King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He

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1 3 WEEK Rehoboam Listens to Fools 2 Chronicles 10 Proverbs 13:20 MEMORY VERSE James 1:5a, NIrV Walk with wise people and become wise. A companion of foolish people suffers harm. King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He even wrote down the wisdom he collected. His writings make up most of the book of Proverbs. Chapter 13, verse 20 cautions, Walk with wise people and become wise. A companion of foolish people suffers harm. But Solomon had a son named Rehoboam who wasn t so wise. And when Solomon died, Rehoboam became king. The young ruler soon faced his first difficult decision. King Solomon had made the Israelites work extremely hard, and they weren t happy about it. Led by a man named Jeroboam, the people came before King Rehoboam. We re not afraid of hard work, explained Jeroboam, but your father made all of us work way too hard. Make things a little 1

2 easier on us, and we ll serve you. Everyone who had come with Jeroboam shouted their agreement. But Rehoboam held up a hand to silence them. Hold it, he warned. You want me to make things easier for you? Just a little, pointed out Jeroboam. Rehoboam considered for a moment. Then he ordered: Come back to me in three days. Hold it, Rehoboam warned. You want me to make things easier for you? After Jeroboam and the Israelites left, Rehoboam went to the elders who had given his father advice for many years. The people want me to make things easier for them! he grumbled. What should I do? Make it easier, suggested the elders. Make it easier?! exclaimed Rehoboam. 2

3 Be kind. Make it easier, agreed the elders. Then they ll always serve you. These weren t the words Rehoboam wanted to hear. Hmph, he muttered. You can go. Don t trip over your beards on the way out! Unsatisfied with the suggestions of his father s advisors, Rehoboam went to find some of the friends he d grown up with. They were extremely busy racing a slug against a snail. Big prize for the winner! announced one of his friends. You want in? Rehoboam shrugged. Looks like fun, but I gotta rule and stuff. The people are making all this fuss about how they want me to make things easier for them! What should I do? You re king! laughed his friend. Do whatever you want! Oh, wait, I got it! declared another friend. Say this: Look at my little finger. It s stronger than one of my father s legs. He made things hard for you. I ll make em harder! He pushed you around. I ll push harder! Rehoboam liked what he heard. Genius! he crowed. Oh, and lemme know if the snail or the slug wins. 3

4 Three days later, Jeroboam and the Israelites returned. They all lined up before the king to hear his answer. Well, are you gonna make it a little easier on us? asked Jeroboam. Rehoboam grinned and held up his hand, pinky pointed. Look at my little finger, he sneered. It s stronger than one of my father s legs. He made things hard for you. I ll make em harder! He pushed you around. I ll push harder! Jeroboam s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Oh no you didn t! He made things hard for you. I ll make em harder. Rehoboam crossed his arms. Oh yes I did. Then you re not our king anymore. Oh yes, I am! 4

5 You can play king over this little part of the country, Jeroboam announced. The rest of us are gonna set up our own kingdom. You can t do that! shrieked Rehoboam. But it was too late. All hail, King Jeroboam! shouted the Israelites. Jeroboam and the people stormed out. After this, the entire kingdom split in two... all because Rehoboam chose to listen to foolish advice. Let s Talk! When you have a tough decision, who do you talk to? List three people you re most likely to go to for advice. Now, together, consider whether those people would point you to a wise choice. Here s the thing: you re most likely to ask for help from the people you spend the most time with. If those people are focused on loving God and loving others they ll probably help you make good choices. But if those people, like Rehoboam s friends, only care about themselves, they ll start pushing you in the wrong direction. It will be much easier to make foolish decisions when the people around you aren t acting wisely. If you already have wise friends, pray together and thank God for them. If you don t have many wise friends to spend time with, pray together and ask God to lead you to friends who love Him and love others. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER S VERSION 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. 5