12. Rehoboam had told the people, “Come back to me in three days.” So after three days all the people returned to Rehoboam.
13. At that time King Rehoboam spoke cruel words to them. He did not listen to the advice that the elders had given him.
14. He did what the young men had told him to do. Rehoboam said, “My father forced you to work hard. So I will give you even more work. My father beat you with whips. But I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.”
15. So the king did not do what the people wanted. The Lord caused this to happen. He did this to keep the promise he had made to Jeroboam son of Nebat. He had made this promise through Ahijah, the prophet from Shiloh.
16. All the people of Israel saw that the new king refused to listen to them. So they said to the king,“We have no share in David!We have no part in the son of Jesse!People of Israel, let’s go to our own homes!Let David’s son rule his own people!”So the Israelites went home.
17. But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.
18. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. King Rehoboam sent him to the people. But they threw stones at him until he died. But King Rehoboam ran to his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.
19. Since then, Israel has been against the family of David.
20. All the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned. So they called him to a meeting. And they made him king over all Israel. But the tribe of Judah continued to follow the family of David.
21. When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This was an army of 180,000 men. Rehoboam wanted to fight against the people of Israel. He wanted to take back his kingdom.
22. But God spoke his word to Shemaiah, a man of God. The Lord said,
23. “Talk to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Talk also to all the people of Judah and Benjamin and to the rest of the people.
24. Say to them, ‘The Lord says you must not go to war against your brothers, the Israelites. Every one of you should go home. I made all these things happen!’” So the men in Rehoboam’s army obeyed the Lord’s command. They all went home as the Lord had commanded.
25. Then Jeroboam made Shechem a very strong city. It is in the mountains of Ephraim. And Jeroboam lived there. He also went to the city of Peniel and made it stronger.