10:15 Whilst there is no record of the prophecy of Ahijah in the Chronicles account it can be found in 1 Kings 11:29-30. Further we know that Ahijah wrote down his words which he spoke to Jeroboam 1 Kings 12:15 even though the record is no longer available to us.

11:1-4 So Rehoboam's kingdom was a poor reflection of that which his father handed down to him. However it was 'of the LORD so the decision to attack Israel had to be abandoned. Thus the sorry state of the kingdom of Judah was confirmed. Rehoboam must have returned to Jerusalem with an heavy heart.

ch.10 - And so we pass on to the next king - but we have been told very little, really, about the reign of Solomon. The focus has been upon the building of the temple.

11:18 And so it seems that Rehoboam sought to reinforce his position on the throne of David by marrying into David's family.

10:4 So whilst the kingdom was described as a time of peace (1 Kings 4:25) and the queen of Sheba was impressed by how things went in the kingdom (1 Chronicles 9:6) by the end of his reign Solomon had really spoiled things. The wonderful heritage that David had left him was spoilt and so God's glory, whilst still in the temple, was not seen in the way that Solomon reigned in the latter part of his reign.

11:13 So Jeroboam was really into false worship. This doubtless explains whey the Levites migrated to Judah (11:14)

10:1 David and Solomon had been crowned in Jerusalem so why does Rehoboam go to Shechem to be crowned? Maybe he was aware of the beginnings of the division between the north and the south and so went to Shechem in the north in order to try to retain the whole of the nation - after all it was the place where Joshua had called the people before sending them into their inheritance (Josh 24:1)

11:23 In telling us that Rehoboam 'desired many wives' we realise that he violated the warning of Deut 17:17.

The use of the word "devils" in 2Chron 11:15 is most unusual. It's normally translated as goats or kids. So I presume it means that Jeroboam made idols in the shape of goats and calves, as in fact the NIV says. There are only 4 uses of the word "devils" in the Old Testament, and they all refer to idols.

10:1  The focus of Solomon’s reign is it’s majesty and glory and Solomon’s wisdom. A wonderful foretaste of the kingdom of God – but it was not the fulfilment of all that God had promised to David, it was but a shadow. SO we move swiftly on to the break up of that kingdom. The way that the record moves on so quickly marks that point.

11:16  There was a steady trickle of Godly people moving from the north to the south. First the faithful priests left to go to Judah and that was followed by the people. There is evidence, therefore, that not all in the northern kingdom of Israel were party to the idolatrous worship of Jeroboam.

11:8 Gath means winepress.  There were many cities throughout the land that were called Gath. To distinguish one from another, they had names attached, such as Gath-Rimmon or Gath-Hepher.  We do not know the precise Gath described here, but we do know that it refers to a city in Judah and not the celebrated Philistine city of the same name.

10:6-8 When we see that Rehoboam took counsel with the old men and then the young men we might be tempted to think that he should have listened to the old men. In fact he should not have been asking either group. He should have been asking God what he should do.

10:19 The rebellion against ‘the house of David’ was not simply a rejection of the line of David. It is a rejection of God for He had chosen David

10:11 scorpions in the KJV, does not mean the desert creatures with stings in their tails. Here, scorpions refer to whips which have knots in them. These inflict more hurt and damage than ordinary whips without knots.

The Romans used whips with fragments of metal or bone tied into their strands. These would cut open the flesh and inflict great pain. This was the kind of whip that scourged the Lord Jesus (Matt 27:26).

11:14 The reason that Jeroboam kicked out the Levites is that he did not want the people of Israel to join with Judah. He feared the Levites would influence the people to do this (1Kin 12:26).

10:1 So after what seems – in the record – to be a very short time – the glory of the kingdom is beginning to wane. Such is the way of man. Left to his own devices he will destroy the wonderful things that God has instituted.

ch10:16,17 First Principles>Kingdom of God>Was overturned>History of fulfilment
3. During the reign of Rehoboam, the kingdom was divided into a Southern, two tribe kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem 2Chron 12:13 and a Northern ten tribe kingdom with its capital in Samaria 1Kin 12:15.
Rehoboam remained king of Judah 1Kin 12:16,18, 2Chron 10:16,17. Jeroboam became king of Israel 1Kin 12:20.
Go to Deut 28:49 to see more details of the history of Israel and its overturning.

10:19 The account of Solomon’s kingdom has only occupied 10 chapters in the second book of Chronicles – though it lasted 40 years. Maybe an indication that wonderful as it was it did not last and therefore required little comment from God.

2Chron 10:5,12,14 - a return in three days resulting in bad news not good and making the yoke heavy emphasizes how Rehoboam was almost an opposite of Christ.

2Chron 10:16;1Tim 2:5;Rom 8:34;Heb 7:24-25 - King Rehoboam refused to listen to his subjects and they failed to see what share they had in David while, in contrast, Christ is the mediator between God and man and interceeds for his followers. 

2Chron 11:16-17 - for three years the priests and levites followed the ways of David and Solomon and supported Rehoboam - this contrasts with how the religious leaders were against Christ for three years.

2Chron 11:21;1Kin 15:13 - Rehoboam's favorite bride "Maacah" [(4601) means "she has bruised" and perhaps reminds us of the wound in Gen 3:15] turned to idolatry as opposed to the favorite bride of Christ who faithfully turns to God and His Son. 

The thing that struck me from these chapters in Ezekiel was the holiness of God and our duty to be holy to him.

Sometimes we think that the rigidity of life under the Law of Moses has been done away with under Christ. But Christ said that he had not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it. During his life Jesus did not break the law, in fact, the only way he was cursed by the law was by being hung on a tree at his crucifixion. The way Jesus fulfilled the law was by looking beyond it – not outside it – but to its roots and the things that the law stood for. He fulfilled it by practising love, mercy justice and all the qualities the law encompassed instead of focussing on all the actions and technicalities of the law.

So while we are not bound by the technicalities of the law, we are still bound by its principles and by our God who underwrites it. He is still holy. He is still the same God as he was then and the same God as he will be when these chapters come to pass. He is a holy God and we must treat him as holy and live holy and godly lives before him.

45:25 The "fifteenth day of the seventh month" marks the beginning of the feast of tabernacles (Lev 22:33) marking another feast that will be observed in the kingdom - but we have passed the time of the day of atonement so does this indicate that there will not be a day of atonement in the kingdom calendar?

 Just as the Levites camped around the tabernacle in the wilderness, so in the Kingdom reign of Christ the Levites are to live around the sanctuary and the most holy place, Eze 45:4,5. 

45:4  Here we see a departure from how it was in the past. Whereas in the past the priests had cities scattered throughout the land as detailed in Josh 21 and there was no provision for them around the tabernacle in the kingdom age the priests will have specific territory close by the temple for their house. This is not to say that they will not be throughout the land as well. Just to make the point that the provision of land round the sanctuary is a new thing.

45:18 Here and throughout the remainder of this chapter there is mention of feasts that were kept under the Law of Moses. This indicates that there is to be a reinstitution of at least something like the law of Moses, if not the Law of Moses in all its details. This will be for the mortal population living in the millennium reign of Jesus.

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45:9 The warning to ‘remove violence’ seems not to have been heeded by the returning Jews for in the days of Nehemiah they had to be reproved for taking usury of their brethren – Neh 5:10 Now that was not physical violence but it violated the laws of God. We should remember that we can harm our brethren without actually touching them. We do this by not implementing the principles of the gospel in our dealings with them.

45:10 The ‘just balances’ contrasts Israel’s behaviour in the days of the kings when they falsified their trading – Amos 8:5– but such behaviour reflected a totally wrong attitude. In defrauding their customers they were actually robbing God. We can do likewise through saying one thing sand doing another.

V.22 As fellow townsmen of Bethsaida (John 1:44), these two men seem to have been drawn to each other.

V.13 The people took palm branches when meeting Jesus.  Palm trees are a symbol of righteousness, which were displayed in Solomon's temple and will be displayed in the new temple in the Kingdom (1Kin 6:29; Psa 92:12; Eze 41:25,26).

V. 32 draws on the bronze serpent in the wilderness which represented Christ as the healer of humanity (bronze) in overcoming sin and death (the snake) (Num 21:8,9; John 3:14,15).

Vs.42.43 It is not good enough just to admit that Jesus is the Christ.  A commitment to follow and obey at the expense of worldly things is necessary for salvation.  Some Pharisees were not willing to do this.  We ought to remind ourselves of our commitment (Matt 6:24;10:32,33;John 15:14).

12:31  In speaking of being ;lifted up’ Jesus is making reference to John 3:14 and , 8:28

Vs. 44,45 Jesus showed the Father because He was the image (representation) of God (Col 1:15).  Belief in Jesus meant belief in the Father also.  Clearly, this indicates a belief in two separate persons, not the confused Trinitarian notion of two parts of a tripartite God.

12:20 The fact that ‘certain Greeks wanted to speak with Jesus must have been a comfort to him. He had just cast out the money changers and had for all of his ministry suffered persecution and rejection from the leaders. But now he sees evidence that his teaching was having an effect even further than the borders of the land of Israel. There are a number of events in the last week of the mortal life of Jesus which must have comforted him. Were they part of God’s care for His son? Did He engineer these comforts to help His son through the ordeal which ended in his death?

12:26 ‘If any man serve me him will my father honour’ catches the sentiments of Prov 27:18 Prov 27:18 where Hezekiah who copied out this section of the Proverbs – Prov 25:1 - is teaching those who would be kings how they should behave.

12:7 Jesus’ comment ‘the poor always ye have with you’ is not a heartless comment but a reminder of what God had already taught Israel – Deut 15:11. The point that the law taught Israel was that no matter how much they gave they would not solve the problem of poverty. The giving was for the benefit of the giver. The giver would learn about God’s generosity through his giving.

12:16 ‘these things understood not ...’ is an inspired comment added by John. Right through his gospel John provides explanations as to the details he writes – he expounds his own gospel as he writes it. If we wish to understand his gospel we do well to take note of his own explanations and comments embedded in it.