And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
The verse records the end of Rehoboam's reign, with his death and burial in the city of David and the succession of his son Abijah as king in his place. He had reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem. His reign lasted only a few inglorious years. He did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. After the calamity brought by Egypt, he returned to sin.
By the time of his death, the kingdom had already been divided early in his rule. That division began a loss of Israel's former glory that was never fully reversed, for although later rulers and prophets sometimes brought renewed faithfulness and blessing, the evil established in Rehoboam's time was never completely uprooted. The verse stands within God's merciful dealings with the divided kingdom, by which He sought to save it from ruin and afterward guided it through captivity and restoration.
The verse records the end of Rehoboam's reign, with his death and burial in the city of David and the succession of his son Abijah as king in his place. He had reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem. His reign lasted only a few inglorious years. He did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. After the calamity brought by Egypt, he returned to sin.
By the time of his death, the kingdom had already been divided early in his rule. That division began a loss of Israel's former glory that was never fully reversed, for although later rulers and prophets sometimes brought renewed faithfulness and blessing, the evil established in Rehoboam's time was never completely uprooted. The verse stands within God's merciful dealings with the divided kingdom, by which He sought to save it from ruin and afterward guided it through captivity and restoration.