2 Chronicles 8-11

King Rehoboam rallied what remained of Solomon's army; the rebellion must be stopped. He ignored his arrogant answer to the people. He assumed that they would follow him because he was God's chosen king, just like Solomon. Rehoboam mounted his horse to lead the battle charge and saw a single man in front of him; the prophet Shemaiah. With hope in his heart he might have thought that God had given the prophet a message of blessing for the battle that would soon begin. But Shemaiah's words were just the opposite from what the foolish king had expected. "Go home!" Shemaiah said to the army, God's will was completed in the division of Israel. The king must have swallowed hard. This was quite a bitter pill to swallow. His dreams of following in his father's steps were dashed to the ground. There would be no joy in Rehoboam's reign. I wonder if this moment created a bitterness in the king that soured him on serving God faithfully like David did?
Stuart