1 Kings 12:1 – 19 “Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed.
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.
They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him. He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”
After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.” And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse?
To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!”
So the Israelites went home, but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.
Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.”
If brains were gunpowder, Rehoboam wouldn’t have enough to even blow his nose! Growing up in the palace with all that wealth, Rehoboam was nothing but a poor little rich kid who was completely out of touch with the people he was supposed to govern. Solomon might have enjoyed untold luxuries, but his people suffered. Under Solomon, the Israelites were forced into groups of laborers for construction projects, forced into the army, forced to use their talents and resources to serve Solomon. Solomon’s kingdom might have impressed foreign visitors, but for the average Israelite, it was hell!
Now Rehoboam had a chance to endear himself to the Israelites. The elders of Israel gave excellent advice. All Rehoboam had to do was to speak kindly and courteously to the delegation, and he could have negotiated terms with them. The royal exchequer might have taken a hit, but Rehoboam would still have been king over all Israel. But Rehoboam was undoubtedly fed up with listening to elders and couldn’t see beyond the end of his nose.
Ever wonder what it must have been like having King Solomon as a father, with Solomon parading around the palace spouting off proverbs and tidbits of information about botany, biology, etc., to a horde of attentive scribes scuttling along behind him recording his every word? Solomon mentions his father teaching him in Proverbs 4:4 “He (David) taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.” But there is never any evidence that Solomon took the time to teach any of his children anything. Solomon was so wrapped up in himself that he totally neglected schooling his successor in leadership. Really, Solomon was a lousy leader; it was David who inspired intense loyalty in his followers. Solomon merely felt entitled and threw his weight around. No, Rehoboam was fed up with taking advice from any elder.
Technically, Rehoboam was not even qualified to become king; his mother was an Ammonite and barred from the temple by her race. The horrible god Milcom/Molech who demanded infant sacrifices was the main god of the Ammonites, and Rehoboam’s mother Naamah had undoubtedly schooled Rehoboam in the worship of this demon. One wonders why Solomon with all his wisdom could done such a poor job of picking a successor.
A half – breed Israelite with an Ammonite mother, pampered from birth, schooled in demon worship, unwilling to take sage advice, and with no regard for the One True Living God – this is the young man who succeeded Solomon. No wonder that when the Israelites begged for relief, Rehoboam gave them a foolish response, a response that lost him most of his kingdom.
APPLICATION: The seeds of the split between Israel and Judah were sown during Solomon’s reign. Solomon depended on his own wisdom but never studied God’s Word. Failing to heed God’s Word, Solomon married 700 wives and had 300 concubines who led him away from God. Solomon assumed that a magnificent temple would make up for a rebellious heart, but he was wrong. Failing to study the Law of Moses, Solomon couldn’t have taught it to his children, even had he wanted to. Solomon’s children worshiped their mothers’ gods, not the God of Israel. Solomon had no vision for the future of the kingdom; in fact, in Ecclesiastes 2”18 – 19, Solomon predicted what would happen after he died. “I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.”
Rehoboam was no leader but merely a spoiled young man with a bad case of entitlement syndrome. No wonder that most of the Israelites deserted to form the Northern Kingdom.
The elders of Israel were quite correct when they advised Rehoboam to serve the people, rather than to snub them. Servanthood leadership never goes out of style. Jesus described himself as a servant leader when he said, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins when he shed his blood on the cross at Calvary. Jesus is worthy of our loyalty and worthy of all praise because unlike Rehoboam, Jesus knows our struggles, our weaknesses, and our needs far better than we do. Why not follow a Leader who is truly worthy?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You, that You know us better than we know ourselves. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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