1 Valley View Chapel January 17, 2016 The Story, Part 14 A Kingdom Torn in Two 1 Kings 12:1-20 Introduction In today s chapter of The Story we are introduced to the proverbial poster boy for poor leadership. He is Rehoboam, Solomon s son and his hand-picked successor as Israel s fourth king. His 18 year reign from 931-913 was called by the great Scottish preacher Alexander Maclaren: a miserable story of imbecility and arrogance. Jim Collins is one of the most respected authors and consultants on the American business scene. He might have had Rehoboam in mind when he observed in his book How the Mighty Fall Collins: One of the most significant indicators of decline is the reallocation of power into the hands of leaders who fail to comprehend and / or lack the will to do what must be done and equally what must not be done to sustain greatness. Solomon was known as the wisest man in the world. Selecting Rehoboam as Israel s next king was not Solomon s finest hour by a long shot. He could hardly have chosen a less qualified individual to lead the nation. As I studied Rehoboam s career I was reminded of Robert Nardelli the former CEO of Home Depot. Nardelli was chosen for the top job at Home Depot after a successful run as a top lieutenant for Jack Welch at GE. Conde Nast Portfolio named Nardelli one of the worst American CEOs of all time. He was dictatorial, autocratic, and arrogant. He neither asked for advice nor took it when he got it. Fear and intimidation were the main components of his motivational strategy. Yes, he increased profits for a time but company morale plummeted and Home Depot was left in the dust by Lowe s. In his book Derailed Tim Irwin recalled when Samuel Yake, a Home Depot shareholder, stood and addressed Mr. Nardelli at the 2006 shareholders meeting: If you don t listen to people and you aren t humble and decent you will destroy this company. Nardelli was fired several weeks later. Someone should have said to Rehoboam: If you don t listen to [the right] people and you aren t humble and decent you will destroy this [nation.] Rehoboam didn t listen to the right people. He wasn t humble and decent. And yes, he did destroy the nation. The story of Rehoboam is the story of failed leadership rooted in just plain bad decisions. Rehoboam s foolish decisions affected the nation of Israel for literally thousands of years. We are all called upon occasionally to make decisions that will affect other people for a long time. It could be a decision to change jobs; relocate; leave one church for another; enter into a relationship or leave a relationship; make a major purchase or defer it; go to this school or that school; choose this career or that one. The French philosopher and author Albert Camus said that We are the sum total of all our decisions. By looking closely at Rehoboam and his catastrophic decision-making strategy, we can hopefully learn from his mistake so that we don t walk in his sad and sorry steps.
2 How to Make a Good Decision Learn from the past Follow along as I read 1 Kings 12:1-4 (pp. 193-194), 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. " (NIV) The nation of Israel was comprised of ten northern tribes and two southern tribes. Rehoboam had gone to Shechem 40 miles north of Jerusalem to receive the blessing of the northern tribes on his coronation. His father Solomon had not treated the northern tribes well during his reign. John MacArthur noted: The hardships that resulted from Solomon s policy of compulsory labor service and excessive taxes came because the splendor of his courts, the magnitude of his wealth, and the profits of his enterprises were not enough to sustain his demands. Under Solomon s rule the conditions under which the people lived and worked were remarkably similar to what their ancestors experienced as slaves in Egypt. Exodus 1:14 described their oppression under Pharaoh: They [the Egyptian taskmasters] made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. (NIV) Notice what is said in the third verse: The whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam. This wasn t a handful of malcontents, a few troublemakers and ring leaders. All the people felt the sting of Solomon s self-serving policies. Warren Wiersbe summed up the reigns of David and his son Solomon: David loved the people and risked his life for them. Solomon didn t serve the people but used them to satisfy his own desires. Was Rehoboam going to follow his grandfather David, the servant-leader or his father Solomon, the self-serving leader? If Rehoboam had been a student of history he would have realized that the way to avoid trouble and maintain national loyalty would have been to hear the cry of the people and make some meaningful concessions. It was a new day and a new administration. It would have been an ideal time to institute a new royal policy of moderation and restraint. He should have learned from the past and made some changes. It is estimated that 4,000-7,000 churches in America close every year. And while each church has its own set of circumstances that forced its closure, there is one over-riding reason that ties most of them together: They refused to learn from the past. Many years ago I came across a little poem that contains valuable common sense: Methods are many; principles are few. Methods always change; principles never do.
3 Change, while no guarantee of success, is absolutely necessary for continued success. John Maxwell put it well: You can change without growing but you cannot grow without changing. Churches and companies resistant to change or who try to implement change too late will not continue to survive, much less thrive. Borders Book Store went out of business because they were too late in implementing change. A&P closed its doors because they realized too late that the old grocery store model had become obsolete. Circuit City died because they didn t recognize the enormous possibilities of the Internet until it was too late. If Rehoboam had thought seriously about the downward direction of his father s leadership and made the appropriate adjustments, the history of Israel would have been changed forever. Use the interim wisely Rehoboam s immediate response to the plea of the northern tribes is recorded in the fifth verse: "Go away for three days and then come back to me." There comes a time when the options concerning a major change are before us but we haven t yet pulled the trigger. This is the thinking about it stage. It s the time between when you re thinking about a divorce and the time when you decide to walk away from the marriage or stay in it. It s the time between when your boyfriend or girlfriend wants you to go to the next level sexually and the time when you decide to say yes or no. It s the time between when you get a job offer that will require relocation and when you decide to move away or stay put. It s the time between when you are invited to become involved in a ministry and the time when you decide to go for it or not. Rehoboam had a big decision to make. Would he adopt new policies toward the people or would he intensify the harsh policies instituted by his father? To his credit, he started well. He consulted other people. Maybe he remembered what his father had said in Proverbs 15:22, Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success. (NLT) 1 Kings 12:6 tells us: 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. The elders were a seasoned, mature advisory group. They had been around to see the sad outcome of Solomon s self-serving policies. Perhaps they had even tried to steer their king in a more prudent direction. Their response to Rehoboam was profoundly helpful and
4 eminently practical: "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." In other words: Be a servant leader and the people will love you, serve you and follow you. Jesus knew this principle and lived by it. Servant-leadership was his true north. One day James and his brother John were arguing about who would be the alpha disciple Jesus, in no uncertain terms rebuked them: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (NIV) Author and conference speaker Jaye Martin put it well: To be a servant leader, we just need to keep in mind that we are servants first and leaders second. Nothing inspires love and loyalty like servant leadership. Rehoboam s father was right: Many advisers bring success. But there s a caveat to that maxim. Success comes when you listen to the right advisors. If Rehoboam had caught the first train back to Shechem, humbled himself, and pledged to be a servant-leader, the people would have followed him gladly up any hill he chose to climb. The story continues in 1 Kings 12:8, But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 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.'" 1 Kings 12:8-11 (NIV) These young men were the spoiled, indulged, and entitled sons of Solomon s court officials. Today we d call them Rehoboam s posse, home boys, or entourage. Notice that verse 8 tells us that Rehoboam rejected the elders counsel even before he consulted the young men. No doubt he expressed his preferred course of action to these guys and his fan club heartily said Amen! Rehoboam and his young friends were motivated more by testosterone than good sense and wise judgment. Rehoboam needed someone like Nathan the prophet who hadn t been afraid to speak truth to power to King David back in 2 Samuel 12. So how do we use the interim wisely? First, we pray. Before we even consult anyone else, we consult the Lord. Yet there is no record anywhere that Rehoboam prayed. In fact there s no record that he ever prayed about anything. It s no wonder that his leadership went sideways. He wasn t the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with. If anyone needed the wisdom of God, it was Rehoboam.
5 Did you know that there is one prayer that God always answers in the affirmative if we pray it with sincere faith? It s the prayer for wisdom. James 1:5-6 is a wonderful promise in the Word of God: But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting. (NET) Good decisions always honor God. Good decisions always lead to good results. Pray first. Then ask the question: What does the Bible say? Is there a clear word from God concerning the decision I have to make? Suppose someone has hurt you. They ask for your forgiveness. You tell them you need time to think about it. Forgiveness isn t easy. To forgive costs a great deal. It s not a snap decision. If it is, then it will be forgiveness in word only. It won t come from the heart. So you ponder the Word of God. What does the Bible say? It says in Matthew 6:12, Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (NIV) It says in Colossians 3:13, Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) Rehoboam didn t have the New Testament but he had the example of his grandfather David. When David had a golden opportunity in 1 Samuel 24 to kill King Saul who had sought numerous times to kill David, David acted with grace and forgiveness. And the counsel of his own father who couldn t have been clearer. Proverbs 12:18 says: Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (NIV) Proverbs 15:1 laid down a helpful principle: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (NIV) Did Rehoboam show the grace of his grandfather? Did he heed the wise counsel of his father? The answer is recorded in 1 Kings 12:13-15, 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. Conclusion Rehoboam made a lousy decision. We re told in verse 20 how it turned out: 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. So here s the final principle we can learn from Rehoboam s poor decision: Poor decisions always turn out poorly
6 When you make a decision without prayer; without consulting the right people; and in direct violation of the Word of God, it will never I repeat, it will never turn out well. The nation of Israel had made a terrible decision generations earlier when they demanded a king against the express counsel of God and his prophet Samuel. How did that turn out? In his book Exploring the Story Adam Barr gave the answer: Just three generations before Rehoboam, Israel had begged for a king. They believed that having a king would unite the separate tribes and form one strong nation. They dreamed they could be just like the nations around them, with a national identity centered around a royal line. But by the time Rehoboam assumed the throne, the dream of past generations had become a nightmare. Because the people demanded a king, they got Rehoboam. Under Rehoboam, the unified kingdom of Israel split in two. The northern kingdom originally led by Jeroboam was conquered by the Assyrians in a little more than 100 years. 120 years after that the southern kingdom that had followed Rehoboam was hauled off into Babylonian exile. Solomon s temple built at such great cost in money, materials, and human blood and sweat was a heap of rubble. For the last 2,950 years the Jews have considered the division of the nation the greatest tragedy in their history. Let us learn from the mistakes of the past. Let us use the interim wisely. In the time we have to consider a life-altering decision, may we pray, consult godly counselors, and test our decision by biblical precedent and principles. And let us always rememberthat poor decisions always turn out poorly. But good decisions always turn out well.
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