II Chronicles 8-10  Solomon finished his building, established a great army, built of cities, and grew richer and richer.  But, Solomon died and his son Rehoboam was crowned king of Israel.  Rehoboam did not have the wisdom of his father.  He failed to listen to the counsel of the elders.  Instead, he chose to follow the poor advice of his peers and ended up losing the majority of the kingdom.  Only Judah and Benjamin continued to be subject to Rehoboam.

Chapter 11  All the Levites that lived in Israel, left their lands and came to Judah and Jerusalem so that they could serve the Lord.  Jeroboam, who was made king of the 10 tribes of Israel that rebelled against Rehoboam, set up satyrs and calves to worship instead.  "And those from all the tribes of Israel who had set their hearts on seeking the the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ".   For three years the faithful continued to walk "in the way of David and Solomon".

Rehoboam married two of his cousins, Mahalah, the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail; and Maacah, the daughter of Absolom.  He had 18 wives and 60 concubines.  Then he fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.  He appointed Abijah, the son of Maacah, as the leader of all his brothers. Then he took all his other sons and moved them to fortified cities, giving them "food in abundance" and "many wives".

Chapter 12  Slowly but surely Rehoboam turned away from following the Lord. In the 5th year of his reign the Lord responded to his unfaithfulness by sending the Egyptians against Judah.  But, Rehoboam "humbled" himself and the Lord did not destroy him.  Instead, Egypt took all the treasures of the palace and of the Lord's house, and let Rehoboam stay where he was.  After 17 years of reigning over Judah, Rehoboam died.  His legacy was, "And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. "


Some lessons must be learned by every generation and by every individual.  The most important lesson is the one Rehoboam failed at.. to seek the Lord with all of his heart.  Everything was handed to him. He had every opportunity to be successful and to continue the rule of his father and grandfather.  But, pride and greed led to his downfall.   Only in humility did Rehoboam find deliverance.   Verse 8 "But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries." 

Jesus spoke of the impossibility of serving 2 masters in Matthew 6:24.   We will love one and hate the other, we will hold on to one and despise the other.  We will serve God or we will serve "mammon" - riches - an idol of wealth or security.   In Deuteronomy 28: 47-48 the Lord spoke these words to Israel, " Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. "


The choice is still ours today.  We serve God with joy and gladness.. or we serve "things".  From Rehoboam's life we see the consequences of serving things.  We must learn from his failures.  We are called to set our hearts on seeking the Lord. We must continually humble ourselves before Him and be His bondservants, joyfully and whole-heartedly.

Father in Heaven,  You alone are God. You are the Creator and Ruler of every man, woman, and child.  You are Lord.  We desire to have humble hearts that seek You continually.Teach us Your ways O Lord. Help us to set our hearts on You always.  You are good and Your lovingkindness is everlasting!  Amen.