Rehoboam is not a well-known person in the Bible, but his story is extremely helpful to young Christians.  His allowing himself to be influenced by outside friends serves as an example for young Christians today to seek their advice at the hands of more experienced, godly people instead of one’s so called “friends.”

 

I.                In 1 Kings 11, we are introduced to Rehoboam.

a.    He became king when his father, Solomon, died (1 Kings 11:41-43).

II.              In 1 Kings 12, we see a bad decision made by Rehoboam that would weaken his kingdom for the rest of his reign.

a.    Remember, as a punishment for Solomon’s sins of marrying foreign wives and becoming an idol worshipper, God said he would take a portion of the kingdom away from Solomon’s descendants.

                                                   i.     This meant that God would put Jeroboam in charge of 10 of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel.

                                                  ii.     This would only leave the 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin within Rehoboam’s kingdom.

b.    Although God foretold that Rehoboam would have a smaller kingdom than Solomon’s, it was Rehoboam’s bad decision that caused the kingdom to be split in two!

                                                   i.     The Bible says, “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” (1 Kings 12:1-5 New International Version).

1.    As you can see, before the kingdom was divided, the people wanted help from Rehoboam.

2.    During Solomon’s reign, they were forced to labor for the king and were taxed monetarily at excessive rates.

3.    As a result, the children of Israel wanted some relief from the suffering they were going through from Solomon’s reign.

4.    They were looking for some compassion from Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-5).

c.    Did Rehoboam give them any compassion? 

                                                   i.     The Bible says, “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” (New International Version).

1.    As you can see, Rehoboam did the wise thing by asking the elders what should be done about the people’s request for relief?

2.    They advised him to treat the people right by giving them a break.

3.    Also, if he gave them a break, they would be loyal to him forever.

4.    What is this teaching us?

a.    When we don’t know the answer, we should seek the answer from an older, wiser person.

b.    This is why we should ask our parents questions about things before we do them.

c.    Usually, parents will know the answers and help you not make the wrong decision that will end up hurting you.

d.    So, if you are unsure about something, take it to your parents without delay.

e.    This may save you from making some mistakes you will regret for the rest of your life!

                                                  ii.     Unfortunately, King Rehoboam would show no compassion upon the children of Israel, because he allowed his friends to influence him into making a bad decision.

1.    The Bible says, “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” (1 Kings 12:8-11 New International Version).

a.    As you can see, Rehoboam’s friends told him to say he was going to be a hard man on the children of Israel.

b.    In fact, he was going to be more than hard.

c.    He was going to be cruel to the children of Israel by putting them under more forced labor and taxation.

2.    What do we learn from Rehoboam’s mistake?

a.    We learn that he sought his advice from his friends instead of the elders who actually knew how to lead the children of Israel.

b.    Young people, do not do this.

c.    If your parents tell you to do something, don’t go to your friends to get their opinion on the topic.

d.    Your parents know best; not your friends!

e.    Many times, your so called “friends” will put you up to do things they would not do themselves.

f.      Most likely, these so called “friends” would not have had the courage to go and tell the people these evil words themselves if they were the king.

g.    So, always remember the source of your advice.

h.    Teenage friends are a bad source of advice and thus, you should not listen to their negative advice even if it causes you to lose a friend.

i.      A real friend will stick by you no matter what.

j.      Thus, you can still tell a real friend “no” about things and he or she will remain your friend.

k.    If not, then he or she was not your friend to begin with.

d.    Returning to our story, we start to see the outcome of Rehoboam’s bad decision.

                                                   i.     The Bible shows us that he did tell the people he was going to be harsher on them than Solomon ever was.

                                                  ii.     As a result, the 10 tribes of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam.

1.    They made Jeroboam their king instead of Rehoboam.

2.    Rehoboam gathered an army of 180,000 soldiers, but God stopped him from attacking the 10 tribes through a Word from the prophet named “Shemaiah” (1 Kings 12:12-22).

 

In conclusion, young people, do not make the mistakes Rehoboam made.  Seek your advice only from godly, experienced people so you don’t make mistakes you don’t have to experience in life.  You will be a much happier person if you do!  God bless!

 

REFERENCES

 

 

Coffman, J. (n.d.). Coffman commentaries on the Old and New Testaments. Retrieved August 8, 2013 from http://classic.studylight.org/com/bcc/view.cgi?book=1ki&chapter=001.

 

Convert feet to story – conversion of measurement units. (2013). Retrieved August 23, 2013, from http://www.convertunits.com/from/feet/to/story.