Israel's Revolt

101 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. 2 Jeroboam was then in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon's death, he came back. 3 Summoned by Israel, Jeroboam and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said, 4 "Your father made life hard for us - worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we'll willingly serve you." 5 "Give me," said Rehoboam, "three days to think it over; then come back." So the people left. 6 King Rehoboam talked it over with the elders who had advised his father when he was alive: "What's your counsel? How do you suggest that I answer the people?" 7 They said, "If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they'll end up doing anything for you." 8 But he rejected the counsel of the elders and asked the young men he'd grown up with who were now currying his favor, 9 "What do you think? What should I say to these people who are saying, 'Give us a break from your father's harsh ways - lighten up on us'?" 10 The young turks he'd grown up with said, "These people who complain, 'Your father was too hard on us; lighten up' - well, tell them this: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. 11 If you think life under my father was hard, you haven't seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I'll beat you bloody with chains!'"

12 Three days later Jeroboam and the people showed up, just as Rehoboam had directed when he said, "Give me three days to think it over; then come back." 13 The king's answer was harsh and rude. He spurned the counsel of the elders 14 and went with the advice of the younger set: "If you think life under my father was hard, you haven't seen the half of it: my father thrashed you with whips; I'll beat you bloody with chains!" 15 Rehoboam turned a deaf ear to the people. God was behind all this, confirming the message that he had given to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah of Shiloh. 16 When all Israel realized that the king hadn't listened to a word they'd said, they stood up to him and said, Get lost, David! We've had it with you, son of Jesse! Let's get out of here, Israel, and fast! From now on, David, mind your own business. 17 Rehoboam continued to rule only those who lived in the towns of Judah. 18 When King Rehoboam next sent out Adoniram, head of the workforce, the Israelites ganged up on him, pelted him with stones, and killed him. King Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem as fast as he could. 19 Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty ever since.

111 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem he called up the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom. 2 At the same time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a holy man, 3 "Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, along with all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 4 This is God's word: Don't march out; don't fight against your brothers the Israelites. Go back home, every last one of you; I'm in charge here." And they did it; they did what God said and went home.

The Prosperity of Rehoboam

5 Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem but built up a defense system for Judah all around: 6 in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron - a line of defense protecting Judah and Benjamin. 11 He beefed up the fortifications, appointed commanders, and put in supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. 12 He installed arms - large shields and spears - in all the forts, making them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were secure for the time.

13 The priests and Levites from all over Israel came and made themselves available to Rehoboam. 14 The Levites left their pastures and properties and moved to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had dismissed them from the priesthood of God 15 and replaced them with his own priests to preside over the worship centers at which he had installed goat and calf demon-idols. 16 Everyone from all the tribes of Israel who determined to seek the God of Israel migrated with the priests and Levites to Jerusalem to worship there, sacrificing to the God of their ancestors. 17 That gave a tremendous boost to the kingdom of Judah. They stuck with Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, loyal to the ways of David and Solomon for this period. 18 Rehoboam married Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth, David's son, and Abihail daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son. 19 Mahalath bore him Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then he married Maacah, Absalom's daughter, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Maacah was Rehoboam's favorite wife; he loved her more than all his other wives and concubines put together (and he had a lot - eighteen wives and sixty concubines who produced twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters!). 22 Rehoboam designated Abijah son of Maacah as the "first son" and leader of the brothers - he intended to make him the next king. 23 He was shrewd in deploying his sons in all the fortress cities that made up his defense system in Judah and Benjamin; he kept them happy with much food and many wives.

Shishak's Invasion of Judah

121 By the time Rehoboam had secured his kingdom and was strong again, he, and all Israel with him, had virtually abandoned God and his ways. 2 In Rehoboam's fifth year, because he and the people were unfaithful to God, Shishak king of Egypt invaded as far as Jerusalem. 3 He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 cavalry, and soldiers from all over - the Egyptian army included Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. 4 They took the fortress cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem itself. 5 Then the prophet Shemaiah, accompanied by the leaders of Judah who had retreated to Jerusalem before Shishak, came to Rehoboam and said, "God's word: You abandoned me; now I abandon you to Shishak." 6 The leaders of Israel and the king were repentant and said, "God is right." 7 When God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah: "Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them - I'll give them a break; I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem. 8 What I will do, though, is make them Shishak's subjects - they'll learn the difference between serving me and serving human kings." 9 Then Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He plundered the treasury of The Temple of God and the treasury of the royal palace - he took everything he could lay his hands on. He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze shields and gave them to the guards who were posted at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to God's Temple, the guards went with him carrying the shields, but they always returned them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehoboam was repentant, God's anger was blunted, so he wasn't totally destroyed. The picture wasn't entirely bleak - there were some good things going on in Judah.

13 King Rehoboam regrouped and reestablished his rule in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king and continued as king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God chose out of all the tribes of Israel as the special presence of his Name. His mother was Naamah from Ammon. 14 But the final verdict on Rehoboam was that he was a bad king - God was not important to him; his heart neither cared for nor sought after God. 15 The history of Rehoboam, from start to finish, is written in the memoirs of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer that contain the family trees. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time. 16 Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Abijah ruled after him.

30 Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. 32 Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, "Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

33 When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. 34 He said, "Where did you put him?" 35 Now Jesus wept. 36 The Jews said, "Look how deeply he loved him." 37 Others among them said, "Well, if he loved him so much, why didn't he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man."

Lazarus Brought to Life

38 Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. 39 Jesus said, "Remove the stone." The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead four days!" 40 Jesus looked her in the eye. "Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 Then, to the others, "Go ahead, take away the stone." 42 I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I've spoken so that they might believe that you sent me." 43 Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him loose."

The Plot against Jesus

45 That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him. 46 But some went back to the Pharisees and told on Jesus. 47 The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. "What do we do now?" they asked. "This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs. 48 If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have." 49 Then one of them - it was Caiaphas, the designated Chief Priest that year - spoke up, "Don't you know anything? 50 Can't you see that it's to our advantage that one man dies for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?" 51 He didn't say this of his own accord, but as Chief Priest that year he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die sacrificially for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation but so that all God's exile-scattered children might be gathered together into one people. 53 From that day on, they plotted to kill him. 54 So Jesus no longer went out in public among the Jews. He withdrew into the country bordering the desert to a town called Ephraim and secluded himself there with his disciples. 55 The Jewish Passover was coming up. Crowds of people were making their way from the country up to Jerusalem to get themselves ready for the Feast. 56 They were curious about Jesus. There was a lot of talk of him among those standing around in the Temple: "What do you think? Do you think he'll show up at the Feast or not?" 57 Meanwhile, the high priests and Pharisees gave out the word that anyone getting wind of him should inform them. They were all set to arrest him.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 11:30-57

Commentary on John 11:17-32

(Read John 11:17-32)

Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage to her, when it put her at Christ's feet to hear his word; but in the day of affliction, the same temper disposed her to melancholy. It is our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and to make use of the advantages of our natural tempers. When we know not what in particular to ask or expect, let us refer ourselves to God; let him do as seemeth him good. To enlarge Martha's expectations, our Lord declared himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. In every sense he is the Resurrection; the source, the substance, the first-fruits, the cause of it. The redeemed soul lives after death in happiness; and after the resurrection, both body and soul are kept from all evil for ever. When we have read or heard the word of Christ, about the great things of the other world, we should put it to ourselves, Do we believe this truth? The crosses and comforts of this present time would not make such a deep impression upon us as they do, if we believed the things of eternity as we ought. When Christ our Master comes, he calls for us. He comes in his word and ordinances, and calls us to them, calls us by them, calls us to himself. Those who, in a day of peace, set themselves at Christ's feet to be taught by him, may with comfort, in a day of trouble, cast themselves at his feet, to find favour with him.

Commentary on John 11:33-46

(Read John 11:33-46)

Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of Christ. But Christ never approved that sensibility of which many are proud, while they weep at mere tales of distress, but are hardened to real woe. He sets us an example to withdraw from scenes of giddy mirth, that we may comfort the afflicted. And we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. It is a good step toward raising a soul to spiritual life, when the stone is taken away, when prejudices are removed, and got over, and way is made for the word to enter the heart. If we take Christ's word, and rely on his power and faithfulness, we shall see the glory of God, and be happy in the sight. Our Lord Jesus has taught us, by his own example, to call God Father, in prayer, and to draw nigh to him as children to a father, with humble reverence, yet with holy boldness. He openly made this address to God, with uplifted eyes and loud voice, that they might be convinced the Father had sent him as his beloved Son into the world. He could have raised Lazarus by the silent exertion of his power and will, and the unseen working of the Spirit of life; but he did it by a loud call. This was a figure of the gospel call, by which dead souls are brought out of the grave of sin: and of the sound of the archangel's trumpet at the last day, with which all that sleep in the dust shall be awakened, and summoned before the great tribunal. The grave of sin and this world, is no place for those whom Christ has quickened; they must come forth. Lazarus was thoroughly revived, and returned not only to life, but to health. The sinner cannot quicken his own soul, but he is to use the means of grace; the believer cannot sanctify himself, but he is to lay aside every weight and hinderance. We cannot convert our relatives and friends, but we should instruct, warn, and invite them.

Commentary on John 11:47-53

(Read John 11:47-53)

There can hardly be a more clear discovery of the madness that is in man's heart, and of its desperate enmity against God, than what is here recorded. Words of prophecy in the mouth, are not clear evidence of a principle of grace in the heart. The calamity we seek to escape by sin, we take the most effectual course to bring upon our own heads; as those do who think by opposing Christ's kingdom, to advance their own worldly interest. The fear of the wicked shall come upon them. The conversion of souls is the gathering of them to Christ as their ruler and refuge; and he died to effect this. By dying he purchased them to himself, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for them: his love in dying for believers should unite them closely together.

Commentary on John 11:54-57

(Read John 11:54-57)

Before our gospel passover we must renew our repentance. Thus by a voluntary purification, and by religious exercises, many, more devout than their neighbours, spent some time before the passover at Jerusalem. When we expect to meet God, we must solemnly prepare. No devices of man can alter the purposes of God: and while hypocrites amuse themselves with forms and disputes, and worldly men pursue their own plans, Jesus still orders all things for his own glory and the salvation of his people.