Today's Reading:

1 Kings 12
2 Chronicles 10

During the split from a united kingdom, to a divided kingdom, God told Rehoboam to “Go home, this was my doing, it is the plan.” Why would God want a divided kingdom? He does not. This was about consequences, and His judgment on Solomon’s sin because of disobedience, idolatry, and unfaithfulness. Having foreign wives turned his heart to their gods. God had warned him by sending the prophet Ahijah to say the ten tribes would be torn away. This was announced before Rehoboam even became king. God used Rehoboam’s pride and the people’s anger to fulfill words given to Jeroboam. God did not make Rehoboam sin. He had listened to bad advice from friends. God did prevent the civil war, so that no unnecessary blood was shed. God still showed mercy in judgment by preserving David’s line in Judah. God still remained in control of the outcome.

Why would God stop the civil war then? Why not let the northern bigger tribes win? The south had more organization and the Temple, so why not let them win? God let the division itself be the judgment.

Rehoboam had rejected the elders’ advice and listened to his younger peers, which was a disaster. What lessons about seeking and choosing counsel does this teach? When you need to make an important decision, who do you tend to listen to the most, and why?

Solomon had tried to kill Jeroboam. This could be read in the lost “Book of Annals of Solomon.” Rehoboam, his son, took over the throne after Solomon died. Jeroboam, who had fled to Egypt, came back when he heard that Solomon and Joab had died. Rehoboam and Jeroboam became the two central kings in the dramatic split of the united kingdom of Israel. Prior to this, we had labeled Israel (north) and Judah (south) during a partial split of the tribes. This is where the kingdoms officially split after David had united them for a short time. Solomon inherited the already united kingdom and was a strong ruler. But his heavy taxation, forced labor, and idolatry planted the seeds for the split. After Solomon died, the kingdom was divided into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) under Rehoboam, who was the legitimate heir. The people went to Shechem to crown the king.

Rehoboam, King of Judah (S) #1- The people, led by Jeroboam, asked Rehoboam to lessen the tax burden that Solomon put on them. Rehoboam rejected the older “wise” elders’ advice to him to have some humility as a servant-leader. Instead, he listened to his arrogant friends and made things worse (1 Kings 12:14). He asserted his dominance and said he would use scorpions on them, which were metal spiked whips.

There were the original 12 Tribes of Jacob (remember, these were Jacob’s 12 sons; the tribe of Joseph split in two for his sons, and the Levites were not given a land inheritance). Prior to the split, there were the ten tribes in the north and the two tribes in the south, which were Judah and Benjamin. This stayed the same during the kingdom split. Jeroboam became the northern king with the capital located in Samaria. Judah kept Rehoboam, the legitimate heir to the throne, as king with the capital that was already established in Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy to Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah in 1 Kings 11.

Jeroboam, King of Israel #1 (N)- Jeroboam set up idols of golden calves in Bethel and Dan so that the people did not have to journey down to Jerusalem in order to worship. The calf was a representation of the pagan god for strength and fertility, like when Aaron, on Mount Sinai made the Golden Calf in Exodus 32:1-6. This was a self-centered act on his part so that the Israelites in the north did not give allegiance back to Rehoboam in the south. Jeroboam also appointed priests who were not Levites, then made up his own festival for the people to celebrate. He built up Peniel and made it one of his royal residences.

Remember, Peniel is the exact place where Jacob wrestled with God in Genesis 32. There God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and blessed him. Jeroboam's choosing Peniel was symbolic and rebellious. He was trying to create his own “new Israel” with his own worship system. He was rejecting God’s chosen place of Jerusalem and His chosen line of David. Ahijah had already told him that God would give him the ten northern tribes, but Jeroboam did not trust the prophecy.

Rehoboam in the south wanted to start a civil war with Jeroboam for a united kingdom, but the prophet Shemaiah said not to, as the division was from God. God was punishing the “House of David” because of Solomon’s idolatry (11:9-13). In 930 BC, the united kingdom monarch was gone forever. Israel lasted 200 years until the Assyrians came to destroy it in 722 BC. Then Judah was taken over by Babylon in 586 BC. With the kingdoms officially split, the Northern Kingdom’s people’s response of, “What share do we have in David,” was their way of rejecting the Davidic dynasty. They were telling Rehoboam to rule over his own smaller territories, “Look after your own house, David.” This echoed the earlier rebellion against David himself (2 Samuel 20:10). Rehoboam then tried to send a tax collector that worked for David named Adoram to the north, and the people stoned him to death. The civil war did not happen because God told Rehoboam not to fight (12:24). The people “jerked” their loyalty from Rehoboam to the north to Jeroboam.

There are so many names and people to keep track of in the Bible. When the names are similar, it can be confusing and easy to mix them up. That is why I always write the “S” for south and “N” for north in my Bible. It can be difficult to remember Rehoboam and Jeroboam as well. Here is my trick:

Rehoboam: Reign, because he was the legitimate heir.

Jeroboam: Jerk, because he jerked the kingdom apart, and was an evil jerk.

Today's Discussion question:

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