Early morning in the narrow pass at Shechem between two great bare hills: below the small walled town, a vast gathering is breaking up, hundreds of small figures striking tents and streaming away along pale roads, dust rising under a clear sky.

The Book of

1 Kings 12

Solomon is dead. All Israel waits at Shechem to hear what kind of king his son will be.

33 verses≈ 7 min4 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–2Solomon's throneThe kingdom made secure
3–4WisdomA discerning heart
5–8The templeA house for the LORD's Name
9–11Glory and fallSolomon's heart turns
12–16Two kingdomsThe kingdom tornChapter 12
17–19ElijahThe LORD, He is God
20–22AhabNaboth and Micaiah

Rebellion against Rehoboam

A small walled town of mud brick on stone footings sits in the narrow pass between two great bare hills, its gate open, fields and a spring below it in the morning.

Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.

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So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,

The Israelites

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Rehoboam

Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.”

So the people departed.

At a hillside quarry above Jerusalem, rows of laborers in sweat-dark tunics haul a great dressed limestone block on a wooden sledge with ropes while others lever it with beams; an overseer with a staff watches from a rock, the city's walls and cedar roofs on the ridge beyond.

Rehoboam

Rehoboam

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

1 Kings 12:7

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

Rehoboam

He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

The young men

The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.” And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”

So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken

1 Kings 12:15

Question

Quick question

Rehoboam asked two groups of advisers what to tell the people, and chose between them.

Whose advice did Rehoboam follow?

The Kingdom Divided

When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!”

So the Israelites went home,

but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

Late afternoon on a hill road south from Shechem: a light two-wheeled chariot with two horses races away in a plume of dust, a driver standing and a king in a purple-red robe gripping the rail, a small dark crowd far behind on the slope.

Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.

0:16

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Reflect

Whose counsel?

Rehoboam heard two kinds of advice: serve the people and speak kind words, or show them who is boss. He chose the voices that sounded like him, and lost ten tribes in a day. Whose counsel do you listen to most? Think of a time a gentle answer turned away anger, and write down where you need one now.

Shemaiah’s Prophecy

One kingdom becomes two

Whiteboard

Two roads meet at Shechem. Solomon turned from the LORD, and through Ahijah God said He would tear away ten tribes. The people asked for a lighter yoke, and Rehoboam answered them harshly by his own choice. Yet “this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken.” Israel followed Jeroboam; Judah stayed with the house of David.

When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

Morning outside Jerusalem's plain stone gate, seen from a rise: long ranks of men with spears and round shields assembling in the low sun and dust, plain cloth standards, the city on its ridge behind.

And when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 chosen warriors—to fight against the house of Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: “Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’” So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

The kingdom divided

Rehoboam went north to Shechem to be made king, and fled back to Jerusalem. The northern tribes made Jeroboam king; Judah, with Benjamin, stayed with David’s house. Jeroboam rebuilt Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and then Penuel (Peniel) across the Jordan, whose site is probable. He set up his calves at Bethel, about ten miles north of Jerusalem, and at Dan in the far north. He had come home from Egypt, off this map to the southwest.

Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.

Jeroboam

Jeroboam

Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

Pray

The way He gives

Jeroboam feared for his throne and remade worship to suit himself: new gods, new priests, a feast “of his own choosing.” Ask God for a heart that worships Him the way He gives, not the way that is easier or safer. Pray for leaders who serve. And thank Him that His word stands, even through human folly.

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1 Kings 12

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A verse to carry with you

If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.

1 Kings 12:7

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