The division of the kingdom and the loss of ten tribes were caused by Jeroboam's rebellion. There were certain factors in the heart of the people that caused them to rebel, and Jeroboam took advantage of these factors to instigate the people's revolt (vv. 1-3).
Jeroboam took Solomon's extraordinary luxurious life and his heavy levying on the people as the cause of his rebellion (vv. 4-5).
Verses 6 through 15 show us the foolishness of Rehoboam in facing the situation. Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had attended Solomon his father. However, he forsook their counsel and instead followed the counsel of the young men who had grown up with him, refusing Jeroboam's request to lighten the yoke that Solomon had placed upon them.
Verses 16 through 20 tell us that the revolt burst out. Israel rebelled against the house of David (v. 19) and they made Jeroboam king over all Israel (v. 20).
Rehoboam struggled to wage war against Jeroboam, but he was stopped by God (vv. 21-24).
Rehoboam was enthroned when he was forty-one years of age, and he reigned over Judah for seventeen years (14:21). Under his reign the people of Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, above all the sins which their fathers had committed, and provoked God to jealousy (vv. 22-24). In the fifth year of his reign, Rehoboam was defeated and robbed by the king of Egypt (vv. 25-28).