Study Desk

They left Midian and went to Paran. In Paran some other people joined them and the whole group went to Egypt. They went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and asked for help. Pharaoh gave Hadad a house, some land, and food to eat.

Rezon became the king of Aram. He was an enemy of Israel throughout Solomon's life and added to the trouble that Hadad created for Israel.

Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces of this coat for yourself because the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I will tear the kingdom away from Solomon, and I will give you ten of the tribes.

So I will take the kingdom away from Solomon's family. I chose David because he obeyed all my laws and commands. So for my servant David, I will let Solomon be the king for the rest of his life.

I will let Solomon's son keep one tribe to rule over. I will do this for my servant David, so he will always have someone to rule near me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose to be my own.

If you live right and obey all my commands as David did, I will be with you and make your family a family of kings, just as I did for David. And you will have Israel as your kingdom.

Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years.

"Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us. Stop the heavy work that your father forced us to do and we will serve you."

They answered, "If you are like a servant to them today, they will sincerely serve you. If you speak kindly to them, they will always work for you."

So King Jeroboam chose his own time for a festival for the Israelites, the 15th day of the eighth month. And during that time he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the altar he had built at Bethel.

Then King Jeroboam said to the man of God, "Please pray to the Lord your God for me. Ask him to heal my arm." So the man of God prayed to the Lord , and the king's arm was healed, as it was before.

The man of God finished eating and drinking. Then the old prophet saddled the man's donkey for him and the man left.

The old prophet put the body on his donkey and carried it back to the city to cry for him and bury him.

The old prophet buried the man in his own family grave. The old prophet cried for him and said, "Oh, my brother, I am sorry for you."

But when Ahijah heard her coming to the door, he said, "Come in! I know who you are. You are Jeroboam's wife. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have some bad news for you.

But you have sinned worse than anyone who ruled before you. You stopped following me and made other gods for yourself. You made those statues to make me angry.

All Israel will cry for him. They will bury him, but he is the only one from Jeroboam's family who will be buried. This is because he is the only one in Jeroboam's family who pleased the Lord , the God of Israel.

They buried him and all the people of Israel cried for him. This happened just as the Lord said it would through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.

Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. Then he died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Nadab became the new king after him.

Solomon's son, Rehoboam, was 41 years old when he became king of Judah. Rehoboam ruled 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose for his own. He chose this city from all the other tribes of Israel. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah. She was an Ammonite.