The Kings of Israel and Judah – All

 Rehoboam was a man whose heart was in Egypt, a land characterized by worldliness.  Even though he was Solomon’s son and reigned in the place of his father, Rehoboam was very unwise.  He received good counsel from the old wise men about Israel, but disregarded it all and took the counsel of younger men.  As a result, he added to the tax burden the Israelites had to pay.  His decision eventually caused Israel to separate from Judah and started endless trouble between the ten tribes of Israel and the two tribes of Judah.

Jeroboam, the new king of Israel, caused even more departure by building another place of sacrifice at Penuel.  His choices resulted in a lot of confusion and the further destruction of unity, causing the nation to be weaker than it ever had been before.

Jeroboam continued to make bad choices and led Israel into idol worship by setting up two golden calves, which were an abomination to God.  Next, he made some of the lowest of the people to be priests, thus forsaking the Divine standard altogether.