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“Rehoboam’s faith did not hold him. He held sometimes, but it never held him.”
Charles Spurgeon
Rehoboam did what was evil, because he did not determine in his heart to seek the LORD.
2 Chronicles 12:14 CSB
What happens to the person who doesn’t determine in his heart to seek after God? The result is evil. It doesn’t matter if the person has great intentions or not, which Rehoboam probably did. He had a foundation. His father was Solomon and his grandfather was David. He knew right from wrong and had witnessed with his very own eyes the faithfulness of God. Yet, after all this, the truth remains that he will be viewed as an evil king because he did not seek God with his heart.
Though we could say Rehoboam sought after God, he did not do it with a prepared heart. There is so much to be said about this. Ironically, this was exactly the phrase David left Solomon with before he died.
“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.”
1 Chronicles 28:9 CSB
Jeremiah writes the same thing.
“You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 CSB
What does this mean practically? Most likely when we don’t seek him with our whole heart there is something else that is holding onto our heart. Just like a false idol, we can be stolen away from our first love. This happened with Solomon and it continued with Rehoboam. What we see from Rehoboam is someone who uses God only when he is in trouble. After everything is fine again, he goes back to doing things his own way. This is the absolute definition of not seeking with your whole heart.
Consider your relationship with God. Do you only come to Him when you need something? Is your heart set to serve something or someone else?