The Son of Solomon; Rehoboam of Judah

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

Rehoboam, King of Judah (933--917 BCE) son of Solomon by his Ammonite wife, Naamah. He was also the grandson of King David, and he served as the last monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel and the first king of the southern Kingdom of Judah at age 41.  

Reign Duration: Ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem (approx. 931–913 BCE).
Family: Married 18 wives and 60 concubines, fathering 28 sons and 60 daughters. Four of his wives were:
Mahalath: She was Rehoboam's cousin, the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and Abihail (the daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son). She bore him three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 
Maacah: She was Rehoboam's favorite wife (the granddaughter or daughter of Absalom). She bore him four children: Abijah (who succeeded him as king), Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
Abihail: Listed in 2 Chronicles 11:18 as the mother/grandmother in Mahalath's lineage, though some interpretations view Abihail and Mahalath's lineage details as overlapping or representing another relative tied to Jesse's family. 
Naamah: She was an Ammonite woman and one of his wives (frequently noted as his wife and the mother of his successor, though sometimes categorized specifically as his mother in other early contexts).
                            Good Works
King Rehoboam did several practical and military actions that helped protect and consolidate the southern kingdom of Judah, though his reign was also marked by spiritual decline. 
• Fortified 16 Cities: He built and reinforced 16 defensive stronghold cities across Judah and Benjamin (including Bethlehem, Lachish, Hebron, and Zorah) to protect against invasions and civil war. 
Stockpiled Military Supplies: He placed military commanders, food, oil, wine, shields, and spears in these fortified cities to make Judah physically secure. 
Obeyed God’s Command to Avoid Civil War: When he mustered an army of 180,000 men to attack the rebellious northern tribes, he listened to the prophet Shemaiah and called off the war, accepting the division as coming from God. The Event with Shishak (2 Chronicles 12): When King Shishak of Egypt marched against Jerusalem with a massive army, Shemaiah the prophet came to King Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. Rather than telling them not to fight, Shemaiah delivered the message that God had allowed Shishak to attack because Judah had abandoned Him.[They had started to worship like the northern tribes were doing.] When the king and leaders humbled themselves, God told Shemaiah that He would not completely destroy Jerusalem.
Provided a Refuge for the Faithful: As the northern king Jeroboam set up idolatry, priests, Levites, and faithful worshippers from across Israel fled south to Jerusalem, strengthening Judah's religious foundation for the first three years of his reign.
Humbled Himself in Crisis: When Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt invaded Jerusalem, Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah humbled themselves upon prophetic warning, which averted the total destruction of the kingdom.
                       Cutting Israel In Half

 As a result of his refusal to accede to a popular demand for relief from taxation, the kingdom split in two shortly after his crowning, with only the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and most of Benjamin remaining loyal to him.  

     Pharaoh Shishak depicted on a limestone Stele:  Limestone: The famous fragment of Sheshonq I's victory stele found at Megiddo is carved from limestone.  Shishak (identified with Pharaoh Shoshenq I) ruled Egypt in the 10th century BCE (circa 945–924 BCE). Jewish history is based on knowledge from the Torah and differs slightly from common eras for other places. Here, Rehoboam and Shoshenq share the very same era.   

Long before Rehoboam took the throne, Shishak acted as an astute political opportunist. He granted political asylum to Jeroboam, a capable leader who had fled from King Solomon. By protecting Jeroboam, Shishak maintained a powerful tool to destabilize the United Kingdom of Israel. Upon Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returned to lead the northern tribes in rebellion against Rehoboam, permanently fracturing the nation into the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  

Rehoboam’s harsh leadership choices alienated ten of the twelve tribes, leaving him with a vastly diminished and weaker Southern Kingdom (Judah). Shishak waited until the civil divide was finalized and struck in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign. Recognizing that Rehoboam could no longer rely on the military forces or resources of a united Israel, Shishak launched a massive invasion.                                    

      I Kings 14-25-2;  2 Chronicals 12-2-, Libyo-Berber Ancestry: Pharaoh Shishak was of Meshwesh (Ancient Libyan) descent. The Meshwesh were a Libyco-Berber tribal group from North Africa who settled in the eastern Nile Delta. In ancient Egyptian art, populations from this North African and Mediterranean region were typically depicted with lighter, olive, or tan skin tones compared to the deeply pigmented complexions of populations further south, such as the Nubians

Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt exploited the opportunity to invade the country and plunder the Temple in the fifth year of his reign.  Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt invaded Judah and plundered the treasures of the Temple and the royal palace. 

        Notice:  Libya=PUT;  Ethiopia-CUSH, Jordan= AMMON, 

 Shishak marched out of Egypt with an immense multi-national coalition composed of 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless allied troops, including Libyans and Kushites. He rapidly conquered Rehoboam’s outer ring of fortified defense cities with little to no resistance before advancing straight to the capital city of Jerusalem. 

4. Plundering the Wealth of Solomon

Instead of destroying Jerusalem completely, Shishak leveraged his military superiority to extort the young king. Rehoboam and his leaders humbled themselves, electing to surrender their massive wealth to survive. Shishak stripped and looted: 

The treasures of the House of the Lord (Solomon's Temple).
The treasures of the royal palace.
The famous gold shields crafted during Solomon’s wealthy golden age (which Rehoboam was forced to replace with cheap bronze replicas). 

 Reducing Judah to a Vassal State

Religious Decline: Although he initially fortified cities and supported the southern tribes, he later turned away from God's commands and practiced idolatry.  King Rehoboam practiced idolatry by leading the kingdom of Judah to build high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree, and by allowing male cult prostitutes in the land.

Pagan Shrines and Altars: The people of Judah built high places, sacred pillars (massebot), and Asherim (wooden poles or images dedicated to the goddess Asherah).
Immoral Ritual Practices: Judah engaged in the same repulsive and degraded acts as the nations that God had driven out before them, including the presence of male cult prostitutes (kadeshim).  This tells us what the previous countries had been into religiously.  

                        Naamah, an Ammonite princess
Family and Generational Influence: Rehoboam's mother was Naamah the Ammonitess, and his father, King Solomon, had previously turned his own heart away from God by marrying foreign wives who introduced foreign deities into the kingdom.  It had been his way of keeping the peace and not having to fight against those countries. David, his father, had done all the fighting.   
Divine Judgment: Because of this widespread apostasy, God allowed King Shishak of Egypt to invade Judah and plunder the treasures of Jerusalem.