Rehoboam s Big Mistake Listening to the Wrong People! The Nation of Israel Divides Israel 10 Northern Tribes Divided Kingdom Judah 1
Divided Kingdom There seems to have been a distinction made between Israel (10 Northern Tribes) and Judah (Judah and Benjamin) for several years before the kingdom split. At the very beginning of Saul s reign we begin to see a distinction made between Judah and Israel 1Sa 11:8 When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. Divided Kingdom There must have been some sort of strife between the two groups which was evidenced by their actions after the death of Saul 2Sa 2:10 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. 2
Divided Kingdom We see this same division arise again after David defeats Absalom 2Sa 20:2 So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king. Divided Kingdom Even during the days of Solomon there was a distinction made between the Children of Israel and Judah 1Ki 4:20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 3
Divided Kingdom Even what was left of the tribe of Benjamin was set against Judah in some of these instances. But once the kingdom was divided Benjamin was counted with Judah, 1Ki 12:21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin. Divided Kingdom There was no missing tribe from the twelve tribes of Israel as some have thought. The tribe of Benjamin since it was so small in number was simply included in the tribe of Judah Today we find people of Jewish descent in almost every nation. When we find this we are not finding a lost tribe but simply the fulfillment of prophecy. 4
Divided Kingdom Moses told the people before they went into the Promised Land that if they did not obey God then He would scatter them among the nations. De 4:27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. Rehoboam was Solomon s son. When it came time to make him King after the death of Solomon. The People of Israel had a demand. They wanted Rehoboam to be easier on them than his father Solomon was! 5
1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 1Ki 12:3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 "Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you." 6
5 So he said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me." And the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" 7 And they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever." 8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 7
1Ki 12:9 And he said to them, "What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?" 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us' - thus you shall say to them: 'My little finger shall be thicker than my father's waist! 8
11 'And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges (scorpions KJV)!' Rehoboam had rejected the counsel of the elders (KJV calls them the old men ) who had been the friends and counselors of his father Solomon. What better men could he have asked advice from than those who had served his father? Elders: men with life experience and the wisdom that comes from it. Even more so for these men since they had spent so much time in the presence of the wisest man to have ever lived. Instead he takes the advice of the young men he grew up with who probably cared nothing for God. 9
Young men: lack of life experience and the lack of wisdom that comes from it, but full of the arrogance often seen in the young thinking they know it all. These young men had no more experience than did Rehoboam himself. Where were they getting the information that they based their advice on? Being young was not a bad thing but it did mean that the information and experience they had was limited and therefore their ability to give good advice on such matters was limited as well. 10
When seeking advice on important matters especially in our spiritual life we need first of all to go to the Word of God and then seek the advice of older more experienced Godly men and women. Why do we think God put Elders in charge of local congregations and not novices? To avoid any problems that may come with youth and arrogance 1Ti 3:6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. God wanted men with wisdom obtained thru life experience and study so they might be able to successfully deal with the problems that face congregations. Just what were the results of Rehoboam s rejection of the advice of the older men? 11
1Ki 12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, "Come back to me the third day." 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!" 12
15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: "What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!" So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. 13
1Ki 12:18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. These events were going to take place. The 10 northern tribes were going to be taken away from Rehoboam and given to Jeroboam. God had already promised it. God used the ignorance and arrogance of Rehoboam to bring these events about. In a very similar fashion to the way God used Pharaoh. What lessons can we learn from the story of Rehoboam? 14
Lessons From Rehoboam Be willing to seek advice. Know what you don t know Be able to recognize those who can and will give us good advice. Someone who has our best interest at heart. Someone who loves us. Someone with who understands Godly Principles Someone who has had practice in applying Godly Principles in their own lives Lessons From Rehoboam Who could this be? God! God fearing people, who have an understanding of the truth. Young people, seek out and be willing to listen to the advice of older Christians! Especially Christian Parents and Grandparents 15
Conclusion You may think now, these old folks don t have a clue but they do. They have already been where you are. They have a lifetime of experiences of their own and also from those who have lived around them. More important than life experience many of these older Christians have many years of Bible study in order to base their advice on. Conclusion Mark Twain once said of his father: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. 16