Today's study comes from 1 Kings 12: 6-17 and is entitled "The Kingdom Divided." With the death of Solomon, Judah's throne was turned over to his son Rehoboam. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he took the throne. However, he lacked the character and moral maturity to be a ruler. To understand the importance of the lesson, we need to understand what the kingdom looked like at Solomon's death. It was well organized with a good army. Luxury was everywhere, but the people were overburdened with taxes to pay for it all. Rehoboam had every opportunity to increase the prosperity and happiness of the kingdom. However, he makes a tragic mistake, and loses the major portion of his domain. There were two issues:
1. The lack of character of Rehoboam to rule; and
2. Listening to the counsel of others.
Rehoboam's training was neglected by his father Solomon. Solomon was too busy with his kingdom and pleasures to pay much attention to his son. Having grown up "spoiled," his character was weak, conceited, and untrained. He was very proud and selfish. While his parents can share part of the blame, Rehoboam was chiefly responsible for his own conduct and actions.
The first section is "The Meeting at Shechem" vv. 1-4. In the first four verses we are told that Jeroboam becomes the speaker of the northern tribes. He meets with Rehoboam at Shechem which was in the territory of Ephraim, near present day Nablus which is a city in the West Bank about 30 miles north of Jerusalem. Jeroboam told Rehoboam that his father had put a heavy yoke of taxes and harsh labor on them and they needed some relief. If Rehoboam did this, they would agree to serve him. This was a straight forward plea for help to the young ruler. How would he answer? Rehoboam chose to seek counsel, but as we shall see, he was unwise in who he allowed to have his ear.
The second section is "The King's Counselors" vv. 5-11. Rehoboam asked for three days to make a decision. He wanted to seek advise from his counselors. He could have been in a place spiritually that he could have made a decision on the spot because the request was legitimate. He wasn't. No doubt he had a conflict between what was right and what would be in his best financial interest. This is evidence of carnality, the war within. he sought advise from two groups. First, he consulted with the elders. Their advise was to grant the requests of the people because: (1) it was the right thing to do; (2) it was good for the people and it would make them happy; (3) it would bring the highest prosperity for the kingdom; (4) it would be good for the king and his virtue; (5) it would make the government more stable; and (6) it would bind the people to him in loving loyalty.
Then, Rehoboam consulted the young men. These men had most likely grown up without discipline and were like the king having lived in luxury. They thought only of themselves and their pleasure. Selfishness made them blind. Their advice agreed with the greedy desires of Rehoboam. The answer would be no relief and in fact Rehoboam said it would be worse and more demanding for the people. Notice that there is no mention that Rehoboam ever prayed or sought the Lord in his decision making process. This would lead to a disastrous result.
The third section is "The Kingdom Divided" vv. 12-17. When Rehoboam announced his decision to add to the burden of the people of the northern tribes, they responded by saying, "What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse...." The kingdom was now divided. This is an example of what occurs when leadership abuses the people and seeks to take advantage of them. Interestingly, Judah (the southern kingdom) never regained control of the northern area of Palestine. In the Bible, the northern kingdom became known as Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Rehoboam failed to know what to do initially and then failed to listen to the wisest counselors. His actions lead to a permanent division of God's people.
We can see some parallels today when churches split. Some splits are necessary because one group seeks to embrace the world and sin and the other group wants to maintain the old fashioned truths. Some splits are carnal. Egos and pride and the seeking of position or wealth are never reasons to divide.
The Golden Text is "A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1) I have seen the truth of this Scripture many times, both in the church world and in the business world. Many times a dispute is disarmed because of a soft response as opposed to a loud aggressive word. Practicing soft answers will make you a peacemaker and Jesus said you would be blessed in so doing.
Next week, "Idolatry Established" (1 Kings 12: 25-33).
Don't forget to read the Sunday School Beacon for inspiration and encouragement.
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