183. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM—ISRAEL AND JUDAH

"I will rend the Kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee."

King Solomon reigned for 40 years. He was a great poet and very clever in every way. Yet, gradually his love for the wisdom of his God began to take second place; for "Solomon did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and went not fully after Yahweh, as did David his father" (1 Kings 11:6).

After Solomon's death, Israel became divided into two nations — the North and South. The North became known as Israel and the South as Judah.

1 Kings 11 and 12.

GOD'S WARNING TO SOLOMON BEFORE HIS DEATH. 1 Kings 11.

The splendid reign of Solomon drew toward its end. His many wives led him into worship of idols and he built temples for them, "and Yahweh was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away." Because of this he received a message, "I will surely rend the Kingdom from thee" (11:11-13). However, for the sake of David, his father, it was not to be in Solomon's lifetime but in that of his son. Solomon commenc­ed to reign when he was young (probably about 18 or 20 years; 1 Chronicles 29:1). He reigned for 40 years so he did not enjoy the long life God had promised him if he obeyed Him (1 Kings 3:14). He slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead (2 Chronicles 9:31).

THE CONFERENCE AT SHECHEM. 1 Kings 12:1-5.

Rehoboam, whose mother was an Ammonitess, was to succeed Solomon upon the throne (1 Kings 11:43; 14:21). The public coronation was to take place at Shechem and all Israel gathered for the occasion. Yet in Israel there was trouble brewing. The people were dissatisfied with the high taxes that Solomon had placed upon them and so they appointed Jeroboam to be their spokesman to present their grievances to Rehoboam. Jeroboam had previously been a diligent servant of Solomon's (1 Kings 11:28), but Ahijah the prophet had been sent by God to tell him, "Behold, I will rend the Kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee" (1 Kings 11:29-31). When Solomon heard of this he sought to kill Jeroboam (v.40) but he had fled to Egypt.

Now, following the death of Solomon the men of Israel sent for Jeroboam to come out of Egypt (v.2-3). Jeroboam was no doubt anxious to bring about the fulfilment of Ahijah's prophecy and being a cunning man he set about to take the kingdom for himself. He knew that there were two things that troubled the people:

1. There had always been jealousy and rivalry between the 10 tribes in the north and the 2 tribes in the south.

2. The people were grieved because of the heavy burdens of taxes they had to pay under the reign of Solomon.

Because of this discontent among the people when Rehoboam came to the throne, a tense atmosphere prevailed. Jeroboam used this opportuni­ty to further his own cause. He headed a deputation and came to Rehoboam with a request. "Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter and we will serve thee." (v.4).

This was a reasonable demand and it shows how clever Jeroboam real­ly was. Jeroboam knew that if Rehoboam rejected the request to make the taxes lighter he would appear a tyrant, but if he agreed with Jeroboam, then Jeroboam would appear a great man in the eyes of the people.

THE FOLLY OF REHOBOAM. 1 Kings 12:6-15.

Rehoboam told the people to depart for 3 days and then he would give his answer. Rehoboam then sought the advice from the "old men that stood before Solomon his father" (v.6). These wise men advised Rehoboam to give way to the people, otherwise he would have a revolt on * his hands. "Speak good words to them" they said "and they will be your servants forever" (v.7). They knew it was important for a new young king to gain the favour of the people. They urged him to accept the con­ditions before him.

But Rehoboam also asked the advice of the young men who had grown up with him. These young men were inexperienced, impetuous and proud. In their view taxation should be sharply increased. They felt to give way to the demands of the people would be an evidence of weakness. So Rehoboam rejected the wise counsel of the old men and took the counsel of the foolish young men. He had not given heed to the words of his grandfather, David, who had said, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" (2 Sam. 23:3).

After 3 days the king came before the people and told them, "My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (v.14). He made them to feel the power of his position and roughly announced that their suffering would increase.

The result of this was an outbreak of rebellion.

THE KINGDOM DIVIDED. 1 Kings 12:16-24.

When the people saw that their request was rejected, they went back to their tents in a rebellious spirit. Rehoboam troubled by the revolt, sent Adoram to speak with the people. But a more foolish move could hardly be imagined for Adoram was in charge of the taxes! His presence incensed the people even more, they took up stones and stoned him to death (v.18).

Rehoboam fled from Shechem to Jerusalem, and made ready a large army to crush the revolt. But God intervened, and through Shemaiah the prophet he was forbidden to go, because it was God's will that this should happen (v.22-24).

Jeroboam was elected king of the northern tribes, thus Israel was divid­ed into two nations. The kingdom might have been taken away from Rehoboam altogether, like it had been taken away from Saul, but God remembered the faithful service of David and so two tribes were given to the seed of David. Not until the return of Christ (who is the seed of David) will the twelve tribes be united again (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; Ezek. 37:22).

JEROBOAM'S FEAR AND APOSTACY. 1 Kings 12:25-33.

Although Jeroboam was king of the North, he became fearful that his power would be taken from him. He realised that now the kingdom was divided into two, the people would go to Jerusalem to worship, for the law required that all males should appear before Yahweh three times a year (Ex. 23:17). He felt sure that his influence would wane. "If this peo­ple go up to do sacrifice in the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah" (v.27).

So Jeroboam thought of a wicked and cunning plan. He told the peo­ple that it was too far for them to go to Jerusalem to worship. He set up two golden calves, one in Bethel and one in Dan and said "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (v.28). He made priests of the common people, those who were not Levites. The true priests would not come and engage in this evil and wicked worship. Next Jeroboam changed the date of the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was held on the 15th day of the 7th month but Jeroboam's feast was held on the 15th day of the 8th month. So the people sacrificed unto the two golden calves, making the worship appear to be the same, but it was not; he had perverted the Truth and deceived the people. Jeroboam is record­ed in scripture as "the man who made Israel to sin" (1 Kings 14:16). God requires that man must worship Him in the way He has set down, we "must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

All of the 23 kings that came after followed his ways, save the last. Of them the words recur time and time again, "He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin". God was so displeased with Jeroboam that He declared His inten­tion to utterly destroy his house (1 Kings 14:7-16).

LESSON FOR US:

Rehoboam was weak and did not understand his duty to lead Israel in serving God. His own ambition and greed and thoughtlessness of his brethren in Israel lost for him the ten northern tribes. God gives us a task to do in leading others to serve Him and then caring for them. He wishes us to be an example in all godly things, learning His will from the Bible, teaching it faithfully, and doing it always (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

Never forget that God is anxious that we pray to Him about important decisions and tasks (Proverbs 15:8, 29). This Rehoboam failed to do when he turned rather to his young foolish friends for advice.

Whereas Rehoboam was weak, Jeroboam was strong, but only in self-will and determination to gain his own ends. He became infamous for "leading Israel to sin". We must learn to humble ourselves, not seeking our own profit and glory, but rather doing all things to the honour and glory of Yahweh, serving Him as He has commanded in spirit and in truth.

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"The Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield)—Vol. 4, No. 11.

"The Ways of Providence" (R. Roberts)—Chapter 19.

"The Visible Hand of God" (R. Roberts)—Chapter 25.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. What was the request of Jeroboam and the people to Rehoboam?

2. Whose advice did Rehoboam seek and whose advice did he take?

3. In what ways did Jeroboam cause Israel to sin?

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. What was the cause of the kingdom under Rehoboam being divided?

2. Describe fully how Jeroboam "made Israel to sin"?