The Promise

Rehoboam’s Arrogance: The Kingdom Torn Apart

Picture: Rehoboam’s Arrogance: The Kingdom Torn Apart 2TC 41.1

“Solomon rested with his fathers. ... And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.” 1 Kings 11:43. 2TC 41.2

Soon after coming to the throne, “Rehoboam went to Shechem,” where he expected to receive formal recognition from all the tribes, “for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.” 2 Chronicles 10:1. Among those present was Jeroboam, who during Solomon’s reign had been known as“a mighty man of valor,” and to whom the prophet Ahijah had delivered the startling message, “Thus says the Lord, ... ‘I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you.’” 1 Kings 11:28, 31. 2TC 41.3

Through His messenger, the Lord had spoken plainly to Jeroboam. This division must take place, He had declared, because Solomon “has forsaken Me, ... and has not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did.” Verse 33, NRSV. Yet Jeroboam had also been instructed that the kingdom was not to be divided before the close of Solomon’s reign: “I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes.” Verses 34, 35. 2TC 42.1

Although Solomon had longed to prepare Rehoboam to meet the coming crisis wisely, he had never been able to exert a strong influence for good over his son, whose early training he had sadly neglected. Rehoboam had received the stamp of a weak character from his mother, an Ammonite woman. At times he tried to serve God, but in the end he yielded to the evil influences that had surrounded him from infancy. In the mistakes of Rehoboam’s life and in his final apostasy we see the fearful result of Solomon’s union with idol-worshiping women. 2TC 42.2

The tribes had long suffered under the oppressive measures of their former ruler. Extravagance had led Solomon to tax the people heavily and to require much lowly service. Before crowning a new ruler, the leading men determined to find out whether Solomon’s son intended to lessen these burdens. “Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you.’” 2TC 42.3

Wanting to counsel with his advisers before outlining his policy, Rehoboam answered, “‘Come back to me after three days.’ And the people departed. Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer these people?’ And they spoke to him, saying, ‘If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.’” 2 Chronicles 10:3-7. 2TC 42.4

The Mistake That Could Never Be Undone

Dissatisfied, Rehoboam turned to younger men who had been his companions during his youth: “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us?’” 1 Kings 12:9. The young men suggested that he deal sternly with his subjects and make plain to them that he would tolerate no interference with his personal wishes. 2TC 43.1

So it happened that on the day appointed for Rehoboam to make a statement concerning his policy, he “answered the people roughly, ... saying, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’” Verses 13, 14. Rehoboam’s expressed determination to increase the oppression of Solomon’s reign conflicted directly with God’s plan for Israel. In this unfeeling attempt to exercise power, the king and his counselors revealed their pride of position and authority. 2TC 43.2

Many people had become thoroughly alarmed over Solomon’s oppressive measures, and these now felt that they had no other choice than to rebel against the house of David. “When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, ‘What share have we in David? ... To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!’ So Israel departed to their tents.” Verse 16. 2TC 43.3

The breach that Rehoboam’s rash speech created proved beyond repair. The twelve tribes of Israel were divided. Judah and Benjamin composed the southern kingdom of Judah, under Rehoboam. The ten northern tribes formed a separate government, the kingdom of Israel, with Jeroboam as ruler. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophet that the kingdom would be torn apart. “The turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word.” Verse 15. 2TC 43.4

When Rehoboam saw the ten tribes withdrawing their loyalty from him, he realized that he must act. Through Adoram, one of the influential men of his kingdom, he made an effort to appeal to them and win them back. But “all Israel stoned him [Adoram] with stones, and he died.” Startled, “King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.” Verse 18. 2TC 44.1

At Jerusalem “he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ... But the word of God came unto Shemaiah, ... ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’ Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord.” Verses 21-24. 2TC 44.2

For three years Rehoboam tried to profit by his sad experience, and in this effort he prospered. He built fortified cities “and made them very strong.” 2 Chronicles 11:12. But the secret of Judah’s prosperity during the first years of Rehoboam’s reign lay in recognizing God as the supreme Ruler. This is what gave the tribes of Judah and Benjamin an advantage. The record reads, “Those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.” 2 Chronicles 11:16, 17. 2TC 44.3

Rehoboam Fails

But Solomon’s successor failed to exert a strong influence for loyalty to Jehovah. He was naturally headstrong, confident, self-willed, and inclined to idol worship. Nevertheless, if he had placed his trust wholly in God, he would have developed firm faith and submission to the divine requirements. But as time passed, the king put his trust in the power of his position and in the strongholds he had fortified. Little by little he gave way to inherited weaknesses until he threw his influence entirely on the side of idol worship. “When Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, ... he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him.” 2 Chronicles 12:1. 2TC 44.4

The people whom God had chosen to stand as a light to the surrounding nations were seeking to become like the nations about them. As with Solomon, so with Rehoboam—the influence of his wrong example led many astray. 2TC 45.1

God did not allow the apostasy of Judah’s ruler to remain unpunished. “And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt. ... And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. 2TC 45.2

“Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.”’” Verses 2-5. In the losses they suffered by Shishak’s invasion, the people recognized the hand of God and for a time humbled themselves. “So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made. Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place. ... When he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.” Verses 9-12. 2TC 45.3

The Aftereffects of Rehoboam’s Apostasy

But as the nation prospered once more, many turned again to idol worship. Among these was King Rehoboam himself. Forgetting the lesson that God had tried to teach him, he fell back into the sins that had brought judgments on the nation. After a few inglorious years, “Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.” Verse 16. 2TC 45.4

At times during the centuries that followed, men of moral worth occupied the throne of David. Under their rulership the blessings resting on Judah extended to the surrounding nations. But no one ever entirely uprooted the seeds of evil already springing up when Rehoboam ascended the throne, and at times the once-favored people of God were to fall so low as to become a symbol of scorn among the heathen. 2TC 46.1

Despite these idol-worshiping practices, God in mercy would do everything in His power to save the divided kingdom from complete ruin. And as the years rolled on and His plan for Israel seemed entirely defeated by people inspired by satanic agencies, He still showed His gracious intentions through the captivity and restoration of the chosen nation. 2TC 46.2

The tearing apart of the kingdom was only the beginning of a wonderful history that reveals the long-suffering and tender mercy of God. And the worshipers of idols, in the end, were to learn the lesson that false gods are powerless to uplift and save. Only in loyalty to the living God can anyone find rest and peace. 2TC 46.3