Yesterday morning I was reading about Rehoboam and Jereboam, Solomon’s sons. I figured it would be a good topic of discussion at breakfast this morning.
I asked David and Bethel if they thought King Solomon’s children would be wise, since they had such a wise daddy. I told them that I was going to read from the Bible a part that would tell them whether they were wise or foolish.
So I read First Kings 12:6-14.
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?” 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.” 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. 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’?” 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! 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!’” 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.” Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 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!”
I asked a lot of questions in this conversation, mostly because they needed the help understanding what we were talking about! I wanted them to understand that advice that sounds pleasant isn’t always the best advice. I also wanted to point out the difference between asking advice of wise elderly people, and unwise young people, although I don’t think that is the biggest problem here with Rehoboam. (Just because a person is an adult, doesn’t mean that he is wise) All this is with the long-term goal of protecting them from being overly influenced by the crowd. Since we don’t naturally stand in the face of opposition, and we naturally have the fear of man, I want to teach them what it looks like.
Today at breakfast, I’ll read about David and Goliath for contrast. I’ll point out that David was different because he feared God more than man.
Michelle, good observation. I think the passage is made all the more powerful when you compare it with I Kings 3. In that passage Solomon asks God for wisdom to lead Israel. That wisdom is demonstrated immediately with the 2 women and the live baby. In verse 28 Israel responds to the wise judgment – “When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.” Rehoboam, of course, does not render a wise ruling and instead of the people rallying behind him he loses control of the Kingdom. Solomon showed humility and asked God for wisdom. Rehoboam showed pride and asked his friends for confirmation.
Jay thanks for these comments. That’s an interesting study in leadership among these three men. I bet Lee will be interested in that thought, too.
One additional thought about David. True power lies in biblical humility. This is what is seen in the victory over Goliath.