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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 14:21-31

Judah's story and Israel's are intermixed in this book. Jeroboam out-lived Rehoboam, four or five years, yet his history is despatched first, that the account of Rehoboam's reign may be laid together; and a sad account it is. I. Here is no good said of the king. All the account we have of him here is, 1. That he was forty-one years old when he began to reign, by which reckoning he was born in the last year of David, and had his education, and the forming of his mind, in the best days of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 14:23

For they also built them high places ,.... Which, though allowed of, or at least connived at, before the temple was built, and when the tabernacle was unfixed, yet afterwards unlawful; and the tribe of Judah could have no excuse for them, who had the temple in their tribe: and images ; contrary to the express command of God, Exodus 20:4 , and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree ; that is, set up idols, and temples for idols, amidst groves of trees, and under all... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 14:21-24

The Sin of Judah. Having discoursed of Jeroboam and the kingdom of Israel, the sacred historian now returns to Rehoboam and the sister kingdom of Judah. To have found a better state of things here would have been refreshing, but in this we are disappointed. How fearful was the moral state of the whole world in those days! I. JUDAH HAD FALLEN INTO THE GROSSEST IDOLATRY . 1 . He had multiplied high places . 2 . He had built many temples . 3 . He had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 14:21-31

Unfaithfulness and its rebuke. I. JUDAH 'S SIN . 1 . The nature of the transgression . The grossest idolatry was set side by side with the pure worship of God. The temple and its services were still HIS ( 1 Kings 14:28 ), but on every high hill and under every green tree were the images and altars of the false gods. The preservation of the pure worship of God is no proof that all is yielded which God demands. The heart may be full of the world's idolatries, of its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 14:23

For they also [ i.e; they as well as the ten tribes] built them high places [ i.e; houses of high places. See on 1 Kings 3:2 and 1 Kings 13:32 ] and images [Heb. pillars or statues ( מַחֵּבוֹת ; LXX ; στήλας ). These were, no doubt, originally memorial pillars or stones, erected to commemorate some Divine manifestation, and with no thought of idolatry (see Genesis 31:13 ; Genesis 35:14 , Genesis 35:20 ; Genesis 28:18 ). But the Canaanites erected pillars,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 14:23

The words “they also” are emphatic. Not only did the Israelites make themselves high places 1Ki 12:31; 1 Kings 13:32, but the people of Judah also. The “high places,” which are said to have been “built,” were probably small shrines or tabernacles hung with bright-colored tapestry Ezekiel 16:16, like the “sacred tent” of the Carthaginians.The “images” were rather “pillars” (Genesis 28:18 note).Groves - See 1 Kings 14:15, note. The “groves,” it will be observed, were “built” on high hills and... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 14:22-23

1 Kings 14:22-23. Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord In contempt and in defiance of him, and the tokens of his special presence. They provoked him to jealousy By joining other gods together with him, as the adulterous wife provokes her husband by breaking the marriage covenant. They also built them high places Followed the example of the Israelites, although they were better instructed, had the temple in their kingdom, and liberty of access to it, and the privilege of worshipping... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 14:21-31

Rehoboam’s reign in the south (14:21-31)The story returns to the kingdom of Judah. After the division of the kingdom, Rehoboam quickly strengthened the defences on his southern border, for he knew that Egypt was likely to support Jeroboam (cf. 11:40; see 2 Chronicles 11:5-12). For three years Rehoboam carried on the true worship of Yahweh. This was mainly because of the help he received from a large number of priests and Levites from the north who fled to Judah rather than participate in the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 14:21-31

3. Rehoboam’s evil reign in Judah 14:21-31"The narrator introduces a new format and style at this point that enables him to state the essence of a king’s reign with an economy of words. The introduction and conclusion of the account of each reign conform to a fixed pattern with only slight variations. The following information is regularly given in the introduction to the reigns of the kings of Judah: (1) date of beginning of reign, (2) age at beginning of reign (not noted consistently at... read more

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