The previous verse gave us a reintroduction to Rehoboam, and, according to the stock form of the writer, he moves in 1 Kings 14:22 to a moral evaluation. Yet there is something unique in the books of Kings at this point. The evaluation is written in terms of an evaluation not of Rehoboam but of the entire kingdom of Judah.
Some commentators deal with this according to the idea that as the king goes, so goes the nation
(for example, Donald Wiseman and Iain Provan). These same commentators also use this reference to Judah as a substitute for Rehoboam. This means that the writer is suggesting that just as the sins of Jeroboam point to the exile of Israel, so Judah’s sins point to her exile two centuries later.
The evaluation of Judah is the darkest possible. The writer says they provoked the Lord to jealousy with sins viler than those of their ancestors. The phrase provoked to jealousy
needs some comment. First, this is not an accusation of sin on God’s part. He has the right to his people’s worship, and jealousy is an appropriate response when that worship is not given. Second, we ought to look at the phrase as anthropopathic (attributing human emotions to God).
God is different from human beings. His outlook on creation's events does not rise and fall as if his inner being were moved by them, as is the case with us. Human emotions imply change. For example, we might say to someone, You make my blood boil,
and that implies a change in our state of being. God does not change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17) Nevertheless, human language has no words to express what God’s jealousy is.
Having tried to clear up the misunderstanding of the jealousy of God, we ought to pay the most attention to the indictment that they had done worse than all of their fathers had done. This is a manner of saying that they were as bad as it was possible to be. We should remember that included in the unfavourable comparison is that first generation of Israelites about whom God swore, They shall not enter my rest
(Psalm 95:11).
Nevertheless, there is another matter to consider, namely, that there is a different and more gracious treatment of the royal line of David. Despite this indictment and the fact that Judah was often as wicked as or more wicked than Israel, she is given more time until the judgment comes. Also, the exile has a return, which is not the case with Israel. Thus, intruding upon the text is a witness to the unmerited grace of God.
22 And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.