II Chronicles 11:16
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Those from every tribe of Israel who had set their hearts to seek the LORD their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Such as set their hearts to seek the Lord - All the truly pious joined him out of every tribe, and the whole tribe of Levi, being deprived of their functions, joined him also. Thus he had Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and probably a part of Simeon; for he had Etam, which was in that tribe, and the truly religious out of all the other tribes, for they could not bear Jeroboam's idolatry.
Open source ↗REHOBOAM, RAISING AN ARMY TO SUBDUE ISRAEL, IS FORBIDDEN BY SHEMAIAH. (2Ch. 11:1-17) Rehoboam . . . gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin . . . to fight against Israel--(See Kg1 12:21-24).
Open source ↗And Rehoboam took him Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife,.... Of which son of David we nowhere else read; perhaps he might be the son of one of his concubines, or he might have two names: and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; who was David's eldest brother. Sa1 17:13. She must be a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of his.
Open source ↗Rehoboam's defection from the Lord, and his humiliation by the Egyptian king Shishak. - Ch2 12:1. The infinitive כּהכין, "at the time of the establishing," with an indefinite subject, may be expressed in English by the passive: when Rehoboam's royal power was established. The words refer back to Ch2 11:17. כּחזקתו, "when he had become strong" (חזקה is a nomen verbale: the becoming strong; cf. Ch2 26:16; Ch2 11:2), he forsook the Lord, and all Israel with him. The inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah are here called Israel, to hint at the contrast between the actual conduct of the people in their defection from the Lord, and the destiny of Israel, the people of God. The forsaking of the law of Jahve is in substance the fall into idolatry, as we find it stated more definitely in Kg1 14:22.
Open source ↗We are here going on with the history of Rehoboam. I. His attempt to recover the ten tribes he has lost, and the letting fall of that attempt in obedience to the divine command (Ch2 11:1-4). II. His successful endeavours to preserve the two tribes that remained (Ch2 11:5-12). III. The resort of the priests and Levites to him (Ch2 11:13-17). IV. An account of his wives and children (Ch2 11:18-23).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, along with those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,
As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the LORD God, as well as the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.