2 Chr 11:18-23

The balance of the chapter is on the king Rehoboam and his "expansive" family. Following in the footsteps of his father, Solomon, he had 18 wives and 60 concubines which probably led to some interesting episodes. Still this was in direct conflict with what written in Deut 17:17 regarding the king and his marital status : He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. This was the downfall of Solomon whose heart was led away from the Lord to worship other gods by his various foreign wives. Clearly Solomon had nearly 1000 wives over his lifetime which seemed like a matter of convenience rather than love. From the commentary: 23 Rehoboam loved Maacah more than he loved Mahalath. And he gave to Abijah, son of Maacah, the position that he should have given to his first son Jeush. In this, he did not obey God’s law (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). The choice of Abijah as the chief prince might mean that Abijah ruled with his father. In the same way, David made Solomon king while David was still alive (1 Chronicles 23:1). Such a decision might have caused a lot of trouble in the family. Rehoboam was wise to send his sons to different parts of his kingdom. He gave to them authority over cities. He provided them with all that they needed. He even found wives for them. In this way, he made sure that they would not oppose his choice of Abijah.

Overall a decent day with few incidents. It amazes me that the work ethic of a few seems to be lax once the lack of supervision is evident. Still things do get done and all is well. Gym time soon and late night later, hopefully with little excitement. Blood work tomorrow which means early dinner and no snacking.... especially my cherries.

Praise for today: I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Ps 52: 9