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1 Kings 12:1-15 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So 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.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away. 6 Then 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. 7 They 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.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “Tell these people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’—tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My 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.’ ”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he 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.”
15 So 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.
A House Divided1 Kings 12-16 Old African proverb “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside can not hurt you.” The enemies within are the most dangerous. Sometimes it is the enemy within our very being that is the worst.
The house of David was torn apart from the inside out.
First, by the unfaithfulness of Solomon who caused God to take the tribes in the north out of his family’s reign. Next, by leaders that were more concerned about power than teaching the people to know the one true God.
Last week: 1 Kings 11 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
Chapters 12-14 Two main characters: Rehoboam – son of Solomon; he will rule Judah in the south Jeroboam – one of Solomon’s officials who rebelled against him; he will rule Israel, the ten tribes in the north
Fulfillment of the prophecy that came to Jeroboam through Ahijah in Chapter 11:29+ Cloak torn into 12 pieces
Jeroboam had rebelled against Solomon; this prophecy had soured Solomon on Jerobaom and he fled to Egypt. Rehoboam inherited his father’s throne, but Jeroboam returned from Egypt to build his power.
Jeroboam’s first action was to represent the tribes in the north with a request of Reboham to lighten their burden.
1 Kings 12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So 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.”
Rehoboam sought advice. Two different thoughts: Elders – if you are a servant to the people, they will always serve you Young men – be even tougher on them or they will take advantage of you
Which piece of advice did Rehoboam follow? He instituted even harsher servitude than his father. By bearing down on the Israelites, Rehoboam lost any chance of retaining power over the northern tribes.
The kingdom of David was split in two. Chapter 12 20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.
The two kings didn’t just go and live in their own places, the power struggle continued. Rather than seeing his role in the prophecy as motivation to obey God, Jeroboam decide to do everything he could to secure his position.
Jeroboam placed idols and built places of worship in convenient cities to draw allegiance away from Jerusalem and Rehoboam. He placed golden calves in Dan in the north and Bethel in the south.
Calves and bulls, in Canaanite culture, symbolized fertility and strength. Pagan practices were allowed. They worshiped in “high places” other than Jerusalem. Anyone was appointed priest.
1 Kings 12 31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made.
Jeroboam’s actions may have been intended to keep his people from returning to King Rehoboam, but the real consequence was that he turned people away from God for generations.
Ahijah’s prophecy against Jeroboam: 1 Kings 14 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and made you a leader over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.
9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back. 10 “ ‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.
Kings of the Divided Kingdom: Judah (South)Israel(North) Rehoboam Jeroboam AbijahNadab Asa* --Baasha Elah Zimri Tibni Omri Ahab
Judah (South)Israel(North) Asa* Ahab “Did what was right “Did more evil in the in the eyes of the Lord, eyes of the Lord than like his father David” any of those before him” *In the years to come, it would be from the tribe of Judah that the Messiah would come.
Putting it all together: ADVICE Seek advise from elders rather than peers. Evaluate the counsel you are given. Ask: Is it fair, realistic, workable and consistent with Biblical principles? Will it make improvements? Will it give a positive solution or direction?
Putting it all together: KNOW THE MOTIVES Leaders should do what will benefit their people, rather than what will increase their power. Abraham Lincoln: “A House Divided” Speech 1858
Putting it all together: RESIST IDOLS – KEEP A PURE HEART God does not like idols – the things that tear our allegiance away from God. Learn from scripture and history to avoid the same mistakes over and over.
In Matthew 12:25-26, Jesus said: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. “
The Lord wants our undivided allegiance. In our hearts… In our homes… In our churches... In our cities… In our world.
We are the Federated Church. Our Mission is to… Seek Christ, Serve Christ andShare Christ.
