And it came to pass in the fifth year of King Rehoboam ,.... Two years after he and his people fell into the above wicked practices: that Shishak, king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ; of whom see 1 Kings 11:40 , this was suffered as a chastisement from the Lord for their abominations. read more
And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord ,.... Which perhaps Jeroboam had informed him of, and for the sake of which he came, as well as to make a diversion in favour of Jeroboam, who had contracted an intimacy with him when in Egypt; and who might have no regard for Rehoboam, who was not a son of Pharaoh's daughter, and so no relation to him: these were the treasures which David had left to his son Solomon, and had dedicated for the temple, even gold, silver, and vessels,... read more
He took away the treasures - All the treasures which Solomon had amassed, both in the temple and in his own houses; a booty the most immense ever acquired in one place. All the shields of gold which Solomon had made - These were three hundred in number, and were all made of beaten gold. See a computation of their value in the note on 1 Kings 10:17 ; (note). read more
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
And it came to pass in the fifth year [that is, two years after king and people forsook the law of the Lord ( 2 Chronicles 12:11 ). Retribution seems to have overtaken Judah sooner than Israel. They had the less excuse, and they seem to have plunged deeper into idolatry and immorality] of King Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt [to whom Jeroboam had fled ( 1 Kings 11:26 , 1 Kings 11:40 )] came up against Jerusalem . [This expedition is related with somewhat more of detail in 2... read more
The Invasion of Shishak. Three years after the death of David, the foundations of the temple, the glory of that age—some have called it orbis miraculum, the marvel of every age—were laid. Four years after the death of Solomon his son—some forty years, that is to say, after its foundation, three and thirty years after its completion, according to some only twenty years after its dedication—the treasures of that temple, its gold and gems, were carried off by an invader. A short time after... read more
The Entailments of Sin. During the three first years of his reign in Judah, Rehoboam walked in the steps of Solomon and David, enjoyed peace, and became established in his throne. Afterwards he gave himself up to idolatrous abominations, and brought evil upon himself and upon his people. The entailments of their sin were— I. TROUBLE . 1 . There was continual war between the kingdoms . (3) Thus sinners become God's instruments to punish one another. So it is seen to this day... read more
And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord [The historian omits to mention the interposition of Shemaiah ( 2 Chronicles 12:5-8 ). The account of the Chronicles is altogether much fuller], and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all [rather, " and everything ( sc . that he could lay his hands on) he took away ." The spoil must have been enormous]: and he took away all the shields of gold [cf. 1 Kings 10:17 ] which Solomon had made. read more
The examination of the famous inscription of Shishak at Karnak has resulted in the proof that the expedition commemorated was directed against Palestine, and has further thrown a good deal of light on the relations of the two kingdoms at the period. Of the fifteen fenced cities fortified by Rehoboam in the early part of his reign 2 Chronicles 11:5-12, three, Shoco, Adoraim, and Aijalon are distinctly mentioned among Shishak’s conquests. Other towns of Judah or Benjamin also occur. Further, a... read more
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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