Latest / 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast / When Israel Divided | Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and the Broken Kingdom (July 24)

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When Israel Divided | Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and the Broken Kingdom (July 24) · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

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When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them,
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the people answered the king, We have no portion in David,
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no share in Yishai's sons. To your tents,
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O Israel! Now look to your own house, O David!
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So all Israel returned to their homes.
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But Rehoboam continued to reign over the Israelites who lived in
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the towns of Judah. King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram,
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who was in charge of the forced labor, but the Israelites pelted
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him to death with stones. Thereupon, King Rehoboam
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hurriedly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.
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Israel, the Northern Kingdom, has been in revolt against
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the House of David to this day.
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Listen in as we unpack The story about
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the divided kingdom. The nation of Israel, once one nation,
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ruled with King David and then under Solomon
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became 2 nations: Northern
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Kingdom and Southern Kingdom. Listen in as we unpack this.
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Welcome to the One Year Audio Bible Podcast.
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Today is July 24th. Now let's continue our journey
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reading through the entire Bible in one year.
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This week we are reading from the Israel Bible for the Old Testament and from
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the King James for the New Testament.
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Numbers 29:1-20.
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In the 7th month, on the 1st day of
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the month, you shall observe a sacred occasion.
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You shall not work at your occupations. You shall observe
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it as a day when the shofar is sounded. You shall
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present a burnt offering of pleasing odor to Hashem: 1 bull of
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the herd, 1 ram, and 7 yearling lambs without
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blemish. The meal offering with them, choice flour with oil
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mixed in, shall be 3/10 of a measure for a bull,
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2/10 for a ram, and 1/10 for each of the 7
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lambs. And there shall be 1 goat for a sin offering, to make
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expiation in your behalf. In addition to the burnt offering of the
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new moon with its meal offering and the regular burnt offering with its
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meal offering, each with its libation as prescribed,
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offerings by fire of pleasing odor to Hashem.
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On the 10th day of the same 7th month you shall observe
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a sacred occasion when you shall practice self-denial; you
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shall do no work. You shall present to Hashem A
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burnt offering of pleasing odor: 1 bull
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of the herd, 1 ram, 7 yearling lambs.
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See that they are without blemish. The meal offering with
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them of choice flour with oil mixed in shall be 3/10
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of a measure for a bull, 2/10 for the 1 ram,
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1/10 for each of the 7 lambs. And there shall be 1
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goat for a sin offering in addition to the sin offering of expiation.
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And the regular burnt offering with its meal offering, each with its
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libation. On the 15th day of the 7th month
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you shall observe a sacred occasion; you shall not work
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at your occupations. 7 days you shall observe a festival
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of Hashem. You shall present a burnt offering,
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an offering by fire of pleasing odor to Hashem: 13
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bulls of the herd, 2 rams, 14 yearling lambs; they
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shall be without blemish. The meal offerings with them,
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of choice flour with oil mixed in, shall be 3/10 of a
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measure for each of the 13 bulls, 2/10 for each of the 2 rams,
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and 1/10 for each of the 14 lambs. And there shall be 1
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goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering,
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its meal offering, and libation.
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Second day: 12 bulls of the herd, 2 rams,
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14 yearling lambs without blemish,
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the meal offerings and libations for the bulls, rams, and lambs
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in the quantities prescribed, and 1 goat for a sin
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offering in addition to the regular burnt offering,
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its meal offering, and libations. Third day: 11
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bulls, 2 rams, 14 yearling lambs without blemish.
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2 Chronicles 11:1-13,
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22. When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,
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he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin,
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180,000 picked fighting men, to make
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war with Israel in order to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
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But the word of Hashem came to Shemaiah the man of Hashem,
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Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah,
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and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, thus says
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Hashem, you shall not set out to make war on your kinsmen.
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Let every man return to his home, for this thing has been brought
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about by Me. They heeded the words of Hashem and
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refrained from marching against Jeroboam.
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Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built fortified towns in Judah.
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He built up Bet-lechem and Etam and Tekoa
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and Beth-zur and Socoh and Adullam and
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Gath and Mareshah and Ziph and Adoram and
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Lachish and Azekah and Zorah and Aijalon and
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Hebron, which are in Judah and in
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Benjamin, as fortified towns. He strengthened
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the fortified towns and put commanders in them along with stores
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of food, oil, and wine, and shields and spears in every town.
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He strengthened them exceedingly. Thus Judah and Benjamin were
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His. The Kohanim and the Levi'im from all their
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territories throughout Israel presented themselves to Him.
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The Levi'im had their pasturelands and their holdings and had set out for
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Yehudah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had prevented
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them from serving Hashem, having appointed his own Kohanim for the shrine.
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Goat demons, and calves which he had made. From all the tribes
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of Israel, those intent on seeking the God of Israel followed
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them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the God of their fathers. They strengthened
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the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son
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of Solomon for 3 years, for they followed the ways of David and
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Solomon for 3 years.
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Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth son
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of David, and Abigail, daughter of Eliab son
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of Yishai. She bore him sons: Jeuth,
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Sheremiyah, Shemariah, and Zaham.
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He then took Maacah, daughter of Absalom. She bore
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him Aviah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
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Rehoboam loved Maacah, daughter of Absalom, more than his other
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wives and concubines. Where he took 18
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wives and 60 concubines. He begot 28
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sons and 60 daughters. Rehoboam designated Avijah
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son of Maacah as chief and leader among his brothers, for he intended
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him to be his successor. He prudently distributed
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all his sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin and throughout
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the fortified towns. He provided them with abundant food and he sought many
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wives for them. When the kingship
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of Rehoboam was firmly established and he grew,
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he abandoned the teaching of Hashem, he and all
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Israel with him.
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In the 5th year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt
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marched against Jerusalem, for they had trespassed against
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Hashem. With 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen
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and innumerable troops who came with him from Egypt,
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Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. He took the fortified
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towns of Judah and advanced on Jerusalem.
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Then Navi Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and the officers
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of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak
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and said to them, Thus said Hashem: You have abandoned Me,
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so I am abandoning you to Shishak.
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Then the officers of Israel and the king humbled themselves and declared,
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Hashem is in the right. When Hashem
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saw that they had submitted, the Word of Hashem came to
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Shemaiah saying, Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy
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them but will grant them some measure of deliverance,
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and My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
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They will be subject to him, and they will know the differences between serving
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Me and serving the kingdoms of the earth. King Shishak
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of Egypt marched against Jerusalem. He took away
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the treasures of the House of Hashem and the treasures of
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the royal palace. He took away everything.
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He took away the golden shields that Solomon had made.
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King Rehoboam had bronze shields made in their place,
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and entrusted them to the officers of the guard who guarded
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the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king entered the
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house of Hashem, the guards would carry them and then bring them back
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to the armory of the guards. After he had humbled
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himself, the anger of Hashem was averted, and He did
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not destroy him entirely. In Judah too good things were found.
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King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem, and exercised
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kingship. Rehoboam was 41 years
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old when he became king, and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem,
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the city Hashem had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel
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to establish His name there. His mother's name was Naamah
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the Ammonitess.
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He did what was wrong, for he had not set his heart to
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seek Hashem. The deeds of Rehoboam early and late are
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recorded in the Chronicles of Navi, Shemaiah,
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and Iddo the seer, in the manner of genealogy.
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There was continuous war between Rehoboam and
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Jeroboam. Rehoboam slept with his fathers and
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was buried in the City of David. His son Avijah
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succeeded him as king. In the 18th
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year of King Jeroboam, Avijah became king over
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Judah. He reigned 3 years in Jerusalem.
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His mother's name was Michalhu,
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daughter of Uriel of Gina. There was war between Aviah
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and Jeroboam. Aviah joined battle with a force
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of warriors, 400,000 picked men. Jeroboam arrayed
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for battle against him, 800,000 picked men,
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warriors. Aviah stood on top of Mount Zemaraim
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in the hill country of Ephraim and said, Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel.
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Surely you know that God of Israel gave David
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kingship over Israel forever to him and
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his sons by a covenant of salt.
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Jeroboam son of Nebat had been in the service of Solomon
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son of David, but he rose up and rebelled against his master.
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Riffraff and scoundrels gathered around him and pressed hard upon Rehoboam
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son of Solomon.
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Rehoboam was inexperienced and faint-hearted and could not stand
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up to them. Now you are bent on opposing the Kingdom
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of Hashem, which is in the charge of the sons of David,
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because you are a great multitude and possess the golden calves that Jeroboam
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made for you as gods. Did you not banish the Kohanim of Hashem,
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the sons of Aaron and the Levi'im, and like the peoples of
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the land appoint your own Kohanim, your own priests?
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Anyone who offered himself for ordination with a young bull
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of the herd and 7 rams became a Kohen of no gods.
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As for us, Hashem is our God and we have not
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forsaken Him. The Kohanim who minister to Hashem are the sons of
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Aaron and the Levi'im. Levi'im are there at their
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tasks. They offer burnt offerings in smoke each morning
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and each evening, and the aromatic incense, the rows
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of bread on the pure table. They kindle the golden
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menorah with its lamps burning each evening, for we keep
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the charge of Hashem our God while you have forsaken it.
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See, Hashem is with us as our chief,
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and His Kohanim have the trumpets for the sounding blasts against
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you, O children of Israel. Do not fight God of your fathers, because you
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will not succeed. Jeroboam, however,
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had directed the ambush to go around and come from the rear.
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Thus, the main body was in front of Judah while the
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ambush was behind.
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When Judah turned around and saw that the fighting was before and
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behind them,
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they cried out to Hashem and the Kohanim blew the trumpets.
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The men of Judah raised a shout, and when the men of Judah raised a
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shout, Hashem routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah
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and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah,
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and Hashem delivered them into their hands.
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Abijah and his army inflicted a severe defeat
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on them. 500,000 men of Israel fell slain.
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The Israelites were crushed at that time, while the people
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of Judah triumphed because they relied on the God of their
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fathers. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured
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some of his cities: Beth-el with its dependencies,
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Jeshanah with its dependencies, and Ephraim with its dependencies.
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Jeroboam could not muster strength again during the days of Abijah.
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Hashem struck him down and he died. But Abijah grew powerful,
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He married 14 wives and begat 22 sons and 16 daughters.
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The other events of Abijah's reign, his conduct and
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his acts, are recorded in the story of the Navi Edo.
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Abijah slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
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His son Asa succeeded him as king.
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The land was untroubled for 10 years.
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Romans 8:22-39.
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For we know that the whole creation groans and travails
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in pain together until now. And not only they,
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but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
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even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
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adoption To wit, the redemption of our body.
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For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is
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not hope, for what a man sees, why does he yet
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hope for? But if we hope for that we see not,
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then do we with patience wait for it.
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Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities,
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for we know not what we should pray, whereas we ought, but the Spirit
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itself makes intercession for us with groanings which
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cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows
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what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according
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to the will of God. And we know that all things
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work together for good to them that love God, to them
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who are called according to his purpose.
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For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine
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to be conformed to the image of His Son,
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that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
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Moreover, whom He did predestine, them He also
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called; and whom He called, them He also
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justified; and whom He justified,
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them He also glorified. What shall we say
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then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
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us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
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up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
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things? Who shall lay anything to
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the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.
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Who is he that condemns? It is Christ.
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That died, yes rather, that is risen again,
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who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession
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for us. Who shall separate
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us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
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or distress, or persecution, or famine,
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or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
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As it is written, for your sake we are killed all the
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day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
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Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
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through Him who loved us.
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For I am persuaded that neither death nor
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life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
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nor things present nor things to come,
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nor height nor depth, nor any other creature shall
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be able to separate us from the love of God,
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which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Psalm 18:37-50.
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I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither
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did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them
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that they were not able to rise; They are fallen under my feet.
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For you have girded me with strength to the battle.
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You have subdued under me those that rose up against me. You have
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also given me the necks of my enemies that I might destroy them that
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hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them,
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even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
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Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind.
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I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
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You have delivered me from the strivings of the people, and you have
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made me the head of the heathen. A people whom I have not known
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shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me.
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The strangers shall submit themselves to me. The strangers
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shall fade away and be afraid out of their close places.
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The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my
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salvation be exalted. It is God
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that avenges me and subdues the people under me.
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He delivers me from my enemies. Yes, You lift me up above
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those that rise up against me. You have delivered me
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from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks
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unto You, O Lord, among the heathen and sing praises
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to Your name. Great deliverance gives He to
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His king and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and
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to his seed forevermore.
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Proverbs 19:27-29.
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Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causes to err
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from the words of knowledge. An ungodly witness scorns
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judgment, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
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Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the
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back of fools. I want to speak
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to you today from our reading from 2 Chronicles 11 through 13,
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and actually I'm going to backtrack a little bit and go back to 2 Chronicles
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chapter 10.
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And in, in 2 Chronicles chapter 10, we see a
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kingdom split. Jeroboam,
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uh, leads the 10 tribes of the north And
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Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, leads the 2 tribes of the
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south, Judah and Benjamin. And so Israel comes before Jeroboam,
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the new king, and they say, hey, can you lighten up our burden?
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We have a heavy tax burden. Could you lighten up our
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burden? So when Jeroboam consults the elders,
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they say, you know, if you do that, if you're kind
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to them, then you will have their loyalty and their faithfulness. But then
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he also consults his peers, and his peers give him some very bad
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advice. They say, you should make the burden even heavier. And so
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he answers to them a day later and says,
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I will make your yoke heavy, and I will add to it. My father
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flogged you with whips, but I'll flog you with scorpions.
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And so Jeroboam, the leader of the 10 tribes of
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the north who put this request before him, in verse 16,
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chapter 10, verse 16, when all Israel that is the Northern
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Kingdom, saw that the king had not listened to them.
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The people answered the king, we have no portion in David,
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no share in Yishai's son. To your
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tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, O David!
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So all Israel returned to their homes.
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And that is the kingdom split.
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The nation of Israel was split right down the middle between
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the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.
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And so in verse 6, chapter 10, verse 6, it says,
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King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had served
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during the lifetime of his father, and he said, what answer should I give to
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these people? The Israel Bible commentary to this verse
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reads as follows: Upon assuming the throne after his father's
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death, Rehoboam is approached by representatives of the nation who
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request an easing of the tax burden that had been placed upon them by King
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Solomon. Rehoboam first consults the elders who had advised
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his father, but not liking the counsel they gave, he instead
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turns to the young people, his peers, his contemporaries.
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This was a breach of the principle, ask your father, he will inform
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you. Your elders, they will tell you. Rehoboam follows
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the advice of his young friends, and this leads to the split in
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the kingdom, set in the 10 tribes of the Kingdom of Israel on
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a very negative path of idolatry and sin.
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Had Rehoboam appreciated the meaning and importance of history
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and tradition instead of trying to assert himself and
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his reign over the nation, much evil might have been averted.
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Continuing on into chapter
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11,
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Rehoboam retreats back to Jerusalem and he
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mounts up a fighting force of fighting men and he gets
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ready to go on the attack against the Northern Kingdom,
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against Jeroboam and the 10 tribes of the north. And in verse 3,
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it says, say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah,
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and to all Israel and Judah and Benjamin. This is Shemaiah,
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a man of God, a prophet, And God is telling Shemaiah
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what to tell Rehoboam the king.
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So this is what Shemaiah's instructions were from the Lord.
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Thus says Hashem, you shall not set out to make war
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on your kinsmen. Let every man return to his home, for this
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thing has been brought about by me. They heeded
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the words of Hashem and refrained from marching against
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Jeroboam. The Israel Bible commentary to this verse reads
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as follows: Though the kingdom has split and 10
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tribes have rejected Rehoboam and the House of David,
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God does not want there to be a civil war between the 2 kingdoms.
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He reminds the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin that despite
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the rift, the members of both kingdoms are brothers, and they should therefore
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treat each other with peace and brotherhood. The split in the Kingdom is not ideal,
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and it pains Hashem to see different members of the nation of Israel
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at odds with each other. Instead, He longs
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for the time when once again one King shall be King
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of them all. Never again shall they be 2 nations,
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and never again shall they be divided into 2 kingdoms.
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From Ezekiel 37:22.
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With the establishment of the State of Israel, the ingathering
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of the exiles, and the return of some of the 10 tribes,
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we are beginning to witness the miraculous fulfillment of
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the unity between the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.
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And then finally, as we get into chapter 13,
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I want to zoom in on chapter 13, verse 8. Now you
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are bent on opposing the kingdom of Hashem,
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which is in the charge of the sons of David, because you
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are a great multitude and possess the golden calves that Jeroboam
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made for you as gods. The Israel
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Bible commentary to this verse reads as follows.
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Abijah, who is now the king of the Southern Kingdom,
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he succeeded Rehoboam.
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Abijah understands that the reason he has arisen to
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the throne is to serve God. He tells Jeroboam
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that he rules the Kingdom of Hashem as the kings of Judah are from the
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line of David and they maintain the service of God
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in the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, in Jerusalem.
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Abijah sees himself as the emissary of the Lord,
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the caretaker of His people, who is expected to lead
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them in the service of Hashem. Because he understands this, God grants
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him victory the triumph which was denied to his father
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Rehoboam, who was motivated by pride, not piety.
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This is an example of how success in the Land
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of Israel is dependent upon the recognition of
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God, of Hashem. As Asa declares
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in the next chapter, while the land is at our disposal because
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we turned to Hashem, Our God.
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That's all I have for today, and we'll see you tomorrow.