1 And when Rehoboam was come to Ierusalem, he gathered of the house of Iudah and Beniamin nine score thousande chosen men of warre to fight against Israel, and to bring the kingdome againe to Rehoboam. 2 But the worde of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 Speake vnto Rehoboam, the sonne of Salomon King of Iudah, and to all Israel that are in Iudah, and Beniamin, saying, 4 Thus sayth the Lord, Ye shall not goe vp, nor fight against your brethren: returne euery man to his house: for this thing is done of me. They obeyed therfore the word of the Lord, and returned from going against Ieroboam. 5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Ierusalem, and buylt strong cities in Iudah. 6 Hee buylt also Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, 7 And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam, 8 And Gath, and Maresha, and Ziph, 9 And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, 10 And Zorah, and Aialon, and Hebron, which were in Iudah and Beniamin, strong cities. 11 And he repaired the strong holdes and put captaines in them, and store of vitaile, and oyle and wine. 12 And in all cities he put shieldes and speares, and made them exceeding strong: so Iudah and Beniamin were his. 13 And the Priests and the Leuites that were in all Israel, resorted vnto him out of all their coastes. 14 For the Leuites left their suburbes and their possession, and came to Iudah and to Ierusalem: for Ieroboam and his sonnes had cast them out from ministring in the Priestes office vnto the Lord. 15 And he ordeyned him Priests for the hie places, and for the deuils and for the calues which he had made. 16 And after the Leuites there came to Ierusalem of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heartes to seeke the Lord God of Israel, to offer vnto the Lord God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdome of Iudah, and made Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon mightie, three yeere long: for three yeere they walked in in the way of Dauid and Salomon. 18 And Rehoboam tooke him Mahalath ye daughter of Ierimoth the sonne of Dauid to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the sonne of Ishai, 19 Which bare him sonnes Ieush, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he tooke Maakah ye daughter of Absalom which bare him Abiiah, and Atthai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loued Maakah ye daughter of Absalom aboue all his wiues and his concubines: for he tooke eighteene wiues, and three score concubines, and begate eyght and twentie sonnes, and three score daughters. 22 And Rehoboam made Abiiah the sonne of Maakah the chiefe ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him King. 23 And he taught him: and dispersed all his sonnes throughout all the countreis of Iudah and Beniamin vnto euery strong citie: and hee gaue them aboundance of vitaile, and desired many wiues.
Shemaiah the Prophet Warns Rehoboam
(1 Kings 12.21-24)1 After Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he decided to attack Israel and regain control of the whole country. So he called together 180,000 soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
2 Meanwhile, the Lord had told Shemaiah the prophet 3 to tell Rehoboam and everyone from Judah and Benjamin, 4 “The Lord warns you not to go to war against the people from the northern tribes—they are your relatives. Go home! The Lord is the one who made these things happen.”
Rehoboam and his army obeyed the Lord's message and did not attack Jeroboam and his troops.
Rehoboam Fortifies Cities in Judah
5 Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem, and he had several cities in Judah turned into fortresses so he could use them to defend his country. These cities included 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. After he had fortified these cities in the territories of Judah and Benjamin, 11 he assigned an army commander to each of them and stocked them with supplies of food, olive oil, and wine, 12 as well as with shields and spears. He used these fortified cities to keep control of Judah and Benjamin.
The Priests and the Levites Support Rehoboam
13 The priests and Levites from the northern tribes of Israel gave their support to King Rehoboam. 14 And since Jeroboam and the kings of Israel that followed him would not allow any Levites to serve as priests, most Levites left their towns and pasturelands in Israel and moved to Jerusalem and other towns in Judah. 15 Jeroboam chose his own priests to serve at the local shrines in Israel and at the places of worship where he had set up statues of goat-demons and of calves.
16 But some of the people from Israel wanted to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord. 17 For the next three years, they lived in Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam and his kingdom, just as they had been loyal to David and Solomon.
Rehoboam's Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David, and whose mother was Abihail the daughter of Eliab and granddaughter of Jesse. 19 Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then Rehoboam married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. Their sons were Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Rehoboam had 18 wives, but he also married 60 other women, and he was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters. Rehoboam loved his wife Maacah the most, 22 so he chose their oldest son Abijah to be the next king. 23 Rehoboam was wise enough to put one of his sons in charge of each fortified city in his kingdom. He gave them all the supplies they needed and found wives for every one of them.