Rehoboam Forsakes Righteousness

During the reign of Rehoboam, Judah did evil. The primary motive in the records in Kings seems to be to disclose the part each individual played in the religious history of the kingdom. In the cases of certain kings the information is that it was the ruler who did evil (2 Kings 17:2 21:2, 20 23:32, 37 24:9, 19), but in the case of Rehoboam the record states that "Judah did evil." The apostasy in Judah was evidently the harvest of the deadly seed sown by the evil example of Solomon, under whose idolatry the young men of the nation had grown up. Rehoboam was weak and vacillating, and did not take the initiative in restraining the people when they did wrong.

There were repeated commands to destroy the pillars erected by the Canaanites, as well as to cut down and burn their groves (Ex. 23:24 34:13 Deut. 7:5 12:3 see on Deut. 16:22). The pillars erected by Jacob (Gen. 28:18 31:13 35:14) were not objects of worship (see on Gen. 28:18). There were also male temple prostitutes. They carried on their abominable trade under a religious sanction. It was for the practice of such abominations as these that the ancient inhabitants of the land were to be cast out, and now the people of Judah were rivaling them in wickedness (see 1 Kings 15:12 2 Kings 23:7).