Having finished with the northern kingdom of Israel, the origin story of Jesus now takes us back to the kings of Judah. Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and the grandson of King David. He was the crown prince for his first 41 years, spoiled by his father's riches and opulent lifestyle.

Rehoboam was certainly aware of the massive harem his father had amassed and it is obvious that he too lusted after women. A single woman was not enough to satisfy Rehoboam; he married 18 women with 60 additional concubines.

This netted him 28 sons and 60 daughters from these different women. As they grew up, he put them in charge of city governments throughout Judah to ensure that the family maintained a firm grip on the southern kingdom. As far as Rehoboam was concerned, the nation of Judah was a personal fiefdom, and he cared more about staying rich, than the welfare of the people.

Five years into his reign, Rehoboam felt that he had solidified his grip and he began to backslide and got involved with idol worship. He had inherited a homosexual problem, but instead of dealing with it, he made sure that all the sexual deviants and pagan worshipers had groves for their altars. 

Rehoboam did not understand that homosexuality is a learned behavior from evil spirits that never die. When Jesus destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the inhabitants died, but the evil spirits simply moved on to another location.  

The distance from Sodom to Jerusalem was only 40 miles. This abnormal type of sexual behavior brought judgment from God and Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt conquered most of the cities in Judah, pausing his military campaign outside the thick walls of Jerusalem.

Rehoboam and his cronies quickly realized that repentance was their only hope, and while Jesus spared the king’s life, He did allow the king of Egypt to loot the temple and turn Rehoboam into a vassal king.

There was perpetual war between Israel and Judah during Rehoboam’s life and he would go down in biblical history as a king that led his people astray.

Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell