How does Rehoboam's behavior compare to biblical teachings on marriage and family? Rehoboam’s Family Snapshot • “Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.” (2 Chronicles 11:21) • Scripture accurately reports—not endorses—his choice to build an enormous household, marked by polygamy and obvious favoritism. God’s Original Blueprint for Marriage • Genesis 2:24 sets the pattern: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” • Jesus reaffirms that one-man/one-woman design: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:6) • From the start, marriage is portrayed as exclusive, intimate, and lifelong. Clear Warnings against Many Wives • Deuteronomy 17:17 gives direct counsel to Israel’s future kings: “He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.” • Rehoboam, like Solomon before him, disregards this command, multiplying both wives and concubines. • Later New-Testament standards echo the same principle—elders are to be “the husband of but one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2)—demonstrating that God’s ideal never shifted. Consequences of Rehoboam’s Choices Relational fallout • Favoritism toward Maacah mirrors Jacob’s partiality (Genesis 29–30), a pattern that fostered jealousy and rivalry. • Eighteen wives and sixty concubines made genuine “one-flesh” intimacy impossible, undermining God’s intent for marital oneness. Spiritual fallout • Polygamy often ushered in idolatry (cf. Solomon, 1 Kings 11:3–4). Though Chronicles is brief here, 1 Kings 14:22–24 records Judah slipping into grievous sins during Rehoboam’s reign. Leadership fallout • So many sons created succession tension. Rehoboam “appointed Abijah … to be chief” (2 Chronicles 11:22), but the sheer number of potential claimants seeded future instability. What We Learn Today • Scripture plainly records human failures so we can avoid repeating them (1 Corinthians 10:11). • God’s model—one man, one woman, lifelong covenant love—remains the standard. • Faithful leadership in home and church demands fidelity to that pattern (Ephesians 5:25–33; 1 Timothy 3:2). • Even when leaders stray, God’s purposes move forward; Rehoboam still carries the royal line that leads to Christ (Matthew 1:7). • Choosing God’s design from the outset spares families the heartache, division, and spiritual drift that shadowed Rehoboam’s house. |
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