And the priests and the Levites, that were in all Israel ,.... In the ten tribes, in the cities assigned to them therein: resorted to him out of all their coasts ; as to their rightful sovereign, and chiefly for the sake of the service of the sanctuary at Jerusalem. read more
For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession ,.... The cities and the fields adjacent to them, which were given them in the several tribes, and were in all forty eight; see Joshua 21:1 and came to Judah and Jerusalem; to the cities of Judah, which belonged to the Levites; and to Jerusalem, where they exercised their functions: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from exercising the priest's office unto the Lord ; neither suffering them to go to Jerusalem in their... read more
And he ordained him priests for the high places ,.... Of such who were not of the tribe of Levi, and family of Aaron; see 1 Kings 12:31 . and for the devils ; demons in the shape of goats, as this word signifies, in which form many of the Heathen deities were worshipped; idols of whatsoever kind are so called; for whosoever worships them worships not God, but devils, 1 Corinthians 10:21 the images which Jeroboam set up may be meant, and the next clause may be rendered as explanative... read more
And after them out of all the tribes of Israel ,.... Besides the priests and Levites, and after their example, many of the common people, out of all the ten tribes: such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel ; to seek his face and favour, where he was to be found; to worship him according to his revealed will, and to receive doctrine or instruction from him, as the Targum: came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers ; to sacrifice where only... read more
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah ,.... Made it more numerous, and in a better condition to defend itself: and made Rehoboam son of Solomon strong three years ; established him on the throne, strengthened the government in his hands, and were the means of preserving him in the pure worship of God for the space of time mentioned, the reason of which follows: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon ; in their good ways, which were according to the rule of... read more
The Levites left their suburbs - They and the priests were expelled from their offices by Jeroboam, lest they should turn the hearts of the people to the true God, and then they would revolt to Judah, 1 Kings 12:26 ; and therefore he established a new worship, and made new gods. read more
And he ordained him priests - for the devils - שעירים seirim , the hairy ones; probably goats: for as the golden calves, or oxen, were in imitation of the Egyptian ox-god, Apis; so they no doubt paid Divine honors to the goat, which we know was an object of religious veneration in Egypt. read more
Such as set their hearts to seek the Lord - All the truly pious joined him out of every tribe, and the whole tribe of Levi, being deprived of their functions, joined him also. Thus he had Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and probably a part of Simeon; for he had Etam, which was in that tribe, and the truly religious out of all the other tribes, for they could not bear Jeroboam's idolatry. read more
For three years they walked in the way of David - During this time he prospered; but for fourteen years after this he and the people were unfaithful to the Lord, except at such intervals as the hand of God's judgments was upon them. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 11:13-23
See here, I. How Rehoboam was strengthened by the accession of the priests and Levites, and all the devout and pious Israelites, to him, even all that were true to their God and their religion. 1. Jeroboam cast them off, that is, he set up such a way of worship as he knew they could not in conscience comply with, which obliged them to withdraw from his altar, and at the same time he would not allow them to go up to Jerusalem to worship at the altar there; so that he totally cast them off from... read more