What is the context?
The account turns to Rehoboam in Judah. He begins to reign at forty-one and rules seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city chosen for the LORD’s Name. His mother is Naamah the Ammonite.
Judah nevertheless does evil in God’s sight. High places, sacred pillars and Asherah poles spread through the land, and the account also names male shrine prostitutes. The people imitate the practices of the nations previously driven out.
The chosen city and temple remain important, but their presence has not kept the people’s devotion faithful. The southern kingdom faces the same need to obey the LORD.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry emphasizes the limits of outward religious advantages: the temple and its ceremonies cannot by themselves change the heart. He sees the need for God’s work within the people.
Gill likewise treats the chosen city as making Judah’s failure more serious. The account gives no basis for treating the north as capable of failure while the south is automatically protected from it.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.