Conclusion of The Kingdom Is Divided

When Solomon hears what A-hi'jah told Jer-o-bo'am, he becomes angry. He tries to kill Jer-o-bo'am.  But Jer-o-bo'am runs away to Egypt.  After a while Solomon dies. He was king for 40 years, but now his son Re-ho-bo'am and some other important men go to King Re-ho-bo'am and ask him to be nicer to the people.  But Re-ho-o'am does not listen. In fact, he becomes even meaner than before. So the people make Jer-o-bo'am king over 10 tribes, but the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah keep Re-ho-bo'am  as their king. 

Jer-o-bo'am does not want his people to go to Jerusalem to worship and Jehovah's temple. So he makes two golden calves and gets the people of the 1o-tribe kingdom to worship them. Soon the land becomes filled with crime and violence.

There is also trouble in the two-tribe kingdom. Less than five years after Re-ho-bo'ham become king, the king of Egypt comes to fight against Jerusalem. He takes away many treasures from Jehovah's temple. so it is only for  a short time that the temple remains as when it was built.

1 Kings 11:26-43; 12:1-33l 14:21-31. 

Next time: Jezebel - A Wicked Queen

From the jw.org publications