Although Rehoboam was capable and wise, and although his kingdom was on the proper ground of oneness and he was fundamental in keeping the teachings of Moses according to God’s revelation, Rehoboam did not labor for God’s interest on the earth to build up the kingdom of God. Instead, he worked for his own interest, transmuting the kingdom of God into a monarchy not only for himself but also for his descendants (vv. 22-23). For this he lost the greater part of his kingdom. The kingdom of his father Solomon was glorious and splendid, but not long after Rehoboam began to reign, he lost nearly the entire kingdom (2 Chron. 10:1-19; 11:1-4). This loss was due to his failure to labor for God’s interest. Cf. note 1 Sam. 31:6¹.

In living a life of the indulgence of lust, Rehoboam was surely influenced by his father (1 Kings 11:1-3).

Or, goat demons.

Rehoboam’s taking the proper ground and keeping the fundamental faith attracted the priests and the Levites and the seekers of God from all the tribes of Israel, and they went to Jerusalem to join Rehoboam, thus strengthening the kingdom of Judah and supporting Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years (vv. 13-17; cf. 2 Chron. 12:1).

Second Chronicles 2 Chron. 11:5-23; 13:1-21; 14:6-23; 15:1-15; 17:1-19; 19:1-11; 20:1-30; 21:12-18; 24:14-24; 25:5-16; 26:6-21; 28:8-15; 29:3—32:8; and 2 Chron. 33:11-17; 34:3-7 are a supplement to the history of twelve of the kings of Judah, giving details not found elsewhere concerning God’s dealing with them and also telling us the reasons God dealt with them in the way that He did. In this supplement none of the kings of Israel is included because all those kings forsook both the proper ground, the ground of Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-33), and the fundamental faith given by God through Moses. Thus, God forsook them because of their apostasy. Unlike the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah remained on the ground of the unity of God’s chosen people and kept the oneness according to the fundamental teaching of Moses (2 Chron. 13:4-11). See note Matt. 1:7^1a, par. 2.