2 Chronicles 11
Summary for 2Chr 11:1-4: 11:1-4 a Shemaiah’s prophetic intervention averted immediate civil war among Israel’s tribes, but the summary of Rehoboam characterizes his reign as one of continual warfare with Jeroboam (12:15 b). Civil war characterized the first fifty years of the divided kingdom, until the time of Omri.Summary for 2Chr 11:5-23: 11:5-23 c The Lord’s blessing on Rehoboam is demonstrated in his building activities, the defection of the faithful priests from the north to the south, the migration of the faithful in the north to Jerusalem, and his large family.
Summary for 2Chr 11:5-12: 11:5-12 d Rehoboam ... fortified various towns to defend Judah from east, south, and west, protecting the valleys leading into the Judean hill country and the important crossroads. Rehoboam’s first task was to strengthen a minimal but defensible position. The defensive lines made strategic sense against an Egyptian attack, and likely began before the invasion of Pharaoh Shishak (926/925 BC).
11:9 e Lachish formed the pivotal southwestern corner of Rehoboam’s fortifications, guarding the road to the coastal highway to the west, a primary route that Egypt could use to attack from the south.
Summary for 2Chr 11:13-17: 11:13-17 f The apostasy that Jeroboam initiated in the north (see 1 Kgs 12:26-33 g) led those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord to emigrate to the south. Rehoboam followed the Lord faithfully for three years, but he was unfaithful in the fourth year of his reign (2 Chr 12:1 h). God then immediately punished Rehoboam by sending Shishak to invade from Egypt (12:2-5 i).
11:15 j Some scholars believe that Jeroboam set up the goat and calf idols as pedestals for the Lord, noting that the Canaanites believed that their gods stood on the backs of animals (cp. Exod 32:5 k, where the gold calf was used in “a festival to the Lord”). However, Jeroboam never specifically credited the Lord with rescuing Israel (1 Kgs 12:28 l), so others think he might have meant that other gods stood on the animals. Still others think Jeroboam might have adopted the practice of the Egyptians, portraying actual pagan deities in animal form (cp. Exod 32:4 m).
Summary for 2Chr 11:18-22: 11:18-22 n The numbers of Rehoboam’s wives and children are probably the total from his entire reign rather than those accumulated by his fifth year. Rehoboam loved his second wife more than his first, so he violated the right of primogeniture (inheritance belonging to the firstborn son, Deut 21:15-17 o) by making Abijah ... the next king in what might have been co-regency. This action secured an orderly succession.
11:23 p Rehoboam’s delegation of control to the royal princes extended the reign of the royal family into outlying districts. This provided for a smooth transition of power and also made a revolt or attempted coup less likely. Perhaps this was Rehoboam’s conscious attempt to avoid troubles that God had promised David’s house (2 Sam 12:10-11 q).
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