1Ki 12:1-24 | KingComments | STEP | In this chapter we have come to an important point in the history of Israel: the sad separation of the kingdom into two kingdoms. This tear has two causes. The first is the sin of Solomon. The previous chapter tells about this. The second is the folly of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We will read about this in this chapter. The history of the two kingdoms that were created by the tear, runs roughly in three periods: 1. In the first period, which for Israel is the time from Jeroboam to Omri and for Judah from Rehoboam to Asa (1 Kings 12-16), the two kingdoms are hostile to each other. 2. This enmity ends in the second period, for Israel it is under Ahab and his sons Ahaziah and Jehoram and for Judah under Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah. In that period, both royal families connect with each other by establishing marital bonds. They also connect with each other in a common fight against foreign enemies. This union ends when Jehu kills both kings of the kingdoms, Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah, at the same time (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 10:27). 3. This time of union is followed by a third period that begins for Israel with Jehu and for Judah with Joash, in which alienation and conflict between the two kingdoms again occurs, until finally the kingdom of Israel is taken away by the Assyrians. After the division of the kingdom, the northern realm remains, called ‘Israel’. The history of that kingdom, that of the ten tribes, is a picture of the history of professing Christianity, or the kingdom of heaven. In that history we see the history of the people of God in the New Testament era from the point of view of man’s responsibility. The history of Israel shows what has become of that kingdom, just as we also know how Christianity will be. The history of Christianity can be found in Revelation 2-3. There is a clear parallel between that history and that of the ten tribes realm of Israel (see the explanation of 1 Kings 11:1-8). The great mass, both of the ten tribes realm and of Christianity, apostatizes further and further from God. Opposite to Israel is the two tribes realm of Judah, where kings of the David family reign. Opposite the apostate mass in Christianity is a remnant that remains faithful to the Lord. Both Judah and the faithful remnant in professing Christianity is weak, but God connects Himself with them. In the midst of them He makes His Name dwell. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, has died. He leaves all his wealth to a foolish son. Rehoboam is a man without a conviction of his own. He lets himself be guided by others. This is evident right from the start. Rehoboam goes to Shechem to be made king there. Shechem is a kind of compromise place, a place indeed in Ephraim, but also between the realms. It is the place of the old public gathering ( ), where Abimelech, the son of Gideon, made himself king in the time of the judges ( ). Rehoboam goes there because the people have gone there. He is guided by the will of the people instead of by the will of God, Who has designated Jerusalem as the place of His throne. By going there he wants to preserve the unity of the people.

‏ 1 Kings 12:1-24

Introduction

In this chapter we have come to an important point in the history of Israel: the sad separation of the kingdom into two kingdoms. This tear has two causes. The first is the sin of Solomon. The previous chapter tells about this. The second is the folly of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We will read about this in this chapter.

The history of the two kingdoms that were created by the tear, runs roughly in three periods:

1. In the first period, which for Israel is the time from Jeroboam to Omri and for Judah from Rehoboam to Asa (1 Kings 12-16), the two kingdoms are hostile to each other.

2. This enmity ends in the second period, for Israel it is under Ahab and his sons Ahaziah and Jehoram and for Judah under Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah. In that period, both royal families connect with each other by establishing marital bonds. They also connect with each other in a common fight against foreign enemies. This union ends when Jehu kills both kings of the kingdoms, Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah, at the same time (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 10:27).

3. This time of union is followed by a third period that begins for Israel with Jehu and for Judah with Joash, in which alienation and conflict between the two kingdoms again occurs, until finally the kingdom of Israel is taken away by the Assyrians.

After the division of the kingdom, the northern realm remains, called ‘Israel’. The history of that kingdom, that of the ten tribes, is a picture of the history of professing Christianity, or the kingdom of heaven. In that history we see the history of the people of God in the New Testament era from the point of view of man’s responsibility.

The history of Israel shows what has become of that kingdom, just as we also know how Christianity will be. The history of Christianity can be found in Revelation 2-3. There is a clear parallel between that history and that of the ten tribes realm of Israel (see the explanation of 1 Kings 11:1-8).

The great mass, both of the ten tribes realm and of Christianity, apostatizes further and further from God. Opposite to Israel is the two tribes realm of Judah, where kings of the David family reign. Opposite the apostate mass in Christianity is a remnant that remains faithful to the Lord. Both Judah and the faithful remnant in professing Christianity is weak, but God connects Himself with them. In the midst of them He makes His Name dwell.

Rehoboam Goes to Shechem

Solomon, the wisest man on earth, has died. He leaves all his wealth to a foolish son. Rehoboam is a man without a conviction of his own. He lets himself be guided by others. This is evident right from the start. Rehoboam goes to Shechem to be made king there. Shechem is a kind of compromise place, a place indeed in Ephraim, but also between the realms. It is the place of the old public gathering (Jos 24:1), where Abimelech, the son of Gideon, made himself king in the time of the judges (Jdg 9:1).

Rehoboam goes there because the people have gone there. He is guided by the will of the people instead of by the will of God, Who has designated Jerusalem as the place of His throne. By going there he wants to preserve the unity of the people.

The Demand to Lighten the Heavy Yoke

The people, led by Jeroboam, are not doing well either. When they earlier wanted a king, God already warned them what their king would do with them (1Sam 8:11-18). Now they want to shed this yoke. Jeroboam is called. Under his leadership, the people go to Shechem and proposes to Rehoboam to relieve them of the heavy yoke imposed on them by Solomon.

We already see here that the people are grumbling. They set their conditions: if Rehoboam does what they propose, they will serve him. Such an attitude does not suit the people. Solomon undoubtedly asked a lot of the people for his court and many buildings. However, he has also given the people the blessing of peace throughout his reign and made them prosperous. They have eaten and drunk and have been happy and have all lived in safety (1Kgs 4:20 ; 25). They have no reason to complain.

If a person forgets the benefits and blessings God gives him and thinks only of his duties, he becomes dissatisfied. Then it seems as if a heavy burden is being imposed on him. So it is in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Whoever sets conditions for Him because He is considered too hard, does not know Him and has no eye for the many blessings He gives.

The Counsel of the Elders

Even more clearly than in 1Kgs 12:1 it appears that Rehoboam has no opinion of his own and joins the counsel of others when the people come to him with a request. The request is to lighten the heavy service that Solomon has imposed on the people. In order to know how to respond to this request, he asks for a reflection period. He wants to seek advice first. Seeking advice is not wrong in itself, but later it turns out that he listens to the counsel of his peers. With them he grew up, with them he will also have to do all his life. Those old people will soon not be there anymore.

The ancients give good advice. The behavior they recommend to Rehoboam is the best. They tell him that if he is the servant of this people, the people will serve him. By serving and serving as a master, you are only a good master. That is the mind of the Lord Jesus. He has served His own being the Lord and the Teacher or Master (Jn 13:14-15). So He was in their midst. With this He has left an example. As He has done, His own must also behave toward others (Lk 22:26-27).

The Counsel of the Young Men

Rehoboam doesn’t want to submit to the elders’ counsel and act as a servant. He rejects their counsel. Instead of consulting the LORD, he turns to his contemporaries and consults with them. These young men are in his service. Like him, they do not seek the good of the people. They only think about their own position, while they realize that Rehoboam is only interested in that too. The young men give him the counsel to be hard. He must make his power well felt, so that everyone knows who is in charge.

They give him the advice to add to the yoke that Solomon has laid on the people and about which they complain. By the saying “my little finger is thicker than my father’s loins”, the young men mean that Rehoboam must tell the people that his power is much greater than that of his father.

Their counsel is typically that of youth. They give him the counsel to act even harder than Solomon. That’s part of youth. They want to prove themselves. It does not fit to the Christian; he must learn to lose himself and is called to flee the lusts of youth (2Tim 2:22).

The Hard Answer

Rehoboam listens to the advice of the young men and informs the people. He justifies the people in their false assertion that his father had imposed a heavy yoke on them. He does not honor his father. Nor is he concerned about what his father said in his wisdom and behaves like a fool (Pro 15:1 ; Pro 16:18). Solomon spoke about the possibility that he might have to leave the results of all his toil to a foolish son (Ecc 2:18-19). This is what is happening here.

Rehoboam does not show any respect for his father. What his father did, he portrays as insignificant. In contrast, he sets his own greatness. His whole attitude also shows how much he despises the people.

The Turn Is From the LORD

That he gives the hard answer, “was … from the LORD”. Couldn’t Rehoboam therefore act different? He could. This is the mystery that is so often found in Scripture. Look for example at Pharaoh, or at Judas, or at Israel. Take Israel. Had this people to hand over the Lord Jesus? No! Yet they did it because they didn’t want Him. Yet it also says that the people have delivered Him over “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).

Does God incite sin after all? No, He never does, He is never the instigator of sin. What then? He knows perfectly who man is. He knows how to fit the actions of man, for which he himself is fully responsible, into His plans. Thus, in his own way of acting, man becomes a collaborator in the execution of God’s plans. Here we see the interweaving of God’s counsel and the responsibility of man, an interweaving we cannot understand. We also see it in the conversion of man and the election of God.

Rehoboam, for example, is guilty of a foolish reaction here, resulting in the uprising of the people. On the other hand, this turn from the LORD happens, because He said this because of the behavior of Solomon.

The Tear Is a Fact

The strong language of Rehoboam has a devastating effect. The harsh answer gives the dissatisfied the excuse they were looking for to evade Rehoboam’s authority. In 1Kgs 12:16 the split is pronounced out loud and executed. It is then the year 931 BC. All Israel turns against the house of David, to which no one remains faithful except the tribe of Judah (1Kgs 12:20).

Mentioning the name of “David” shows that the hate is deeper than just against the government of Solomon. It is the expression of deep-rooted jealousy for the tribe of Ephraim of Judah, the tribe of David. Ephraim has always felt the most important, but has not been given that place by God. The tribe does not resign themselves to that and now seizes its chance to become the most important one. Jeroboam will become king of all Israel, with the exception of the small part that belongs to the tribe of Judah. Yet Jeroboam also exercises his kingship there, because he is also king of the Israelites who live in Judah.

Rehoboam seems to be blind to the situation. As if nothing had happened, he sent the tax collector Adoram to Israel to collect money for him. That is oil on the fire. This Adoram reminds like no other of the heavy yoke of Solomon and they have just recently thrown it from themselves with strength. Adoram is being stoned to death by all Israel. By fleeing desperately, Rehoboam himself narrowly escapes death.

The LORD Confirms the Tear

Rehoboam does not accept the situation. When he realizes his mistake, he wants to repair the damage. He wants to suppress the uprising and to that end he sets up a strong army. With this he wants to go to war against his brothers to subdue them to himself. He must and shall be their king. A terrible plan.

But there still is a faithful witness. That is Shemaiah. He is emphatically called “the man of God”. God can come to him with His word. God can use him to make his thoughts known in a situation of confusion due to own will. Rehoboam is led to return.

The message of God through Shemaiah is: “This thing has come from Me.” The tearing of the realm is not a matter that has gone beyond God’s control. It did not get out of hand. The failure of Rehoboam is the fulfillment of what God has said to Jeroboam. For Rehoboam, this saying is reason to abandon his intention. The consequences of sins cannot always be undone. He would do well to accept the situation that has arisen. Whether the word of the man of God has brought him to real repentance remains a question.

It is also important to see that as the kingship decays, the ministry of prophets comes to the fore. We have already met Ahijah with a message for Jeroboam in the time of the great unfaithfulness of Solomon (1Kgs 11:29). In that time, we also hear about the prophets Nathan and Iddo (2Chr 9:29). Now we hear about Shemaiah. By prophets God continues to speak in His grace to His people in times of decay. They are, as it were, the link between Him and His people, a link that was first formed by the priests. For us, especially in times of decay, the Word of God remains the connection between the soul and God. By doing so, He tells us His thoughts about the way we should go in the midst of decay.

It is a great encouragement that we should know of every matter that the Lord says: “This thing has come from Me.” This means that nothing in our lives gets out of His control. All our words, deeds and deliberations He knows. Nothing is hidden from Him (Psa 139:1-6). He also knows the consequences of everything we do. He knows how to fit everything into His plan with our lives, without diminishing our own responsibility. Events in our lives that we think back on with shame (cf. Rom 6:21), he manages to use for His purpose. It will be for our good if we submit to His plans with our lives and adapt our lives accordingly.