2 Chronicles12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
Rehoboam’s story is tragic, for he did evil, as did many of the kings of Israel and Judah. All men are sinners, but what was the specified evil? It was that he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. He was not like his grandfather David, who had been called a man after God’s own heart. David was also a sinner, but he wanted the Lord in his heart and life. Rehoboam did not prepare to seek the Lord.
He did not hear the words of the Law, which would convict him of sin and failure and of the need for the mercy and forgiveness of God. The Law prepares the heart. He did not hear the words of the Gospel, which would convict him of mercy and forgiveness from God. The Gospel moves a person to seek the Lord and desire to live accordingly. Since he did not prepare his heart in this way, he was left only with his own selfish sinfulness, which is evil.
We also need to respond to the Word by repentance and faith in the Gospel. We are convicted that without Jesus in our life we are evil. We don’t want to hear that, but the message is life-changing. The Spirit works in our heart through the Word to prepare us to seek the Lord in all of our life. If we do not respond by trusting Him completely we find ourselves alienated from Him.