This lesson was taught by Kyle Simmons

Rehoboam’s Folly and the Division of the Kingdom (1 Kings 12:1-24, 14:21-31)

Review and Introduction

In the previous lesson, we walked through the end of Solomon’s reign. We saw the extraordinary wealth generated through kings, trading expeditions, and peacetime international commerce.  We also saw how Solomon violated the Mosaic laws for kings against gathering wives, and how gathering those wives led him into idolatry, building and sacrificing at pagan altars on various hills. As a result, we saw how God promised to take ten of the tribes of Israel away from him and give them to Jeroboam, leaving the seed of David with only the tribe of Judah. In this lesson, we are going to walk through the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. We will see a king who is not quite so wise, we will see his failures as king, and see the permanent sundering of Israel into two nations, and the next steps of Israel on the road to destruction.

I. Israel at the Time of Solomon’s Death

Before we get into the text, we need to take a view of Israel at the time of the death of Solomon.  It is said that ten tribes were given to Jeroboam, and one would remain with Rehoboam. So, we need to know who these tribes are.  When we speak of “ten tribes leaving”, the question that is immediately asked upon hearing this is “Which ten tribes left, and which one remains?” A follow-up question is, “Wait—ten tribes and one tribe. Isn’t there one of the twelve tribes unaccounted for? This math isn’t adding up.”  

The tribe that remains obviously is Judah, which makes that part easy.  However, the math gets more complicated after that. The original twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) more or less line up with the twelve tribes given land in Canaan with two exceptions—Levi and Joseph.  The tribe of Levi is a priestly tribe that holds no territory, and the tribe of Joseph is split into two half tribes. The half tribe of Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh. This is in accordance with Jacob’s pronouncement that he would give Joseph a double portion of blessing, giving each of these half tribes the status of full tribe. These last two are counted among the ten tribes of Israel, while Levi and Benjamin are not. While Benjamin is not part of either nation in the original split, it later appears to always align with Judah and is likely absorbed into that nation while somewhat retaining its tribal identity
(1 Kings 12:20-21). Therefore, the ten tribes of Israel are really nine and two half tribes: Reuben, Gad Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon, Ephraim, and Manasseh.

Tribal borders are not as cut and dry as national borders. For example, Beersheba and many of the towns in Simeon are co-inhabited by Judah. Drawing territorial lines during this time is a difficult thing to do, but I’ve found the maps are generally accurate.  Geographical boundaries do help a bit during this. For example, you can see how the tribe of Reuben is separated from Judah by the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. Mountains, deserts, valleys, and rivers make Judah somewhat geographically isolated from the rest of Israel. Even in the time of David, there are references to “Judah and Israel”, indicating a level of separation between the two.

There are also economic and cultural differences between the two. The presence of the Temple in Jerusalem under Judah, and the promise that the scepter of power would never depart from Judah would obviously single out Judah as the foremost of the twelve tribes, which would again set them apart from their brethren. Of the economic differences, Jerusalem and Judah were the center of Solomon’s empire. Solomon exempted Judah from the harshest of labor and taxes, as evidenced by their absence in the districting for taxation purposes, and that Judah does not complain to Rehoboam about how they are being treated when he ascends to the kingdom. Wealth trickles in from the other tribes into Judah. Those trade expeditions from Ophir and Saudi Arabia flow into Judah from the South before they spread to any other tribe. During the days of Solomon, there was sufficient wealth flowing to quiet the frustrations of the tribes. But when Solomon died, that frustration bubbled over.

What we have at the time of Solomon’s death, then, is a fledgling empire that is still largely a set of tribal nations with tribal customs. The cultural, economic, and religious center of the empire is located in one of those tribes, separated from the other tribes by a lot of barriers, both physical and cultural. This is all setting up a lot of resentment and cultural differences between Judah and the other tribes that will show itself in meeting at Shechem.

II. Israel splits from Judah

Rehoboam is the firstborn son of Solomon, and he began to reign in 931 BC, at the age of 41.  As noted, Rehoboam is already on fragile ground already. He is not his father and is not crowned in Jerusalem like his father was. He instead makes his way north to Shechem to be crowned.

Shechem is an important religious site for Israel. It was one of the most ancient cities in the nation, sitting in a mountain pass in central Israel connecting east and west. It is here that Abraham received the first promise of the Land in Genesis 12. Abraham and Jacob both built altars here. Joseph’s remains were buried here, and this was a site of covenant renewal of Israel with God under Joshua. It is also a Levitical city of refuge. All things considered this is about as “neutral ground” a spot as one could pick. It is likely that Rehoboam considered his political position as not secure enough to be crowned in Jerusalem, so he makes his way to Shechem as a concession.

Israel has already summoned Jeroboam to be at this meeting, which probably does not make Rehoboam very pleased.  The people complain about the harshness of burdens forced on them, both of taxation and labor (there was temporary forced labor, or harsh conditions during the labor-whips).  They declare that if Rehoboam lightens the burdens which Solomon placed on them, they will serve him. Rehoboam sends them away for three days (no snap decision, a good choice) and mulls it over with his advisors.  There are two sets of advisors- his own at his age, and Solomon’s, who are far older.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” ⁷ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “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’?” ¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ” (1 Kings 12:6-11 NKJV)

So, the elders council him to be a servant to the people, serve them, and speak kindly to them, and they will be his servants forever. His compatriots, men about 40 years old, are described as young men, who say he needs to double down, threaten them with barbed whips.  If he lightens the burden, they might be grateful to him, and serve him forever, and yet, Rehoboam has to show strength. His father was Solomon, his grandfather was David. He is coming into the office a middle-aged man, and he had some large boots to fill, and there is a long shadow he is standing in. If his first act as king is an act of contrition, it will make people think he is weak, and it might just spark more demands. Dismantling the governors and tax structures of Israel will also weaken its imperial might, at a time when Edom and Syria are launching rebellions and raids (recall Hadad the Edomite and Rezon of Syria). Egypt is likely also feeling spurned because the children of Solomon’s Egyptian wife will not inherit the throne, so it is also turning against Israel.  What do you think Rehoboam should do? What would you do if you were in his position?

Rehoboam makes what Scripture outlines as the poor choice. He follows the advice of his friends and compatriots and threatens the other tribes of Israel. “Do you think it was tough before? Well, buckle up buttercup. Now go back home, I don’t want to hear any more about this.”  It has been said to “speak softly and carry a big stick;” Rehoboam spoke loudly and carried a not so large stick. The somewhat predictable result of his blustering was that Israel dissolved their union with Judah.

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, 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!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So, Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
(1 Kings 12:16-17 NKJV)

It is also said here that this turn of events was from God, so He might fulfill His Word which was spoken by His prophet Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam. God made a promise, and that promise is going to be fulfilled. So, we know what is going to happen. Rehoboam is still in denial.  Rehoboam attempted reconciliation one more time and made the worst choice possible for doing so. He sent Adoram to reason with the tribal leaders of Israel, convince them to return to the fold. Adoram is his tax collector, in charge of the forced labor and the conscripted men of Solomon’s building project.

What is Israel complaining about?

Imagine you are in a dispute with your government about taxes and the working conditions of your job, and they decide to send the IRS to parlay with you. I would also have started throwing rocks.  They stone Adoram to death. Why would Rehoboam send Adoram?Most likely, to bully them.  After this, Rehoboam flees Shechem “in haste.”  He BOOKS it back to Jerusalem.

Israel summoned Jeroboam and decided to make him king over the remaining tribes. Rehoboam summoned the imperial army, and they prepared to storm the north and reconquer it. Between Judah and Benjamin, Rehoboam has 180,000 warriors, ready to fight.  But God intervenes and sends Shemaiah the prophet to tell Rehoboam AND all Judah and Benjamin that there will be no war here, and it is time for them to return home. In his own words “This thing is from me.” Perhaps begrudgingly, everyone goes home and obeys God.

This is another entry in what is developing as the formalized office of the prophets. When the nation strays, God is going to raise up prophets to speak to the kings and the people, to speak the truths they do not want to hear. They will have no excuse for the actions they take and the sins they commit.

III. Rehoboam Reigns in Judah (1 Kings 14:21-31)

²¹ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. ²² Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. ²³ For they also built for themselves highplaces, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. (1 Kings 14:21-24)

As the text says, Rehoboam reigned in Jerusalem for 17 years. We can immediately compare that to the reigns of previous kings. Solomon, his father, ruled for 40 years. David, his grandfather, ruled for 40 years. Saul, the first king, reigned for 40 years. Rehoboam is the first king who does not actually reign the full term.  Moreover, he was a polygamist—over the course of his life he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

As stated previously, Rehoboam is the first son of Solomon, who married an Ammonitess by the name of Naamah. The fact that Rehoboam’s mother is an Ammonite woman is mentioned twice, once at the beginning and once at the end, bracketing the reign of Rehoboam in 1 Kings. Calling to mind what we know about Solomon’s foreign wives, it may be assumed that Naamah was a pagan woman, and a worshipper of pagan gods. The next sentence mentioned that worship, and that Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord.

The phrase “____ did evil in the sight of the Lord” is an oft repeated one in this book. But in almost every other case, the responsibility is placed on the king. “Jeroboam did evil in the sight of the Lord” etc.  Here, there is a measure of grace given to Rehoboam so as not to single him out. This is likely because there are several points where he humbles himself before God when it is commanded, like when Egypt will attack in a few verses.

For Judah, there is no longer just a single shrine to Moloch on a hill. We talked in the last lesson about how sin is not content with just a bit, it wants it all. Now, there are high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every high tree. And if that was not bad enough, the text speaks of perverted persons in the land. The whole nation has seemingly overnight devolved to paganism, taking only a few years to descend to this.  When we talk about perverted persons, we’re talking about temple prostitutes, specifically male prostitutes. The Hebrew word is “qadesh”, which the King James translates clearly and politically incorrectly as “Sodomite.” It is important to note that while our modern culture makes a division between acts of homosexuality and idolatry, Scripture does not make such a distinction. Paul in Romans 1 discusses homosexuality as replacing worship and exultation of the Creator with worship and exultation of the creation. This is one of the reasons why in Israel, there were commandments to “purge the evil from among you”, cut them off from the assembly. In this chapter, they are walking around freely. The people of Judah have forgotten the law of God.

The remaining half of verse 24 is a reference to Israel’s history, back to before the conquest of Canaan even began.

²¹And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ²²You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. ²³Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion. ²⁴Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. ²⁵For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. ²⁶You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ²⁷(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), ²⁸lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ Therefore you shall keep My [f]ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 18:21-30 NKJV)

Leviticus 18 is about sexual sins. Both Molech worship and sodomy are mentioned here (among other sexual sins), as sins that defile the land itself. The land itself vomits the inhabitants out. Yet Judah is following in the paths of the people that God removed from the land, Judah who was the tool of that punishment. So, they have not only forgotten the Law of God, but their own history.

Why did it get so bad?  God’s hand of restraint is on us, keeping us from being as wicked as we might be. For some, like Pharaoh in Egypt, he removes that restraint, and lets humans do as they will, which always involves covenant breaking. Based on past precedent, the next step is… Correct, an invading army comes to remove them from the land.  Egypt comes up in the fifth year and invades Judah. This was not wholly unexpected, as we noted in discussing how Egypt was allying with Edom and Jeroboam. But Rehoboam’s preparations were not enough to stop them. The Egyptians make it all the way north to Jerusalem, and only an emergency humbling of themselves towards God by Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah prevents their wholesale destruction. All the same, Shishak takes all the spoils and wealth from Judah he can, including the gold in the Temple. We previously mentioned those 500 gold shields that hung on the walls of the temple. Shishak takes them.  All that gold, the ivory throne, the dishes: he ransacks the place. All that prosperity is disappearing, the gold and the alliances.  Rehoboam replaced those gold shields with bronze shields, and they get taken in and hidden away whenever he is not there. They are solely there when he visits. This could be a vanity thing, or alternatively, it may be an example of Siege mentality: You are under threat, and you do not trust anything to remain, so you lock it away whenever possible.

So now we come to the close of this chapter. The nation is in decline. It is separated between north and south, and the two nations are at war with one another, and with other nations. The prosperity that marked Israel as special has been taken away, and what truly marked Israel as special, its godliness, has simi,larly evaporated.

What can we learn from Rehoboam?  First, raise your children in godliness, and watch who you marry for your children’s sake.  Second, be careful who your friends are.  Third, do not think you know better than God.  Fourth, be content with what God gives you.

On one level I can sympathize with Rehoboam. Like I said previously, he grew up in the golden age of Israel. His father was Solomon the Wise. Kings from around the world came to sit before his ivory throne and hear his wisdom. Solomon built the Temple, the walls of the city he rules from, the palace next door. His mother was one of a thousand wives and concubines, so Rehoboam probably did not know his father all that well, and that family dynamic is…rough.  I imagine it has to be hard looking around yourself every day and being reminded that you aren’t as wise, or clever, or rich as your father. And then the kingdom is taken from you, and when you try and retake it, God sends a prophet to tell you to stand down. It probably felt like God Himself was against Him.

But on the other hand, whatever our circumstances, our responsibilities remain the same. Not everyone is given extraordinary wisdom, or wealth. We are not all given intact kingdoms, or eras of peace and prosperity. Our faithfulness needs to remain constant.

I don’t think it’s incorrect to state that our own nation is in decline. In some ways, we already live in a land of bronze shields instead of gold, and for myself and the younger generations, there is the threat of envy the world that my parents used to have, and perhaps took for granted. I’ve got a good job, a good car. Savings. But will I be able to afford a house and support a family on a single income like my father did? Odds right now are not good. But we are commanded to be content with what God has given us, and while still working for the betterment of it, we must not be resentful of where God takes our nation, or our church. Sometimes we think we know better than God and accepting that we don’t is one of the hardest parts of life.

Rehoboam was not content. More importantly, Rehoboam did not seek after the Lord with all his heart like his father David. And that’s our chief responsibility.