Hi folks Bible study for Sunday March 26th

Here is the next Bible study in the series "Fascinating Lives.

 

 

Rehoboam: The Reckless Phony

 

You wouldn't have known it at first, but their home was nothing but a facade. Literally. One side looked like a beautiful, half-million-dollar home with brick and siding on the exterior, while the other side was nothing but a lattice of two-by-fours propped up with pulleys and scaffolding. Tap on the brick and you hear the hollow thump of plaster and chicken wire. Of course, the family who lived there didn't exist, except for thirty minutes each week on television.

I am amazed by the detail that set designers put into a television studio. Look in one direction and you see the outside of a home, complete with bushes and grass, even ivy climbing the brick walls. Look in another, and you see a living room. They even improvised an outdoor camping scene with trees, dirt, and a completely realistic campfire. Everything was created with great attention to detail and with a high value placed on authenticity. That is, unless you looked at it from the wrong side. Behind the scenes, where the camera doesn't go, it's all a messy network of plastic, metal, and wood—a flimsy mask, as it were—held together with cheap, temporary material. It's all built in short order to meet the weekly schedule. From the other side, however, the camera makes it look like the place has been there for years. It's all phony. The bushes, the ivy, the grass, the brick—everything. Fake.

Mark Twain said, "Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."¹ Rehoboam could have sat for that portrait. He had a dark side that only God saw through. In fact, He was pleased to reveal the story of his life to us in the ancient books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. These musty, dusty books are twin witnesses to history, preserving fascinating stories of forgotten lives, with names we can barely pronounce. Yet each one teaches lasting lessons worth learning.

The story of Rehoboam is no exception. Like a television stage, the side that faced the audience—the public man—looked very genuine. The inspired story takes us behind the scenes for a hard and very realistic look at the real Rehoboam . . . a reckless phony.

THE MAKING OF A HYPOCRITE

 

To understand the man, we must understand what helped make Rehoboam the man he became. Steven Ambrose said it well: "It is through history that we learn who we are and how we got that way, why and how we changed, why the good sometimes prevailed and sometimes did not."² First Kings 11 is the story of the fall of Rehoboam's father. You may be surprised to learn that his father was Solomon, a king upon whom God showered wisdom, success, and fabulous wealth. Space doesn't permit me enough room to describe the lavishness of Solomon's kingdom. The surrounding realms sent him tribute, and Israel's import/export business brought in astounding sums of money each month.

Though he was rich, he let his relationship with the Lord slip, and he began to live like a reprobate. The following words describe how the erosion began:

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.

1 Kings 11:1–6

 

In that long list of women, take note especially of one particular nationality of wives and their false god. In verse 1, the writer mentions Ammonite wives, and in verse 5, "Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites." Then in verse 7, "Molech, the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon." Most scholars believe that Milcom and Molech were the same idol viewed from different perspectives. Perhaps they were twin gods of the same false religion. In either case, they belonged to the Ammonite people.

Solomon, a man of God, married more than one woman, like his father, David. And he took David's compromise to new depths by marrying women from cultures that God had expressly forbidden. Then he appeased those wives by allowing them to worship their idols on the very soil that God wanted cleansed of all pagan influence. Over time, he compromised further by building them places to worship their false gods. As if that weren't enough, he ultimately fell completely by participating in the idolatry his foreign wives embraced.

During Solomon's forty-year reign, the wealth of the nation continued to climb. David had won peace with an aggressive military campaign, and the tribes were united against any threat. The surrounding kingdoms held Israel in high regard because of David's military might and Solomon's wise diplomacy, not to mention the power of the Hebrews' God. Not surprisingly, the threat to Solomon's kingdom came from within. He chose to worship idols instead of serving the Lord exclusively; he chose to tax the people of God instead of leading them wisely. Women over God, money over people. No wonder a nation that had been unified and strong for more than a century began to collapse under its own weight.

Because of the king's spiritual compromise and his overt abuse of power, influential men began to desert him. One of them was Jeroboam. In order to judge Solomon because of his evil choices, the Lord promised Jeroboam that he would reign over ten of Israel's twelve tribes. He would even build him a dynasty if he remained faithful. But Solomon, rather than accepting the rebuke and then repenting, saw Jeroboam as a threat to his kingdom and sought to kill him. So Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and lived under the protection of Shishak, the king of Egypt.

Eventually Solomon died, and his son Rehoboam took his place on the throne of Israel. The Bible tells us in the fourteenth chapter of this same book that he was a forty-one-year-old man at the time Solomon died. So for forty-one years Rehoboam had been living in the palace of the king, though not under the direct tutelage of his father. His primary influence was an idolatrous mother. He did, however, learn by the negative example of his father. From Solomon, he learned how to live a sham before the public, all the while nurturing behind the scenes a phony, failing, and ungodly life . . . as dark as the other side of the moon.

THE RISE OF A PHONY AND THE FALL OF A NATION

 

Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. Now when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, he was living in Egypt (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon). Then they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, "Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."

1 Kings 12:1–4

 

Take note of who approached Rehoboam: all Israel—the country's most influential leaders representing the people—led by a man who had been in exile for several years. Especially during the latter half of his reign, Solomon, while successful, was not respected by the majority of the nation. With the ascension of his son, they hoped to find relief. Notice how Rehoboam bought a little time to put on a show:

Then he said to them, "Depart for three days, then return to me." So the people departed. King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you counsel me to answer this people?" Then they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

1 Kings 12:5–7

 

He entered the chamber that his father Solomon had developed and put the question to a council of wrinkled, bearded men who had been tempered through the years, who had seen the nation decline yet remained faithful. Their seasoned advice was that he become, truly, a servant-king, unlike his father. The very next words confirm that this whole exercise was a sham:

But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.

1 Kings 12:8

 

Rehoboam polished his image as he appeared to seek wise counsel while formulating his domestic policy, but clearly, he had already made up his mind. He didn't seek advice; he sought justification. This is evident as he turned from the elders to listen to his peers:

So he said to them, "What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?" The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!' But you shall speak to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins! Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

1 Kings 12:9–11

 

So the new king took three days to receive wise counsel (supposedly) and then summoned Jeroboam and the nation to hear his decision. Observe whose advice he chose:

The king answered the people harshly, for he forsook the advice of the elders which they had given him, and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

1 Kings 12:13–14

 

Don't miss the imagery that Rehoboam used to characterize his father's regime. A yoke is something you place on a beast of burden in order get work out of it. A scorpion was likely a lash that had a single handle with up to twelve leather straps, each imbedded with pieces of bone or metal, whereas the whip was comprised of a handle with one leather strap. Obviously, he viewed his father's kingdom as one that should be burdened by the yoke and driven by the whip. These were vivid pictures describing forced labor, carrying out a master-slave relationship in which the people served the king.

Why would he go through the motions of seeking counsel from the elders if he had no intention to heed it? In front of the camera, these looked like the actions of a wise, young ruler, but behind the scenes, this was a phony counseling session—a charade to make him look good while flexing for the public. Soon he would find that his position wasn't nearly as secure as he thought. Kings—even powerful, rich kings—need the loyalty of their subjects to keep their crowns.

When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying,

"What portion do we have in David?  We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!"
So Israel departed to their tents.

1 Kings 12:16

 

With the period at the end of verse 16, a terrible civil war broke out. Suddenly a nation that had been unified for more than a century is shattered into a dozen pieces. Ten of the twelve tribes sided with Jeroboam against the arrogant Rehoboam, who retained only the land belonging to Judah and Benjamin, with Jerusalem as his capital. The ten tribes to the north sided with Jeroboam, who formed his own kingdom, calling it Israel (or occasionally, Ephraim). He established his capital in Samaria.

THE POLITICAL POWER OF PRETEND OBEDIENCE

 

Thanks to the arrogance and the foolishness of the reckless phony, the Promised Land became a divided kingdom for the first time. How tragic! One might have hoped that Rehoboam would learn his lesson and choose to be a genuine, servant-hearted leader, dependent upon God. But he didn't. He merely added a fresh coat of paint to the old facade.

Second Chronicles 10–11 is a parallel account that offers more details about what happened next:

Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, "Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "You shall not go up or fight against your relatives; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me."'"

2 Chronicles 11:1–4

 

That's not hard to understand. God said, in effect, "Don't fight. Don't plan this assault. Don't train your soldiers. Go back home. This is precisely what I predicted would happen. The sword has come. As I told David, that sword would never depart from his house. And I told Solomon his kingdom would split. This is exactly as I planned it. I'm in control of all that's happening. Go home. Don't fight."

On the surface, Rehoboam appeared to have obeyed the Lord's command. As we'd say today, that act was for the cameras. He merely delayed his plans, like when he sent the people away for three days. Behind the scenes, the king prepared for war:

Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah. Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

2 Chronicles 11:5–12

 

Did Rehoboam go home and relax and trust God? Not on your life. Without delay, he prepared fifteen cities in his territory for siege—strengthened the walls, stocked them with provisions and weapons, and staffed them with a heavy military presence. Some claim that because all of these cities lie south of Jerusalem, whereas Jeroboam's territory was to the north, that Rehoboam merely wanted to protect his country from attack by Egypt. But do you remember where Jeroboam lived during Solomon's reign? With his friend Shishak, the king of Egypt.

Building fortresses to resist an attack from the south would have been a wise move from a purely human perspective. He probably justified his actions with the words, "Better safe than sorry!" But then a rationalization is always reasonable, isn't it? That's how phonies get away with so much for so long. This was a cover for his true plan, which he put in motion by turning these normally peaceful cities into fortresses.

As World War II raged, I was only a boy living in Houston, Texas. I remember the workmen beginning to fortify the barrier island of Galveston. I'll never forget the uneasy feeling it put in the pit of my stomach. I never felt insecure or vulnerable to attack until I saw the workers pouring huge concrete bunkers along the shore . . . the same shore where we once built sand castles. Before long, the beaches of Galveston were declared off limits. Then the public was denied access to other parts of the island, section by section. It became evident to me, though I was just a lad, that if the war continued, we very well could expect a German fleet to steam right into the Gulf of Mexico. With just a little imagination, I can see the people of Judah and Benjamin sleeping a little less soundly with Rehoboam's defense plan in motion.

Evidently his plan to appear godly had the right effect. Take note of the next section, just after the description of his fortifications:

Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him from all their districts. For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the LORD. He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made. Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

2 Chronicles 11:13–17

 

As king of the northern tribes, Jeroboam worried that his people would begin to switch their allegiance to Rehoboam as they continued to worship the Lord at Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. So he established two worship centers to false gods in his own territory in order to give his subjects less reason to travel and to woo them away from the God of David and Solomon. Nevertheless, the people who loved the Lord uprooted their families and moved south. And for three years, Rehoboam's plan worked. He presented a godly figure to the camera, and his fans cheered.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A PHONY LIFE

 

Between verses 17 and 18, the camera changes perspective. Verse 17 shows us the public side of Rehoboam. Verse 18 goes behind the scenes for a look at his domestic life. And the first thing we notice is that he was not unlike his wayward father:

Then Rehoboam took as a wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, and she bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

2 Chronicles 11:18–21

 

A quick chart of the genealogies (I rarely overlook them) reveals that he married his cousins, which is something we look down upon today but wasn't forbidden by the Law. In fact, he would have been commended for choosing wives within the royal family rather than non-Hebrew, pagan women.

Alas, this too was a sham. Eighteen wives and sixty concubines. Sound familiar? Rehoboam was just like his father and his grandfather in this respect. In nearly all of the biographical sketches in the Old Testament, we see over and over and over that like produces like, a lust for sensuality produces children having lust in their hearts. And within a generation or two, a tiny seed of compromise grew to shameless rebellion in full bloom.

David ignored the Lord's restriction against Hebrew men marrying pagan women, who might lead them into idolatry. He also disregarded the Lord's restriction against kings taking multiple wives. He compromised in that one area, but his heart never turned to idols. His sensuality led him to commit adultery and murder, but he never tolerated a rival religion. His son, Solomon, took after his father and built an enormous harem, perhaps thinking that since David's devotion survived the potential hazard, his would as well. However, as we mentioned earlier, those wives eventually led him to build places of worship to false gods and then enticed him to participate with them.

Rehoboam did as his father and grandfather did behind the scenes while maintaining a public perception that he held a steadfast devotion to the Lord. And while he carefully nursed a public image, he systematically passed on a dark legacy to his own sons:

Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. He acted wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them food in abundance. And he sought many wives for them.

2 Chronicles 11:22–23

 

Amazing! The man was not satisfied to build his own harem; he was out getting wives for his sons. What a reckless, shameless display of royal privilege and power!

At this point, I wish to take issue with the translation of the Hebrew word rendered "wisely." Translated this way, a reader in English might have the impression that the biblical writer approved of Rehoboam's actions as good and honorable. Most often, this form of the Hebrew word bin is translated "skillful" or "skillfully." Rehoboam acted shrewdly, skillfully, with discernment, using a specialized training in the art of warfare; nevertheless, it was all done in direct disobedience. This is the way the ancient world built and maintained a kingdom. But Israel represented God's people. They were supposed to be different.

THE REAL PHONY EMERGES

 

The narrative in 1 Kings 14 details the next period in Rehoboam's life. A quick summary is needed. After he was crowned, he pretended to seek counsel but then split the country with his foolishness; he acted as though he trusted the Lord but then built fortresses; he presented himself as a godly man to lure God-fearing families from the north but then filled his harem with idolatrous women. Finally, in this next stage of his life, Rehoboam's facade crumbles to reveal the hypocrisy that propped up his public image.

Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

1 Kings 14:21

 

This collection of sentences attracts my attention for two reasons. First, they seem like random, unrelated facts. Second, they are closely packed together, which tells me that they are anything but random or unrelated. Rehoboam lived in a city called Jeru shalom, "City of Peace." This was the city where God wanted His name, Yahweh, to be prominent. Then the writer interjects Rehoboam's mother's name, Naamah the woman from Ammon. Rehoboam wanted his capital to look like the city of the Lord, but underneath it was, in fact, quite the opposite. It was the city of Naamah the Ammonitess and her idols, Molech and Milcom.

The name Naamah means "sweetness, pleasantness," which probably described her general disposition. This narrative tells us twice, in verses 21 and 31, so that we won't miss its significance, that Rehoboam's mother was "the Ammonitess." She was an Ammonite woman with considerable influence. So much so, she convinced her husband to abandon Yahweh for a particularly detestable idol.

Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. We know that Solomon reigned for forty years, so Rehoboam was nurtured by Naamah the Ammonitess, the worshiper of Milcom and Molech. One archaeologist writes,

Molech was a detestable Semitic deity honored by the sacrifice of children, in which they were caused to pass through or into the fire. Palestinian excavations have uncovered evidences of infant skeletons in burial places around heathen shrines. Ammonites revered Molech as a protecting father. No form of ancient Semitic idolatry was more abhorrent than Molech worship.³

His mother, Naamah, reared her son in the worship of Molech, and Solomon consented to the practice by building temples to the false god. The sin that Mom loved and that Dad permitted, ensnared the son. So it should come as no surprise that he led his kingdom into the same deadly trap:

Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed. For they also built for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant tree. There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

1 Kings 14:22–24

 

In just two generations, David's compromise had degenerated into complete rebellion. The final sentence stated above captures the irony of Judah's rock-bottom standing before God. The Lord established David's dynasty to be a witness to the surrounding pagan nations, and by the time of his grandson, the Promised Land was polluted with the same filth that Joshua had cleansed earlier. Make no mistake, the people had become exactly like their leader: utterly contemptible and totally decadent from the inside out.

THE SUCCESSFUL PHONY

 

Rehoboam had been that way all along, you understand. He was reared by his mother to be an idolater, but he kept it hidden from his God-fearing public in order to enlarge his kingdom. He even attracted families who were loyal to the Lord by pretending to worship and obey Him. In truth, he was morally bankrupt. Until the southern cities were fortified and his wealth secured against invasion, he carefully maintained his slick image. But as soon as he felt secure, the real Rehoboam burst forth:

When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 12:1

 

Success. Many would say that success can ruin a man. I say that success reveals who the man was all along. When he needs the help of others, when he's on the way up, he'll be whomever or whatever he must be in order to get where he's going. Once he feels that he has arrived and no longer needs the facade, the true character of the man emerges.

Success doesn't destroy character; it exposes character.

As we should expect, the Lord would not allow this to continue. In an exquisite twist of irony, He chastised Rehoboam with what he feared most:

[Shishak, the king of Egypt] captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, 'You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.'" So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous." When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak. 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." So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's palace. He took everything; he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made.

2 Chronicles 12:4–9

 

Seeing his fortresses knocked off one by one shook Rehoboam to his core. He repented of his sin and arrogance at the last minute. In the marines, we called this "foxhole faith." In the heat of battle, lots of guys become very godly . . . until they were safe back at the barracks. Then everything returns to life as usual. But in His mercy, the Lord took the king's plea at face value and promised to spare the kingdom complete destruction, reducing it to a slave state before Egypt. In the process, Rehoboam lost everything that his father had gained.

The opulence of the buildings that Solomon built was second to no other kingdom on earth, including Egypt. Just one example of his prosperity could be seen hanging in one of his public buildings in Jerusalem. He had artisans craft five hundred golden shields to decorate the walls as a symbol of Israel's might. Any visiting dignitary could interpret Solomon's meaning: "I have enough wealth in this building alone to train, feed, equip, and mobilize an army that will destroy you if I so choose."

Based on their description in 2 Chronicles 8:15–16, I estimate that the total value of the gold alone in today's currency would be just under $176, 000, 000. That was enough to fund a significant military campaign . . . and win. But once the sweep of Judah was complete, everything, including the golden shields, belonged to Shishak.

THE HUMBLE PHONY

 

The good news is that Rehoboam genuinely humbled himself before God, and, as the Scripture says, "the anger of the LORD turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions were good in Judah. So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned"

(2 Chronicles 12:12–13).

The bad news is that Rehoboam never really changed. Not deep within. He remained a phony all way to the end. Take an extra moment here. Pay close attention to what he did after the Egyptians marched off with Solomon's golden shields:

Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the door of the king's house. As often as the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the guards' room.

2 Chronicles 12:10–11

 

What a charlatan! He made shields of bronze to replace the golden ones but didn't keep them on display. Instead he trotted them out for special functions, but otherwise he kept them under guard, perhaps to keep them shined up! The last thing he wanted was to have the public realize that they weren't gold.

The truth of the matter was that nearly two million dollars' worth of gold had been carted off by the king of Egypt. So Rehoboam went to work behind the scenes to provide a cheap substitute, an imitation, a gold-appearing prop for the cameras to focus on. The image-conscious king carefully hid them in secret so nobody would know the truth . . . that they were bronze—a third-class substitute after a first-class blunder.

Hypocrisy defined the life of Rehoboam. Four specific examples come to mind as I reflect on what transpired.

First, he pretended to seek counsel from the elders, but he already knew what he would do. When the elders didn't give him the answer he wanted, he consulted his boyhood friends, who would naturally agree with him.

Second, he pretended to obey when the Lord told him not to fight, but he spent years preparing his cities for war. Near the end of both accounts of his life, the historians add the note, "And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually" (2 Chronicles 12:15).

Third, he was given a city that was to have the name of Yahweh, but it really bore the name of Naamah, a pagan Molech worshiper.

Fourth, when the golden symbol of the kingdom's wealth and might was pilfered by Egypt due to his apostasy, he replaced it with a bronze imitation. Such a fitting metaphor. A bronze shield, polished to shine like gold but worthless by comparison.

A TOUGH QUESTION

 

The final verse of the account in 2 Chronicles states, "And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place" (2 Chronicles 12:16). Unfortunately, only one of the world's phonies died back then. Today, we have them living all around us.

Now here's the tough question: Are you one of them?

Pause, please. Don't be defensive. Allow me to probe. If we were to pull the cameras behind the scenes of your life, what would we see? What's behind the part of your character that faces the public? Are you someone who speaks the Christian language fluently, but only on Sundays? Is yours a religious mask?

What does your family see? A godly man or woman before the church crowd, who nurtures and rationalizes a pet sin at home? Have you fooled yourself into thinking that you can manage the consequences? Realistically, you might be able to keep that sin contained just enough to keep it from ruining your life, but have you considered the effect of that sin on the people you influence—in particular, your children?

I call it the domino effect. David's compromise weakened Solomon, and in turn, Solomon's sin impacted Rehoboam. In the end, the sin that Mom loved and Dad permitted, entangled the son and taught him to be a reckless, misguided phony.

Tragically, the beat goes on . . . and on . . . and on. Nobody's immune. Phony living could be happening in your house, or my house, or any house . . . even the White House.

 

Growth Group Questions

Have you ever purchased a fake, a cheap knock off?

Consider Rehoboam and the confrontation with the Northern tribes' elders.  What stands out to you here?

How did Rehoboam plan to stop the separation of the tribes?

 

In what ways had Rehoboam been following in the steps of his father and grandfather?

 

In what ways was Rehoboam a fake?

 

The Lord had harsh words for hypocrites in Matthew 23: ²³ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

²⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

²⁷ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.²⁸ So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,³⁰ saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?³⁴ Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,³⁵ so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.³⁶ Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation..

 

How does this affect you?

 

God sees our hearts. Be sure your sin will find you out.  Sometimes God reveals people's sins in public ways.