Abijah, fielded 400,000 select warriors, while Jeroboam mustered 800,000 select troops from Israel.

⁴ When the army of Judah arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim and shouted to Jeroboam and all Israel: “Listen to me! ⁵ Don’t you realize that the Lord, the God of Israel, made a lasting covenant^[g] with David, giving him and his descendants the throne of Israel forever? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David’s son Solomon, rebelled against his master. ⁷ Then a whole gang of scoundrels joined him, defying Solomon’s son Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced and could not stand up to them.

⁸ “Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the Lord that is led by the descendants of David? You may have a vast army, and you have those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods. ⁹ But you have chased away the priests of the Lord (the descendants of Aaron) and the Levites, and you have appointed your own priests, just like the pagan nations. You let anyone become a priest these days! Whoever comes to be dedicated with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these so-called gods of yours!

¹⁰ “But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Only the descendants of Aaron serve the Lord as priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work. ¹¹ They present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and evening. They place the Bread of the Presence on the holy table, and they light the gold lampstand every evening. We are following the instructions of the Lord our God, but you have abandoned him. ¹² So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!”

¹³ Meanwhile, Jeroboam had secretly sent part of his army around behind the men of Judah to ambush them. ¹⁴ When Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the Lord for help. Then the priests blew the trumpets, ¹⁵ and the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel and routed them before Abijah and the army of Judah.

¹⁶ The Israelite army fled from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah in defeat. ¹⁷ Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel’s select troops were killed that day. ¹⁸ So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁹ Abijah and his army pursued Jeroboam’s troops and captured some of his towns, including Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their surrounding villages.

²⁰ So Jeroboam of Israel never regained his power during Abijah’s lifetime, and finally the Lord struck him down and he died. ²¹ Meanwhile, Abijah of Judah grew more and more powerful. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²² The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including his words and deeds, are recorded in The Commentary of Iddo the Prophet.

Early Years of Asa’s Reign

14 ^[h]When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. ^2 [i]Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. ⁴ He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. ⁵ Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. ⁶ During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies.

⁷ Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.

⁸ King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men.

⁹ Once an Ethiopian^[j] named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men^[k] and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, ¹⁰ so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah.^{[l] 11} Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”

¹² So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians^[m] in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. ¹³ Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.

¹⁴ While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the Lord came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of herdsmen and captured many sheep, goats, and camels before finally returning to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Religious Reforms

15 Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. ⁴ But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.

⁵ “During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. ⁶ Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸ When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet,^[n] he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.

⁹ Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring,^[o] during the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

¹¹ On that day they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle. ¹² Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. ¹³ They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman. ¹⁴ They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the Lord with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding. ¹⁵ All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa even deposed his grandmother^[p] Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life. ¹⁸ He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹ So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.