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1KINGS
CHAPTER 12

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

The most glorious king to ever live had died. But the most glorious kingdom was still in full bloom.
So why did Rehoboam go to Shechem to be made king? Why didn't the people come to Jerusalem the present capitol?
This signifies that there is already trouble in the kingdom. Rehoboam knew about the prophecy Ahijah had made concerning the rending of the kingdom. He was going to Shechem to try and appease the people.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 4 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.

HERE is the problem! The people are tired of heavy taxes. Taxes are a yoke that is "grievous". SOME taxation is necessary, but too much is an unbearable burden.
Taxation is a form of support for the government. And people will allow a certain amount. But when the people say it is enough, it is time to reduce taxation.

5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? 7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? 10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. 11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; 14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

To his credit, Rehoboam sought advice from the elder men. They gave him sound advice. They said, "..If thou wilt be a servant unto this people.."
For a person to LEAD, he must resign himself to SERVE!
Jesus said, "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:" (Matthew 20:27).
However, young men are rebellious toward servitude. And Rehoboam listened to the WRONG group.
When we, as Christians, are called upon to act with responsibility in this world, we should LISTEN to sound advice - advice that comes from eternal principles.
Rehoboam chose to flaunt authority rather than to serve the people.
Do we have this problem in America today?

16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

Judah and Benjamin's tribes stayed with Rehoboam. God preserved a "remnant" of each part of Jacob's family; one tribe from each wife.
The sins of man bring destruction to the things of God. But God is in the preservation business! Thank God for His plan of preservation which brings salvation!

18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

Rehoboam was unsatisfied with the situation and sent the tax-collector out. He was killed! So Rehoboam withdrew to Jerusalem and gathered those who would follow him.
He was still unsatisfied, and began to raise an army to take back the tribes which had left.
Friends, when leaders desire authority over servitude, the result is WAR against the people!
The people (of the ten tribes) caled upon Jeroboam to be their king. This split Israel in two parts. The ten tribes who followed Jeroboam would be called "ISRAEL." The two tribes who followed Rehoboam would be called "JUDAH."
God sent a word to Rehoboam telling him NOT to fight against his kinfolk. To his credit, Rehoboam listened to God's Word through the prophet Shemaiah. When we realize we've made mistakes, we need to listen to God's WORD!

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD 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. 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

Jeroboam made Shechem his capitol, then established another capitol in Penuel. Jeroboam was a thinker. And, like so many folk, he had "stinkin' thinkin'." Chuck Swindoll once said, "We all need a check-up from the neck-up to get rid of stinkin' thinkin."

Jeroboam realized that if all the people of his newly established kingdom went to Jerusalem to worship, pretty soon they'd be back in fellowship with the other tribes and look to Rehoboam for leadership. So he devised a method by which the people would be separated from genuine worship!
Do you see this happening in America today? There are many who espouse that the Constitution of the U.S. calls for "..separation of church and state." I find that no where in the Constitution. It is a method devised to divide the people from worship of the One True God. If one can confine worship to temples, soon people will separate worship from active living of God's moral principles.
The Bible plainly says, "..this thing became a SIN!"

While Jeroboam (representing government) was devising this method of separating people from Holy Worship, he also instituted practices which would defile worship. He used the "...lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.." (verse 31).
There are those in this world today who would influence the use of people who are of low moral character to lead the church. If the leaders can be discredited, then pretty soon, people will hold disregard for religion altogether - except for tradition and ritualistic activities.

What we see in this chapter is relevan to today!

Please continue with us in daily Bible study.