04.1.6.3. Kings Preceding Division Kingdom -Rehoboam
Chapter 6iii - Rehoboam As soon as Solomon died there was a division in the kingdom, which had been united for 80 years under David and his son. The King’s failures clearly led to Israel’s turning from the Lord and going into idolatry. The Prophet Ahijah told Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant, that God would rend the kingdom and give him ten tribes (1 Kings 11:28-33). Only Judah and Benjamin would be left to Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. When Solomon died, Rehoboam (spelled Roboam in Matthew 1:7) assumed that the throne was his by the right of succession. He thought he could pass to the throne unchallenged. Kingship to him meant being served rather than serving. He soon learned differently. The crisis, which resulted from the people being bled to death under the leadership of Solomon, was more than Rehoboam could handle.
Rehoboam resorted to politics to solve the impending problem. Politics, however, is too often the game of ambition rather than a sphere of service. The old heathen idea of forcible dominion is still largely governing politics. It carries the idea that to be great is to receive much service without rendering any. Hence, the politician too often forgets that nothing in creation is self-serving and every element is intended to serve another.
Rehoboam left the impression with the people that he would give due consideration to their request. Therefore, he consulted with the counselors of his father, but he did not heed their counsel. As far as he was concerned, he was king; and the people had no right but what he chose to give them. After consulting with the old men and refusing their counsel, Rehoboam turned to the young men. When respect for age and experience is refused, the foundation for a sound moral character is jeopardized. The advice of the young men reflected a spirit of arbitrariness; “...thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins” (1 Kings 12:10). This is the same as saying, “Solomon was only a child, but I am a man.” The people fulfilled Ahijah’s prophecy by refusing to hearken to Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:16; 1 Kings 12:19).
Rehoboam was the first king following the death of his father, Solomon. He began his seventeen year reign contrary to the true spirit of a leader defined by Christ: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister...” (Mark 10:45). The strength of a leader is service for and sympathy with the people he rules. Pride led Rehoboam to think that his father was only a child, but he was a man. Hence, he increased the burdens his father had inflicted on the people.
Jeroboam was present with the people when they all came at Rehoboam’s appointment (1 Kings 12:12). Jeroboam was a talented young man who quickly rose in Solomon’s service. He had great influence with the people; therefore, he saw what his chances were to eventually become king. When the people saw that Rehoboam hearkened not to their request, they called Jeroboam and made him king over Israel (1 Kings 12:20). This left only Judah and Benjamin to stand with Rehoboam.
Seated firmly on the throne, Jeroboam faced the opportunity of his life. He failed because he chose the path of expediency rather than the path of righteousness. This is always the path of a depraved heart. The causes of his failures were seductive. They seemed to be justified by the soundest maxims of governmental policy. He reasoned that having the center of the national religion in a foreign city, especially the chief city of the country from which his subjects had come, would never work. The old ties might prove too strong, and religious principles might overcome political considerations. Hence, Jeroboam, with whom expedience took the place of principle, made the fatal mistake of setting up politics before righteousness.
The King, Jeroboam, made use of man-made religion to serve his political ambitions. Israel sacrificed her religious principles for her love of ease. A servile priesthood (not of Levi) aided in the idolatry of the people. The King chose his priests where he pleased (1 Kings 12:25-33). Jeroboam manifested his man-made religion. He made two calves of gold and set one in Bethel and other in Dan, so the people would not return to Jerusalem for worship. He made a house (temple) and made priests of the basest of people. Jeroboam ordained a feast like the feast in Judah and offered on the altar he had devised in his own heart and set up in Bethel.
There is a lesson for our day in Jeroboam’s religious actions. Religious leaders are chosen today outside the prescribed requirements of Scripture. Hence, man-made religion is manifested in the following ways:
(1) The kind of ministers who serve are men-pleasers.
(2) They preach doctrine that will tickle the ears of their followers.
(3) The kind of service they render is with the incorrect motives of personal or denominational success.
(4) The masters they serve are their own self-appointed or denominational programs.
The division of the kingdom was the result of Solomon’s sin and Rehoboam’s folly. God was not the author of either Solomon’s sin or Rehoboam’s folly, but He directed both for the accomplishment of His purpose. This is understood in the same sense as the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:23). God orders all the disorders for the fulfillment of His own purpose. He often uses evil to punish evil (Isaiah 45:7). God’s overruling providence is demonstrated by a wheel within a wheel (Ezekiel 1:16). Ezekiel’s vision by the river Chebar was for the purpose of encouragement. Hence, the vision of the cherubim and the wheels was designed to correct his despondent mood and to assure him that God was keeping watch over His own in a dark hour of Israel’s history. Their lives had not passed out of God’s control. Above both the cherubim and the wheels, the prophet saw the glory of God.
The decline took a sharp turn with the northern kingdom under Jeroboam and the southern kingdom under Rehoboam. “AND it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him” (2 Chronicles 12:1). Neither fenced cities nor worldly wisdom can protect a ruler who is disloyal to truth. Deterioration follows those who ignore the objective standard of God. Departure from God always brings defeat; therefore, God used Shishak, King of Egypt, to go up against Jerusalem and carry away the “shields of gold” which Solomon had made (2 Chronicles 12:9). Rehoboam’s replacement of the “shields of gold” with “shields of brass” demonstrated that he wanted to replace the appearance of principle with something of lesser value. People turning from right principles is bad, but the same people trying to repair the loss with something of lesser value is worse. Professing Christendom is doing the same thing today by “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...” (2 Timothy 3:5). Persons dedicated to God never bring Him brass for gold. On the other hand, persons going away from God can never bring gold to God. Not one of the nineteen kings who reigned in Israel (the northern kingdom) from the time of Jeroboam until Israel’s captivity in Assyria, during the reign of Hoshea, was a good king. There were some good prophets during this period of 241 years, but their messages fell on deaf ears.
Judah had nineteen kings over a period of 393 years before their captivity in Babylon. Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, who was Jehoram’s wife, usurped the throne for six years. The eight good kings among the nineteen kings of Judah were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Even though there were some bright spots during the 393 years, there was a continual decline until the Babylonian captivity. The messages of the prophets went forth, but the times of revival were short-lived. Therefore, the general decline continued until there was nothing but judgment left. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy [healing]. —2 Chronicles 36:16 The judgment of God in Babylon was terrible, but it was not final. God uses rulers for the benefit of His people. He raises up men not only from among but also outside of His people to lead and instruct. But the Lord also raises up men not belonging to His people to work on behalf of them. Through the influence of Esther and Mordecai, Ahasuerus preserved the Jews. Through the intervention of Joseph, God made Pharaoh the preserver of His people. The same thing is seen during the reign of Cyrus, Artaxerxes, and others during the time of the reformation. One thing for sure is that the Spirit of God is in the world preparing His people for the coming kingdom.