Reading
1 Kings 12:1-16

1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam lived in Egypt; 3and they sent and called him), Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4“Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.”

5He said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.”

So the people departed.

6King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, “What counsel do you give me to answer these people?”

7They replied, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them, and answer them with good words, then they will be your servants forever.”

8But he abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9He said to them, “What counsel do you give, that we may answer these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Make the yoke that your father put on us lighter?’”

10The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Tell these people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter to us’— tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11Now my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’”

12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king asked, saying, “Come to me again the third day.” 13The king answered the people roughly, and abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, 14and spoke to them according to the counsel 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 scorpions.”

15So the king didn’t listen to the people; for it was a thing brought about from Yahweh, that he might establish his word, which Yahweh spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? We don’t have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel departed to their tents.


Devotional

Solomon continues to spiral out of control and abandon the God who loves him.  Despite a warning from the prophet Ahijah, that the reign of the house of David is about to be fractured, Solomon continues in his ungodly ways.  When Solomon dies his son Rehoboam takes the throne, not only is his behaviour worse than his fathers, he is also cruel to his subjects.  Rehoboam incurs terrible taxation on his people that is just unbearable, as a result, just as God said, rebellion occurs and the empire of Israel is divided.

This is a very important part of Israel’s history and if we understand what happened next it gives us much better clarity as we read the bible.  Israel is now divided in two the Northern tribes (10 of them) refused to be ruled by the House of David.  In the bible the northern tribes are now referred to as Israel, the Northern kingdom or Ephraim and the have their own kings. Their capital city is Samaria, eventually the descendants of this new kingdom know as Israel become the Samaritans that we read about in the New Testament.  The kingdom of Israel abandons the temple of Jerusalem God’s holy place, and this helps to explain some of the reasons why the Jews and Samaritans don’t speak to each other in the days of Jesus.

The House of David, once mighty and sovereign over a great empire is left with only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin.  The southern kingdom contained the Temple and its capital was the City of Jerusalem.  In the bible the Southern Kingdom is also known as Judah.  The line of Kings from the southern Kingdom remain from the House of David, even though Judah is broken and decreased, God continued to keep his promise of eternal hope through the family of David.