The Divided Kingdom

However, they will become his slaves, so that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving me and serving earthly kingdoms."

So Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim. He took the treasures in the house of ADONAI and the treasures in the royal palace - he took everything, including the gold shields Shlomo had made.

To replace them, King Rechav'am made shields of bronze, which he entrusted to the commanders of the contingent guarding the gate to the royal palace.

Whenever the king went to the house of ADONAI, the guard would come and get the shields; later they would return them to the guardroom.

After he humbled himself, the anger of ADONAI turned away from him, so that he did not altogether destroy him; moreover, some good things were found in Y'hudah.

So King Rechav'am consolidated his rule in Yerushalayim. Rechav'am was forty-one years old when he began his reign; and he ruled seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city ADONAI had chosen from all the tribes of Isra'el to bear his name; his mother's name was Na'amah the 'Amonit.

He did what was evil, because he had not set his heart on seeking ADONAI.

The activities of Rechav'am from beginning to end are written in the genealogically organized histories of Sh'ma'yah the prophet and 'Iddo the seer. But there were continual wars between Rechav'am and Yarov'am.

Rechav'am slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Then Aviyah his son became king in his place.

It was in the eighteenth year of King Yarov'am that Aviyah began his reign over Y'hudah.

He ruled three years in Yerushalayim; his mother's name was Mikhayahu the daughter of Uri'el from Giv'ah. There was war between Aviyah and Yarov'am.

Aviyah joined the battle with an army of valiant soldiers, 400,000 select troops; while Yarov'am took the field against him with 800,000 select troops who were valiant, strong men.

Aviyah, standing on Mount Z'marayim, in the hills of Efrayim, cried, "Yarov'am and all Isra'el! Listen to me!

Don't you know that ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, gave rulership over Isra'el to David forever, to him and his descendants, by a covenant of salt [which is unbreakable]?

Yet Yarov'am the son of N'vat, servant to Shlomo the son of David, rose in rebellion against his lord.

There rallied around him worthless brutes who were too strong for Rechav'am the son of Shlomo to withstand when he was young and inexperienced.

Now you expect to withstand the kingdom of ADONAI in the hands of the descendants of David. Yes, there are a great number of you, and you have with you the gold calves that Yarov'am made as gods for you.

Yes, you drove out the cohanim of ADONAI, the descendants of Aharon, and the L'vi'im; and you made yourselves priests as do the peoples in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of those non-gods.

"But we are different. ADONAI is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have cohanim performing the service for ADONAI, descendants of Aharon. With the L'vi'im doing their work,

they burn to ADONAI every morning and evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of ADONAI our God. But you have abandoned him.

"So look here! God is with us, leading us and his cohanim with the battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. People of Isra'el! Don't fight against ADONAI, the God of your ancestors; because you will not succeed."

But Yarov'am prepared to ambush them from behind, so that the main body was ahead of Y'hudah, while the ambush was behind them.

Thus when Y'hudah looked back, the battle had to be fought in front of them and behind them. They cried to ADONAI, and the cohanim sounded the trumpets.

Then the men of Y'hudah gave forth a shout, and as the men of Y'hudah shouted, God struck Yarov'am and all Isra'el before Aviyah and Y'hudah.

The people of Isra'el fled before Y'hudah, and God handed them over to them.