FIRST DAY AT WORK
Opening Prayer
Father God, speak through your Word. Transform my thinking. Fill me with wisdom and discernment. Give me a humble and steadfast heart.
Read 1 KINGS 12:1–24
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
12 Rehoboam 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[a] 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,[b] 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.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:2 Or he remained in
- 1 Kings 12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Where are you called into leadership? How would you describe the ways you carry out your role?God had already determined that Solomon’s failure to rid Israel of idolatry would bring into play the consequences for breaking the covenant (see 1 Kings 11:11–13). God’s word of judgment to Solomon and his word to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31–39) unfold through court politics following Solomon’s death.
For all his legendary wisdom, Solomon had not modeled servant leadership, but had become preoccupied with the trappings of kingship (see 1 Kings 10). The people had paid a harsh price for their king, just as the prophet Samuel said they would (v. 4; see 1 Samuel 8:11–18). Solomon’s magnificent projects were built with conscripted labor (e.g., 1 Kings 5:13–18), and his court and extensive administration were fed by a tax, paid in kind (1 Kings 4:7, 27).
As the new ruler, Rehoboam had an opportunity to rule according to God’s Word, as a servant king (v. 7). Sadly, he lacked the humility and discernment to heed godly advice. The sense of entitlement evident in Rehoboam’s generation (vv. 10, 11) was formed under Solomon’s reign! Even as Rehoboam imitated his father’s
foolishness (with dire consequences, (vv. 16–21), we see God acting in mercy (vv. 22–24). Do we recognize God’s mercy in his discipline? Do we take heed when he disciplines us (v. 24)?
Apply
Pause and consider: are you modeling a Christ-shaped life of service? Are your decisions based on God’s Word or the opinions of your peers?
Closing prayer
Thank you, Jesus, that you do not treat me as I deserve and that you pour out grace and mercy each day. Continue to lead me and to be more like you.
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