The queen’s secret mission
1A short time later, King Jeroboam’s son Abijah, got sick. 2The king told his wife, “I want you to disguise yourself and go to Shiloh. Find Ahijah, the prophet who predicted I would be king. [1] 3Take him some gifts: 10 loaves of bread, a few of those little sweet cakes, and a jug of honey. Then ask him about our son. He’ll tell you what’s going to happen.” 4Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh. The prophet was old and blind by this time. 5But the LORD had told him, “Jeroboam’s wife will be coming to ask you about her son. He is sick. She will pretend she’s another woman. So, here’s what I want you to say.” And God gave him the message. 6Ahijah heard her footsteps when she stepped inside. He said, “Come on in. Jeroboam’s wife is welcome here. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have some heavy news for you to carry home.God’s message for the king
7Here’s what you need to tell Jeroboam. Tell him this message comes from the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I picked you out of the vast crowd and made you leader of my people, Israel. 8I tore a huge part of the kingdom away from David’s family. His children weren’t like David, and neither are you. David obeyed the law. He stayed devoted to me with all his heart. He wanted nothing more than to please me. 9You’ve got more evil in you than all the evil people who ever lived. You invented your own gods, stuck them in a mold, and turned them into statues. You made me angry, and you made me your enemy. 10I’m going to toss you out like yesterday’s trash. No male under your roof will survive—sons or slaves, it won’t matter which. Your family dynasty will disappear like dried manure thrown into a fire. 11If your people die in the city, their bodies will feed the dogs. If they die in fields, birds will pick them apart.’God’s message for the queen
12Now go back home to your family. When you step foot into the city, your son will die. 13People throughout Israel will mourn him and bury him. But he is the only person in your family who will be buried. He’s the only decent one among you. 14The LORD will produce another king. That king will erase Jeroboam’s family. Soon. Very soon. 15The LORD is going to shake Israel like a reed in a river. Then he’s going to rip their roots right out of this ground that he gave their ancestors. He’s going to heave the whole lot of them out of here. He’s going to scatter them clear across the far side of the Euphrates River. When they raised those pagan poles, [2] they enraged the LORD. 16God will leave Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins and the sins he caused Israel to commit.” 17Jeroboam’s wife returned to their home in Tirzah. [3] When she stepped into the house, her son died. 18The people of Israel mourned for him and buried him, just like the LORD said, through the prophet Ahijah.Jeroboam dies
19For more on the story of Jeroboam’s reign and his wars, look in the History of Israel’s Kings. [4] 20He ruled Israel for 22 years. Then he died and his son Nadad took over as king. [5]King Rehoboam’s story in Judah
2 Chronicles 11:5-12:16 21Solomon’s son Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah for 17 years. He kept Jerusalem as his capital. This was the one city in all Israel and Judah that God chose to most associate with his name. This is where his people came to worship. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, from the nation of Ammon. [6] 22Judah chose evil over God. That made God jealous. The sins of this generation were worse than those of all the ancestors combined. 23The people of Judah built shrines with pillars and pagan poles. And they put them high and low, on hilltops and under shade trees all over the land. 24They created an order of sacred prostitution, with priests providing that repulsive service and calling it worship. [7] The people practiced all the sins of the pagan nation who had lived there before them. Egypt’s King Shishak takes Jerusalem
25During the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, Egypt’s King Shishak [8] invaded and attacked Jerusalem. 26He stole everything of value from the Temple. [9] And he took the golden shields [10] Solomon had made. 27Rehoboam replaced the shields, but he used bronze instead of gold. And he ordered the royal palace guards at the front door to keep them safe. 28Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards who escorted him brought the shields with them. When they returned, they stored the shields in a guarded room. 29The rest of Rehoboam’s story is preserved in the History of Judah’s Kings. [11] 30Rehoboam of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel remained in a constant state of war. 31Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. [12] He was Solomon’s son with Naamah, a woman from Ammon. His son Abijah became the next king.
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21Solomon’s son Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah for 17 years. He kept Jerusalem as his capital. This was the one city in all Israel and Judah that God chose to most associate with his name. This is where his people came to worship. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, from the nation of Ammon. [6] 22Judah chose evil over God. That made God jealous. The sins of this generation were worse than those of all the ancestors combined. 23The people of Judah built shrines with pillars and pagan poles. And they put them high and low, on hilltops and under shade trees all over the land. 24They created an order of sacred prostitution, with priests providing that repulsive service and calling it worship. [7] The people practiced all the sins of the pagan nation who had lived there before them.
