v1-4: Jeroboam sent his wife to see Ahijah, the prophet who had first promised him that he would become king. But Ahijah had also told Jeroboam that he should obey God, and he had failed to do this. Jeroboam therefore wanted to receive words of comfort from Ahijah, and hence the scheme to send his wife disguised.

It is interesting that Jeroboam did not consult the golden calves, whose worship he had promoted. He still wanted to hear what God had to say.

v5-9: It was naïve of Jeroboam to think that the prophet would be fooled. Ahijah denounced Jeroboam's disobedience, "You have done more evil than all who were before you". Jeroboam was compared unfavourably with David. This was the standard against which all the kings were measured.

v10-14: Judgment would fall upon the house of Jeroboam; the house would be destroyed, with all males dying. And the judgment would start soon, as Jeroboam's son would die.

v15: Israel too would be punished; see 2 Kings 17.5-23. What Jeroboam had started, in turning the nation away from the true God, would continue almost uninterrupted until the captivity.

v16: Jeroboam was guilty of sin, and of making Israel sin. His influence also lasted through to the end; 2 Kings 17.21-22. It seems strange that Jeroboam's wife showed no remorse over Ahijah's words; could not God's judgment have been averted by repentance?

v17-18: Ahijah's words were fulfilled.

v19-20: Nadab the son of Jeroboam, was the next king. He was the last of the dynasty, and was killed, 15.28.

v21: Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, an Ammonites, a bad influence upon Israel (Deut 23.3-4; see Ruth 4.5-6).

v22-24: Following Solomon's example, and the influence of the Gentile nations, there were numerous high places, which encouraged man-made worship and idolatry, with sexual perversion.

v25-28: Only five years into Rehoboam's reign, he was easily defeated by Egypt, and many riches were removed. The victories of David and the riches of Solomon were quickly lost; more details given in 2 Chr 12.1-12. Even though Rehoboam had built fortified cities (2 Chr 12.5-12), he could not stand against the enemy for God was not with him. We note also that Shishak, king of Egypt, was a friend of Jeroboam (11.40).

v29-31: Rehoboam's short reign included continual warfare with Jeroboam; this was not a large scale battle (see 12.21-24), but probably border skirmishes.