Reading the Bible in Historical Sequence Part 6Shembull

Rehoboam now begins to fortify Judah. Many priests, Levites and others wanting to continue with temple worship emigrate from the north to the south but Rehoboam forsakes God, and in 971 BC God uses Egypt to pillage Judah. Humbled, many start to pray. A psalmist praises God for the Davidic covenant (Psalm 89:19, 37) but expresses national loss (v.38f). A prophet speaks death for the house of Jeroboam and for the Northern Kingdom. Note 2 Chronicles 11:13–14: Jeroboam’s accession and his setting up of an idolatrous system in the Northern Kingdom caused many priests, Levites and faithful worshippers in the north to emigrate to Judah so that now all the tribes of Israel are well represented in the Southern Kingdom (2 Chronicles 15:9).