1 Kings 12:1-24
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 "Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you." 5 So he said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me." And the people departed.
6 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?" 7 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."
8 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. 9 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'?"
10 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! 11 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!'"
12 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." 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 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!" 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:
"What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!"
So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 "Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me."'" Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
Listening to ungodly counsel or advice can have lasting repercussions as with Rehoboam the son of Solomon and new king who rejected the good and wise counsel of Jeroboam who had formerly fled to Egypt to escape king Solomon (1 Kings 11:26, 35, 38-40) after relaying the prophecy to split the kingdom. Rehoboam heard Jeroboam‘s wise counsel (which was echoed by the elders) to treat the people well instead of harshly, but the king listened to his young worthless friends instead. They advised poorly to increase the oppressive measures; the people of Israel heard this and rejected the lineage rule of David in this ungodly son of Solomon. Rehoboam then only had a meager kingdom in a few cities of Judah, and escaped to Jerusalem after more trouble. This was the split of the kingdom of God’s people because of evil-minded and ungodly counsel. The lasting consequences were these repercussions of division and weakening of all Israel. Ah, but this was promised by the LORD already because of Solomon serving other so-called gods and rejecting God and His word. Only Judah served the lineage of David as was also promised, which would become a remnant and channel of redemption. God even kept Rehoboam from attempting to fight the other tribes to reunite the kingdom as one people, but God used a prophet to stop this as well as they obeyed the revelation of the word of the LORD; the die had been cast, and God’s long-term plan was in effect as promised consequence of sin and purpose of redemption. We learn much of God’s Sovereign Grace in this recollection of tainted history brought about by rejecting His word and choosing to listen to ungodly counsel. May we do otherwise as we learn from these examples, that we might listen to the Scriptures and godly counsel which aligns with all God tells us (Acts17:11, Proverbs 19:20-21, Romans 15:4).
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