Tyndale Open Study Notes2 Chronicles 10

• Shechem was in the center of the northern tribes' land. Rehoboam went there for confirmation, showing either weak national unity or the northern tribes' strength and influence.

• Rehoboam ruled from 931 to 913 BC.

Jeroboam...had fled from King Solomon: See 1 Kings 11:26–40. Jeroboam returned from Egypt when he heard about Solomon's death.

Rehoboam lacked the power to enforce taxes on the northern tribes, so they asked for concessions to stay under his rule.

The older men of Israel were different from officials, nobles, and guardians (Judges 8:14; 1 Kings 21:8; 2 Kings 10:5) who held government positions. These elders traditionally had significant influence on royal decisions. When Ben-hadad, king of Aram, attacked Samaria, the elders of Samaria firmly rejected his harsh surrender terms (1 Kings 20:7–9). Earlier, during Absalom's revolt against David, the elders of Israel played a key role in important decisions (2 Samuel 17:4, 15; 19:11).

Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign (2 Chronicles 12:13), so the young men who grew up with him were not beginners. They might have been royal princes, sons of Solomon’s other wives. It was natural for them to have a role in Rehoboam’s government, as shown by his promotion of his son Abijah (2 Chronicles 11:22). Calling these princes "young" might have been a comment on the value of their advice, because people did not consider the young to be wise (see Job 12:12).

The younger counselors' words matched Rehoboam's attitude. They lacked the elders' experience but shared Rehoboam's preferences. They used metaphors and rhetoric suited for a royal court.

The people replied with words opposite to a poetic saying the Chronicler used earlier (1 Chronicles 12:18). There, the people from the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah (1 Chronicles 12:16) showed increasing support for David.

Rehoboam went to Shechem to become king but barely escaped with his life. He showed poor judgment by sending a civilian official, not a military leader, to enforce mandatory military service.