1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned froma Egypt. 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.
6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.
7They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”
8But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”
12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What share do we have in David,
what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!
Look after your own house, David!”
So the Israelites went home.
Thoughts: Divisiveness is a very sad part of human life. It is in every culture. It is why Jesus said we need to love and to value others above our pride. It is clearly fueled by a combination of short-sightedness and pride. It is short-sighted in that we are called by God to love and in heaven we will indeed love. In heaven there will be people from every tribe, language, culture and nation- together in peace. It always involves pride- I can do it better than someone else or I want more honor for myself. But divisiveness takes away honor.
So Rehoboam, instead of building on his father's splendor, divided it. The nation never came back together. There was always a simmering jealousy between south and north- Judah and the rest of the tribes. It showed with Absolom's rebellion and Sheba's rebellion (2 Sam. 20) against the best king Israel ever had. When Solomon was a young king, he humbly asked for wisdom to govern justly his great nation. When Rehoboam was a young king, he consulted with his friends and cohorts with no evidence he truly sought God's will. He rejected the advice of the elders. No doubt he thought he was creating a new and better nation. Instead he was dividing the nation- and dismissing the experiential wisdom of his people. Solomon was one of the wisest kings and Rehoboam was one of the most spoiled and foolish. Part of Rehoboam's divisiveness too was his inability to see the other side's point. He lacked humility and compassion.
It is part of human nature for us to divide. I would say it is a part of the worst part- the sinful part of our human nature. Cain and Abel clearly began it early on. Sadly, even in the church or in families that love each other- there can be fights over stuff or pride and there is a temptation to think we are completely right and the other side is completely wrong. I remember one church that divided over deep seeded jealousy. It came to ahead over a dinner in which the women were peeling potatoes. One group believed in peeling toward them, and the other peeling away from them. Soon sides were chosen, names were called. Paul wrote to the Corinthians- "Is Christ divided?...There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism."
We should do all we can to not divide the church but to heal and strengthen the church for Christ's glory and sake- even if it cost us all of our pride and our own glory.
So Rehoboam, instead of building on his father's splendor, divided it. The nation never came back together. There was always a simmering jealousy between south and north- Judah and the rest of the tribes. It showed with Absolom's rebellion and Sheba's rebellion (2 Sam. 20) against the best king Israel ever had. When Solomon was a young king, he humbly asked for wisdom to govern justly his great nation. When Rehoboam was a young king, he consulted with his friends and cohorts with no evidence he truly sought God's will. He rejected the advice of the elders. No doubt he thought he was creating a new and better nation. Instead he was dividing the nation- and dismissing the experiential wisdom of his people. Solomon was one of the wisest kings and Rehoboam was one of the most spoiled and foolish. Part of Rehoboam's divisiveness too was his inability to see the other side's point. He lacked humility and compassion.
It is part of human nature for us to divide. I would say it is a part of the worst part- the sinful part of our human nature. Cain and Abel clearly began it early on. Sadly, even in the church or in families that love each other- there can be fights over stuff or pride and there is a temptation to think we are completely right and the other side is completely wrong. I remember one church that divided over deep seeded jealousy. It came to ahead over a dinner in which the women were peeling potatoes. One group believed in peeling toward them, and the other peeling away from them. Soon sides were chosen, names were called. Paul wrote to the Corinthians- "Is Christ divided?...There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism."
We should do all we can to not divide the church but to heal and strengthen the church for Christ's glory and sake- even if it cost us all of our pride and our own glory.
Prayer: Lord, give me grace to have humility, compassion, and unity with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
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