1 Kings 12 - This Turn of Events was From the LORD

Life's summits never last long, but the LORD always is in control.

alittleperspective.com

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... The LORD declared that although He would tear most of the kingdom away because of Solomon’s idolatry, He would preserve a remnant for the sake of David and Jerusalem. By the time Solomon died, the once-united kingdom stood on the brink of fracture.

1 Kings 12:1–24 (NIV)

12 Rehoboam [Solomon's son] went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.

² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷ They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David,

what part in Jesse’s son?

To your tents, Israel!

Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,  who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

²⁰ When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: ²³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’ ” So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 31

Q. Why is Jesus called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father

and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be

[our chief prophet and priest] and...

... our eternal king

who governs us by his Word and Spirit,

and who guards us and keeps us

in the freedom he has won for us.

Summary

Anybody who's driven over a mountain pass knows you don't spend much time at the summit. The climb feels long and demanding, but the descent comes quickly, and before you know it, you're back in the flatlands.

So it was for the Kingdom of Israel. King David had clawed his way nearly to its peak, while his son Solomon took the final steps and planted the flag, so to speak, by building a temple and palace. But those glorious days didn't last long.

Solomon, having lost much of his faithfulness along the way, died and gave rise to his sons, and it was all downhill from there. After Rehoboam took the throne, it didn't take long for Jeroboam, who had exiled himself to Egypt after it was prophesied that he would gain the bulk of a divided kingdom, to return and whip up public outcry against the kingdom's burdensome taxation.

King Rehoboam spurned the advice of his father's wise elders, throwing all in with his young buddies and put the hammer down all the harder. Rebellion ensues, and just like that, less that 20 verses after Israel reached its summit, it fell to the bottom, irreparably broken into two pieces.

  Dig Deeper  

Remember that as we read through the Old Testament, we're not just in it for the ancient history, as fascinating as it can be. In every story and every chapter our quest remains the same: how does this passage point us to Christ, the true King who forever reigns on David's throne?

First of all, realize that in all of the chaos, brokenness and disappointment of today's passage, God remains fully in control. Not only had He ordained Israel's ugly fall as a result of Solomon's wandering heart, but He conscripted Jeroboam to be the one to drive the ten northern tribes off a cliff by disavowing the house (and consequently the covenant) of David rather than pay their high taxes. But even though Rehoboam was an awful and ungodly king himself, God preserved a remnant of His people through him. This turn of events was from the LORD.

And King Rehoboam's heavy handed greed helps us see the servant leadership of King Jesus in contrast. Whereas Rehoboam doubled down and made the already oppressive load heavier on his people, Jesus calls out to all who are weary and burdened, and promises to give rest... for He is gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who preserved the line of David that leads to King Jesus;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that unlike Rehoboam, you'll consult the LORD, and not just various advisors;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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