CHOOSE WISELY REHOBOAM: AN UNWISE DECISION ANYTHING TO KEEP POWER 1 KINGS 12:1-33

Transcription

1 1 CHOOSE WISELY REHOBOAM: AN UNWISE DECISION ANYTHING TO KEEP POWER 1 KINGS 12:1-33 Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor

2 2 Choose Wisely Rehoboam: An Unwise Decision Anything to Keep Power Text: 1 Kings 12:1-33, 1. Rhoboam 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,

3 3 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. 16. When 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, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!" So the Israelites went home. 17. But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. 18. King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 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. 21. When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. 22. But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:

4 4 23. "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24. 'This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. 25. Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. 26. Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam." 28. After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." 29. One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there. 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. 33. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings. (NIV) Related Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 11:1-12,

5 5 1. When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men to make war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam. 2. But this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3. "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 4. 'This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the words of the LORD and turned back from marching against Jeroboam. 5. Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: 6. Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7. Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8. Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9. Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10. Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11. He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12. He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his. (NIV) Introduction: I. Solomon is dead! A. 1 Kings 11:41-43, As for the other events of Solomon's reign all he did and the wisdom he displayed are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his

6 6 fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king. (NIV) B. Solomon s son, Rehoboam, ruled in his place. II. Jeroboam, son of Nebat and Zeruah, an adversary from the days of Rehoboam s father s reign, come back onto the scene. A. Don t make unnecessary enemies. They could last forever. B. 1 Kings 11:28, Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph. C. Ahijah, the Shilonite prophet, foretold that Jeroboam would reign over ten (10) tribes. He reigned for twenty-two (22) years Kings 11:31, Then he said to Jeroboam, Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon s hand and give you ten tribes. (NIV) D. This prediction became known to Solomon who tried to kill Jeroboam. E. Jeroboam found political asylum in Egypt from Shishak I, king of Egypt. III. What now does the future hold for Israel? IV. Power/success can be very hard to get, but even more difficult to keep.

7 7 A. Power and success are difficult to control once we have them. B. We get power and success, and then find that they are likely to get us. C. Those of whom it can be said after achieving power, They are just the same as they have always been, are few. D. This statement relates to treatment of others and arrogance. E. Pick me up on your way down. F. Power and politics are inseparable. Without an adequate supply of power, people cannot govern. G. All of us, not just kings and presidents, have our little areas of power and influence we hope to protect and embellish! V. What happened between the time the elders demanded a king and the division of the kingdom north and south? A. Saul: the first king of Israel Samuel 9:2-27, He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites a head taller than any of the others. Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys." So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them. When they reached the

8 8 district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us." But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take." Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?" The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take." (Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.) "Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of God was. As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?" "He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time." They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached

9 9 me." When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people." Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?" "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?" Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?" Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited about thirty in number. Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside." So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time I said, 'I have invited guests.' " And Saul dined with Samuel that day. After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us"-and the servant did so-"but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from God." (NIV)

10 Samuel 10:1-23, Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?" ' "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do." As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has

11 11 happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place. Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have you been?" "Looking for the donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel." Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you." Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship. Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.' So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans." When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. (NIV) 3. 1 Chronicles 5: 10-26, During Saul's reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites

12 12 throughout the entire region east of Gilead. The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salecah: Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan. Their relatives, by families, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber seven in all. These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz. Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family. The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended. All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel. The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. They seized the livestock of the Hagrites fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, and many others fell slain, because the battle was God's. And they occupied the land until the exile. The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon). These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and

13 13 prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day. (NIV) 4. Threatened by the warlike Philistines, Israel pressured Samuel to appoint a king to lead them in battle. 5. Saul won various victories over his enemies, but he was eventually mortally wounded while doing battle with the Philistines. a. He engaged the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Ama-lekites. 6. The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul because of his being self-willed instead of God-willed. 7. Saul experienced bouts with emotional disturbance/mental illness and tried on several occasions to kill David. 8. Saul stands in our memory as a tragic figure who squandered many of his God-given opportunities! B. David: the second king of Israel Samuel 16: 1-31, 13; 2 Samuel 1: 1-24:25; 1 Kings 1:1-2: 12; 1 Chronicles 10: 1-29: David s youth was spent in Bethlehem as the youngest of eight (8) brothers.

14 14 a. He kept the family s sheep. b. He killed a lion and a bear protecting the sheep. 3. When Saul was rejected as king, Samuel privately anointed David to be the second king of Israel. a. The older sons of Jesse were passed over for this office. 4. David played the harp to calm Saul in his bouts with depression and insanity. 5. Goliath and the Philistine army drew to within fifteen (15) miles of Bethlehem. a. David s father sent him to see about his two brothers who were in the army. 6. David killed Goliath, became a national hero, and aroused the intense jealousy of Saul. 7. Upon Saul s death, David became king over Judah and reigned in Hebron. a. Saul s son Ishbosheth reigned over the other tribes in Mahanaim. b. Civil war raged! c. Ishbosheth was assassinated and David then ruled the united kingdom.

15 15 8. David captured Jebus/Jerusalem and made it his capitol. a. He otherwise greatly expanded the kingdom. 9. David set about to gather materials with which to build the temple. a. Because he was a man of war, David was not permitted to build the temple. 10. David died at age seventy-one (71) having been king for over forty (40) years. C. Solomon 1. 1 Kings 2:12-11:42; 1 Chronicles 22:6-2 Chronicles 9:31 2. Solomon, one of the world s wisest men, was about twenty (20) years old when he became king. a. He reigned forty (40) years ( B.C.) over a unified and prosperous country. 3. Solomon expanded his kingdom until it encompassed approximately fifty thousand (50,000) square miles. a. Tennessee consists of forty-one thousand, one hundred fifty-four (41,154) square miles. 4. Solomon entered many alliances with other countries and increased trade, but he placed a heavy burden on the people to support his lavish life style and his construction projects which included the temple.

16 Kings 11:1-8, King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. (NIV) VI. Trouble approaches! A. 1 Kings 11:4, For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. (NIV) B. 1 Kings 11:11-12, Therefore 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. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I

17 17 will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. (NIV) C. Hadad: 1. 1 Kings 11:14-25, Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children. While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country." "What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" Pharaoh asked. "Nothing," Hadad replied, "but do let me go!" And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces of Zobah; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took

18 18 control. Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel. (NIV) 2. David and Joab slaughtered the Edomites. 3. Hadad fled to Egypt and remained there until the death of David and Joab. 4. Eliada was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon. D. Jeroboam: Commentary: 1. 1 Kings 11:28, The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he have him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. (NIV) 1 Kings 12:1-5, Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: "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 answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away. (NIV) I. Rehoboam went to Shechem to be anointed king of all Israel. A. Shechem was a place of great historical significance to Israel.

19 19 B. The names of many of Israel s leaders had been associated with Shechem. 1. Genesis 12:6, Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. (NIV) 2. Joshua 24:1, Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, eladers, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. (NIV) 3. Judges 9:6, Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. (NIV) 4. Joshua 24:32, And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants. (NIV) II. Jeroboam, Solomon s adversary, had been in exile in Egypt. A. His supporters sent him word to come home quickly because Israel was about to crown Rehoboam king. B. The time was right for Jeroboam to make his move for political ascendancy. 1. He was present at Shechem.

20 20 III. The people told Rehoboam that his father, King Solomon, had made their lives grievous by heavy taxation and forced labor. A. They promised to serve Rehoboam if he would lighten up on them. B. Jeroboam and the leaders of the Northern Tribes tried to negotiate a more tolerant rulership from Rehoboam than they had experienced under Solomon. C. Rehoboam s one prudent act was to request a delay of three (3) days to consider the matter. D. Rehoboam was forty-one (41) years of age when he became king (1 Kings 14:21) which means that Solomon married Rehoboam s Ammonite mother before David died and before Solomon became king. 1 Kings 12: 6-11, 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. 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." But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 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'?" 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. 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.' " (NIV) I. Rehoboam spoke with his advisors:

21 21 A. The older and wiser counselors who had previously advised Solomon told Rehoboam to lighten up. 1. These advisors spoke of Rehoboam as a servant unto the people who should speak kindly unto the people. 2. The senior advisors assured Rehoboam that the people would serve him faithfully if he would place their interests in a position of primacy. 3. Rehoboam then consulted with advisors of his own age. B. The younger advisors were agreed that Rehoboam should burden the people in all areas far more than Solomon. 1. The younger, less experienced advisors with whom Rehoboam had grown up counseled him to tell the people that he would be far harsher than his father had ever thought of being. II. Foolish Rehoboam decided to accept the terrible advice of the younger counselors. A. Clearly wisdom is not inherited! B. Rehoboam at this time was forty-one (41) years of age Kings 14:2, Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother's name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. (NIV) 2. Rehoboam was the son of one of the world s wisest men, but inherited none of Solomon s wisdom!

22 22 3. Was Rehoboam the best that Solomon and one thousand (1,000) wives could produce? 1 Kings 12:12-15, Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 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." 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. (NIV) I. On the third day the people again gathered, this time to hear Rehoboam s response. A. Jeroboam had made his trip from Egypt to Israel with haste and again was in the crowd waiting for Rehoboam s response. B. What answer would Rehoboam give? The future of Israel was in the balances. II. Rehoboam gave an idiotic, foolish response! A. Rehoboam spoke roughly and stated that he would be far more oppressive than his father ever thought of being. 1. Rehoboam addressed the assembly in a rough, discourteous, undiplomatic manner and stated that he intended to give them no relief, but rather to increase their burdens. B. This arrogant, conceited reply of Rehoboam was absolutely stupid!

23 23 C. Would you have voted for Rehoboam? NOTE: I will chastise you with scorpions may refer to a particularly sadistic spike lash or, at best, leather lashes with bits of metal or small stones fixed in them to make the punishment more brutal. D. The division of the kingdom had been foretold by Ahijah the prophet Kings 11:26-40, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph. About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did." 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of

24 24 Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.' " Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death. (NIV) 1 Kings 12: 16-17, When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David. So Israel went away to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah. I. In these two verses a major political division of the nation of Israel occurred. A. When the members of the Northern Tribes of Israel heard Rehoboam s hostile response to their request for consideration, they seceded from the union with the Southern Tribes of Israel and established an independent nation.

25 25 1. The effects of this division lasted for centuries, even to the time of Jesus. 2. Remember the Samaritans? 3. A number of pious Levites remained loyal to Jehovah and the house of David. a. 2 Chronicles 11:13-17, The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property, and came to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD. And he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, walking in the ways of David and Solomon during this time. (NIV) b. Members of the Northern kingdom who lived in the South had no choice but to continue to be subservient to Rehoboam. c. This included some who traveled south for religious convictions. i. 2 Chronicles 11:16, Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to

26 26 Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their fathers. (NIV) B. The Northern Tribes hereafter are known as Israel while the Southern Tribes of Judah and Benjamin are hereafter known as Judah. 1. Rehoboam immediately learned that he had made a mistake in listening to the young inexperienced advisors. 2. This one mistake cost Rehoboam 5/6 th of his kingdom! 1 Kings 12:18-20, When Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone. (NIV) I. Rehoboam made another very bad, the worse, the most stupid decision: that is, A. Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork, a slave driver, to place those who had rebelled under servitude. B. Israel stoned Adoram to death! 1. Rehoboam fled for his life to Jerusalem. C. Rehoboam was certainly heeding horrible advice!

27 27 1. This was the absolutely worst thing Rehoboam could have done. D. Jeroboam was then acclaimed king of all Israel except for Judah and Benjamin. II. When Rehoboam learned of this he fled for his life to Jerusalem. A. This separation of North and South was permanent. 1. Even in the New Testament there was residual animosity between Galilee of the Gentiles, Samaria, and Orthodox Judah. 1 Kings 12:21-24, When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. (NIV) I. Rehoboam then decided to go to war with Israel, another rash, very foolish plan, to force Israel back to his control. A. Even after the nation was divided, Rehoboam continued in his foolish ways and planned to bring the northern tribes back to his control by war.

28 28 B. Here Rehoboam again planned foolishly by forming an army of one hundred thousand (180,000) men to forcefully bring the northern tribes back under his jurisdiction. C. The word of God came to the prophet, man of God, Shemaiah directing him to tell Rehoboam and his followers to disband the army, to forget the idea of fighting Israel, and to go home. D. Remarkably they obeyed the Lord! The war was called off! E. God announced that he had decreed the division of the kingdom and that it would stand. 1. The North was idolatrous and would have corrupted the Messianic hope. 2. The Southern Tribes held the best hope for preserving the purity of and bring to fruition the Messianic vision. 1 Kings 12:25-33, Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam." After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 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

29 29 the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings. (NIV) I. Jeroboam set about to make his kingship over Israel secure. A. He built new structures in Shechem, made it his capital, and place of the royal residence. 1. This was on the trade routes from the East. B. He also added new buildings at Peniel located in Trans-jordan on the Jabbok River, a possible outpost against attack. C. Jeroboam thought the biggest danger to his rule was the possibility that his followers would return to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah at the temple and be drawn back to allegiance to Rehoboam. D. Jeroboam set up two golden calves like Aaron made in the wilderness, and told the people: 1. Exodus 32:4-8, He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. Then the LORD said to

30 30 Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' (NIV) 2. Exodus 20:4-6, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand (generations) of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NIV) 3. It is too hard for you to go all the way to Jerusalem to worship. a. This politician was interested in the people s welfare? b. They are conveniently located near you in Bethel and Dan. 3. These are the gods that delivered you from Egypt (He said this with a straight face). b. Calves were a symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. E. Jeroboam also made high places, altars for sacrifice, and appointed priests which were not of the sons of Levi.

31 31 F. He counterfeited a feast to be observed on the fifteenth (15 th) day of the eighth (8 th ) Jewish month in Bethel to take the place of the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated in Jerusalem in the seventh Jewish month. 1. Jeroboam established his own religion with himself as Head. a. Leviticus 23:24-27, 33-36, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.' " The LORD said to Moses, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work. (NIV) 2. Jeroboam was selfish and evil, but also wise, clever and shrewd. 3. Jeroboam devised all this in his own heart. a. It was not matter with him of doing what God had commanded.

32 32 b. Hosea 8: 5-6, your calf is rejected, O Samaria. My anger burned against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For it is from Israel, an artisan made it; it is not God. The calf Samaria shall be broken to pieces. (NIV) 4. Jeroboam counterfeited a variant form of the true religion God gave the Israelites through Moses. 5. Israel, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, freed the land of idols and then returned themselves wholesale into idolatry. 6. What had Israel accomplished by all their sweat, foil, tears and bloodshed? 7. This religion Jeroboam made was not God ordained! a. The sacrifices were to the calves that he had made, before an altar that he had made, at a time that he alone had devised. 8. Jeroboam was the political and spiritual leader of the northern kingdom. a. His was an unspeakable tragedy! II. While Jeroboam built cities and fortification in the North, Rehoboam did the same in the South. A. 2 Chronicles 11:5-12, Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim,

33 33 Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his. (NIV) B. Jeroboam built two capitals, one at Shechem and the other at Penuel. 1. Shechem was on a major trade route while Penuel was a trans-jordanic city located on the bank of the Jabbok River. III. Jeroboam reigned twenty-two (22) years which reign began with God s blessings and providential care, but which was literally thrown away! A. 1 Kings 11:28, The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. B. 1 Kings 11:31, He then said to Jeroboam: Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes. C. I Kings 12:16-20, When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David. So Israel went away to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah. When King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, all Israel stoned him to

34 34 death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. there was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone. D. 1 Kings 12:28, So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. E. Jeroboam s leading the people into idolatry was followed by most of his successors until the northern tribes were carried into Assyrian captivity and became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. IV. All of us have great promise. A. We have enjoyed spiritual successes and failure. B. May we make the best of what God has yet determined to give us! Biblical Fools I. Those who despise wisdom and instruction. A. Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (NIV) B. Proverbs 10:21, The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment. (NIV)

35 35 C. Proverbs 24:7, Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. (NIV) D. Proverbs 18:2, A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. (NIV) II. Slanderers, blabbermouths. III. Abner. A. Proverbs 10:18, He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. (NIV) B. Proverbs 29:11, A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. (NIV) C. Ecclesiastes 10:14, and the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming who can tell him what will happen after him? (NIV) A. 2 Samuel 3:33, The king sang this lament for Abner: Should Abner have died as (fools) the lawless die? (NIV) IV. Infidels. A. Psalm 14:1, The fool says in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (NIV) B. Psalm 53:1, The fool says in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. (NIV)

36 36 V. The worldly rich, but spiritually poor. VI. Saul. A. Luke 12:20, But God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? B. Matthew 25:2-8, Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: Here s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out. A. 1 Samuel 26:21, Then Saul said, I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly. (NIV) I. Vashti The Importance of Decisions II. III. Mordecai Hadassah, Esther IV. Haman V. Daniel

37 37 VI. Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah (Shadrach, Meshak, Abednego) Conclusion: I. When the United Kingdom divided North and South, Israel and Judah experienced tragic times including: A. Religious apostasy in the North. B. Threat of civil war. C. Weakened standing against foreign enemies. D. Threat of increased taxation and slavery to the government. II. In our lifetimes we have experienced good times and bad including: A. World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan B. Prosperity with severe moral decay. C. Jails and prisons which are running over while prayer and Bible readings can no where be found in our public schools. III. May we here and now resolve anew to do the will of God. A. Good kings of Israel and Judah were those who were faithful to God! B. Evil kings were those who did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.