דברי הימים ב, פרק י״ב, פסוק א׳

Political stability and a sense of security can sometimes become the very catalysts for spiritual complacency. After three years of proper leadership, King Rehoboam reached the height of his power. His kingdom was firmly established and his position secure, yet this exact moment of triumph triggered a severe spiritual downfall. Driven by arrogance from his newfound strength, Rehoboam rebelled and abandoned the path of God [רלב״ג].

The root of this sudden departure lay in his original motivations for religious observance. Rather than serving God out of genuine love or spiritual devotion, Rehoboam's adherence to the Torah was entirely political. He initially maintained religious practice solely to fortify his authority against the rival king, Jeroboam. Once his kingdom was stable, his fortress cities built, and the threat from Jeroboam neutralized, his external reasons for loyalty to God vanished, leading him to discard his faith entirely [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, the negative behavior of his sons may have also influenced this downward shift [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The king's spiritual collapse had an immediate and direct impact on the entire nation. Because the people had only followed the Torah as a matter of royal decree rather than out of a deep personal commitment, they quickly mirrored their leader's example. The moment Rehoboam lost interest in religious life, the nation abandoned it alongside him [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

God responded swiftly to this national rebellion. By the second year of their departure from the Torah, God orchestrated an invasion by Shishak, the king of Egypt, who marched on Jerusalem and captured the newly built fortress cities of Judah. This invasion was not merely a punitive measure. Instead, it was a deliberate act of divine providence, designed by God to shake the nation from its complacency and guide them back to true faith [רלב״ג].