March 9, 2023 • 17 mins
In this Bible Story, we witness the splitting of Israel. Solomon’s sin causes God to strip him of his legacy. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, uses the throne as an opportunity to be cruel. Jeroboam is named king in place of Rehoboam. So Rehoboam ruled over Judah, while Jeroboam ruled over the other ten tribes of Israel. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 11:26-12:24 & 2 Chronicles 10-11:1-4. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 11:34 from the King James Version.
Episode 117: Solomon’s lust for foreign women eventually led him to foreign worship as well. This idolatry not only tore apart his relationship with God but would tear the kingdom from his hands as well. During the reign of his son Rehoboam, Jeroboam, one of his servants who had fled from him, returned. He came to confront the new king about the injustices of his father, hoping he would change. However, when Rehoboam refused the wise counsel of his elders and gave a harsh message to the people, the ten tribes of the north left him and followed Jeroboam instead.
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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard
Producer: Ben Gammon
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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith
Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, howbe it, I will not take the
whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make
him prince all the days of his life for David,
my servant's sake, whom I chose because he kept my
commandments and my statutes First Kings eleven thirty four. Lord.
Through the life of Solomon and the listening of First
(00:23):
Kings and Second Chronicles, I now know the value of
wise and honest counsel. Therefore, I pray that there is
never a moment in my life that I am ever
without wise and God fearing counsel. When others around me
seek to give advice that is contrary to your wisdom
(00:46):
and your ways. Place people like Jeroboam in my life
to remind me to honor what You've entrusted me with
and to deal kindly with every one I come in
contact with. From this truth, I know your hand will
stay upon me and guide me as you continue to
expand and enlarge the tent pegs of my life and ministry.
(01:11):
In Jesus name, Amen, thank you for praying with us
to day. Continue your time with God by listening to
to day's Bible story brought to you by Bible in
a Year dot com. The Kingdom of Israel splits. In
(01:39):
our last story, we beheld the vast wisdom of the
philosopher King Solomon. Kings and queens of old would seek
him out and travel long distances to glean from his wisdom.
Solomon led with great kindness and pursued peace with other nations. However,
Solomon had a weakness for women. He amassed ahead aram
(02:00):
of hundreds of wives and concubines from other nations. He
immersed himself and lude cultures and sexual deviance. Eventually, he
began to worship foreign gods. Therefore, his kingdom was promised
by God to be split. Solomon died and left his
kingdom to his son Rihaboam. Now we peer more into
(02:20):
the inner workings of rebellion during Solomon's reign and witnessed
the heart of Rihabohem. His pride and unwillingness to heed
the advice of his elders may end up being his downfall.
Inspired by the Book of First Kings. Hello, I'm Jack
Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a Year.
(02:42):
In yesterday's episode, we heard about Solomon's fall from God.
Though he was wise and wealthy, his heart sought his
own desires. He disobeyed God and married foreign women, hundreds
of them, and with each new wife he would give
a bit of his heart to a false God. His life,
though phil with such promise, ended up in strife and sorrow.
(03:04):
But God's grace was with him, and in the end
he turned back to the Lord and praised the God
of his father, the one true God. Today we'll hear
how dissension was already brewing before Solomon's death, and how
his son Rahaboem, his successor, would face the consequences of
Solomon's sins and his own prideful spirit. Let's listen now
(03:27):
to today's scripture. The trees shifted slightly from the breeze.
Crickets chirped, and the subtle sound of babbling brooks could
be heard among the forest. In the darkness, a faint
chanting could be heard from the distance. Deep among the trees,
Solomon stood in the mount of Olives, where his father
would once go to pray and sing before the Lord.
(03:49):
His face was illuminated by candles and incense. There in
the coolness of evening, Solomon worshiped the moabide God Shimosh.
Shimash was known as the Destroyer. He was said to
be a god that craved blood. The Mobites would often
make human sacrifices to Shimash to appease him. There, bowing
(04:10):
before a massive black stone altar, Solomon worshiped the Destroyer.
His kind heart was being tainted by the evil that
lurked behind the altar. He sat among a darkness that
would not relent in its desire to destroy Solomon's soul.
Solomon's idolatry was well known by his officials. They watched
as he left in the middle of the night. They
(04:32):
witnessed his lust for foreign women. They saw his insatiable
hunger for exotic sex and idol worship. Jeroboam, son of Nibat,
watched as Solomon came to and fro from the black
stone altar. His bones shook at the thought of Israel's
king worshiping a god that required human blood. Jeroboam was
(04:53):
the son of a widow and knew the hardships some
had experienced in Israel. It pained him to watch the
king shirk his faithfulness for the sake of simple pleasures
and dark hearts. One day, Solomon was overseeing a rebuilding
project of Israel's walls. He took many of his men
to aid in the repairs. Together in the hot sun,
(05:14):
Solomon and his men began to reinforce the walls, building
better beams and support systems to keep it upright. Solomon
saw Rheoboem work. He was a capable young man, strong
and a good leader among the rest of his men.
Solomon decided to put him in charge of the labor
force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Jeroboam accepted
(05:35):
the task reluctantly, Still leery of the king, Jeroboem departed
from Jerusalem to begin his work. He passed some of
the farmlands on the outskirts of the city. The fields
were lush and ripe for harvesting, and the air smelled
of wheat and barley. Along the way, the prophet of
Hija stopped him in the middle of the field. Ahija
(05:56):
was wearing a brand new cloak that waved gracefully in
the breeze. Jereboam watched as a Hija removed his new
cloak and tore it into ten pieces. He watched curiously
as the prophet ripped the robe he handed the ten
pieces to Jereboam and said, take these pieces of my cloak,
for the Lord is about to tear the kingdom apart.
(06:16):
Because of Solomon's idolatry, ten tribes of Israel will be
given to you, Jereboam. However, he will leave one tribe
to Solomon and his descendants because of his loyalty to
King David. You shall rule over all that your heart desires.
Listen to the ways of the Lord, and your dynasty
will be established. Jereboam held the torn pieces in his hands,
(06:41):
and from that day forward he began the secret workings
of a rebellion. When Solomon caught wind of Jeroboam's favor,
he sent men to kill him. However, Jeroboam fled to
King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there for a long while.
The days of Solomon came to a close and it
was time for his son Rhaboem to take the throne.
(07:03):
All of Israel gathered to make him king. He was
ushered in with parades and dancing. The news of Solomon's
passing spread across the land, for Solomon was beloved among
every surrounding nation. The news came to Jeroboam who had
found refuge in the land of Egypt for a few years.
He had amassed wealth and influence in Egypt, yet left
(07:25):
it to return to his people. He walked the city streets.
While many kings would have seen a thriving and flourishing culture,
Jeroboam saw laborers who were worked hard and taxed too much.
His days living in Jerusalem with his widowed mother had
made him compassionate towards the suffering and poor in Israel.
Together with a few of the elders in Israel, Jereboam
(07:47):
approached the new king. He stood before him and said,
your father was a hard master at times. If you
lightened the load of labor and decreased taxes, the people
will love you and thank you. They will be your
loyal servants. Riybalm stroked his young beard. A certain air
of arrogance came off of him. It vexed Jerebohm. Riybalm
(08:11):
deepened his voice and waved his hand like a child,
pretending to be king. He held out his hands and said,
give me three days to think this over and come
back for my answer. So Jerobom and the elders left.
Riebalm gathered his father's advisers and asked for their advice.
How shall I respond to their requests? He asked the
(08:32):
eldest counselor of the group. Looked among the men. They
all seemed to be in agreement that Riebalm should lighten
the load for the people. He bowed before the king
and said, if you would become a servant to these people,
they will serve you with loyalty and honor. Rieubalm did
not like this answer. He had waited his whole life
to become king. He enjoyed the lavish lifestyle of his
(08:55):
father's riches. He enjoyed the fine wines, the gardens, women,
and the expensive robes. The last thing Rioboam wanted was
to serve anybody. Instead of heeding their advice, Riobam gathered
his young friends together. They drank reveled and pretended to
speak of the kingdom's greatest needs. What is your advice,
(09:17):
he asked them. How shall I answer these elders and servants.
The young men were filled with the same self importance
as their king. They responded, just as expected. Here is
how you handle the complainers of Israel. Say this to them,
I have more power in my finger than my father
did in his whole body. He lash you with whips,
(09:37):
but I shall lash you with scorpions. Riobaum laughed. The
cackles of his friends filled the halls. Three days later,
Jeroboam entered into the palace halls with the elders behind him.
Jeroboam was tall, strong, and held his posture in a
commanding demeanor. King Rioboam took notice of this and was
(09:58):
slightly threatened. Riob Com shifted upright on his throne to
seem taller. He raised his staff in the air and said,
I have my answer. The whole crowd was silent. My
father gave you heavy burdens, but I will make them
even heavier. Jeroboem's fists clenched at the sound of his words.
(10:20):
The king smiled and said, my father last you with whips,
but I shall lash you with scorpions. His friends laughed
behind him, Yet the elders and Jeroboam were unamused, saying nothing.
They left the halls. So the king was brutal to
his people. His cruelty and taxation increased, and his heavy
(10:41):
hands stirred up the people of Israel. An uproar began
to ignite among the people. They shouted in the city
streets down with the legacy of David. They refused to
work any longer and returned to their homes in protest.
Rubam was livid at their disobedience. He sent his ser
arnium to restore order in the city streets. However, he
(11:05):
was stoned to death as a message to the king.
When Riyabalm heard of this, he hopped on his chariot
and hid in the palace of Jerusalem. From that day forward,
the northern tribes of Israel refused to be ruled by
the descendants of David. The ten northern tribes of Israel
gathered together in rejection of their king. They talked among
(11:26):
themselves and decided that Jeroboam should be their new king.
Jeroboam accepted their offer and ruled over every tribe except
for Judah. When Riybalm heard of this, he amassed a
great army of one hundred eighty thousand troops. He was
ready to destroy all of Israel and vengeance. However, the
Lord spoke to him sternly, saying, do not attack your brothers,
(11:50):
for this is my doing. So Riyabalm cowered in his
palace and ruled over the vast nation of Judah. Once again,
Israel was a split kingdom. There are no perfect kings.
The entirety of Israel pointed to the faithfulness of God
to work in imperfect people. Solomon, for all his wisdom
in tact as a king, fell prey to the grips
(12:11):
of sin. His sins trickled down into the heart of
his son. God would not excuse this, nor would he
abandon Israel altogether. Instead, God would weave Israel's goodness and
evil into one tapestry, ultimately pointing to his grace. Today
(12:32):
we begin with Solomon, who is still alive. He has
given himself over to his foreign wives and their false gods,
and his wisdom and kindness seems a distant memory to many.
In the Kingdom of Israel, we also meet a young
Israelite leader by the name of Jeroboam. He was a
dedicated and hard worker, but even as he served the king,
(12:53):
Jeroboam witnessed the conflict in Israel and Solomon's harshness with
Jewish workers. Almon was impressed by Jereboam and tasked him
with overseeing laborers from the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manassa.
Little did Solomon know that this began to set the
stage for a divided kingdom. One day, as he was working,
(13:16):
Jereboam encountered the prophet Ahijah, who delivered a dramatic message
to Jereboam. He tore his robe into twelve pieces to
symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, and told Jereboam that
God was going to take ten of the tribes away
from Solomon's successor and give them to Jereboam. With this
(13:36):
promise came a warning he was being given charge over
a vast number of God's people, so he must follow
the Lord and listen always to his counsel. I can
only imagine the weight of all this news on Jereboam.
Surely he was both excited and fearful at the same time.
Shortly after he received the news, however, Solomon got wind
(13:59):
of this threat to his kingdom and tried to kill Jereboam,
who had no choice but to flee to Egypt and hide.
After Solomon's death, when Rayo Bohm was king, Jeroboam felt
it was safe to return, and for the sake of
his people, that's what he did. His first order of
business was to approach the new king and appeal to
him for the people. They were being worked too hard
(14:23):
and taxed too much, so Jereboam asked the king to
ease their burden. Rayoboam's initial response seems reasonable. He doesn't
immediately deny the request or concede. He asked for time
to consider it. Then he seeks counsel from the elders,
and their response was a wise one. If he will
(14:44):
serve the people, then they will reward him with service
and loyalty of their own. It's the kind of response
Solomon himself would have given in his younger years when
he walked with the lord. Tragically, Rahabohm wasn't seeking wise counsel.
What he wanted was an answer he light, one that
stroked his ego. So in First King's twelve verse eight,
(15:05):
we read this, but he abandoned the counsel that the
old men gave him and took counsel with the young
men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
So he asked his friends, his yes men, and they
gave him the response he wanted. Show your power and
don't back down. They said, in fact, turn the heat up.
(15:26):
It's a response reminiscent of Pharaoh's answer to Moses. Not
of a gentle king who loves his people. But that's
the answer he gave Jereboam and the people when they returned.
Rather than lighten their load, he would pile on more.
His plan to gain power and respect by force backfired immediately.
(15:46):
When the people saw that he didn't care for them,
they dropped their tools and abandoned their work. Rayeboam, rather
than acknowledge his mistake, tried once again to force the
people to submit. He sent an enforcer to put the
people back to work, but the Israelites stoned him to
death in the streets. At the end of the day,
Rayeboem was left with only two tribes to rule, while
(16:09):
the ten tribes of the north made Jereboam king. And so,
just as God had told Solomon it would happen, the
kingdom of Israel was split in two. Jereboam would now
have to remember Ahijah the Prophet's warning to follow God's
commandments and to seek him. How would he fare We'll
(16:29):
find out in tomorrow's reading. Dear God, we thank you
always for your word, for it is light and life
to us. Thank you for the lesson that we learned
today that it is always right and best to seek
wise counsel rather than foolish counsel. Help us always to
listen to those who give us godly counsel, wise men
(16:51):
and women who seek You and your ways. For we
pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening
to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey dot com app and
make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.
If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love,
(17:14):
share it with a friend, pass it on because this
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hearing wonderful stories of the impact of God's Word as
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if you want more biblical resources resources from God's Word
that will enable you and assist you in your walk
(17:34):
with God, then be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org.
That's Jack Graham dot org. God bless you. This episode
is sponsored by Mediciae, an innovative healthcare solution for Christians
to save money without sacrificing quality.
Let us pray, howbe it, I will not take the
whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make
him prince all the days of his life for David,
my servant's sake, whom I chose because he kept my
commandments and my statutes First Kings eleven thirty four. Lord.
Through the life of Solomon and the listening of First
(00:23):
Kings and Second Chronicles, I now know the value of
wise and honest counsel. Therefore, I pray that there is
never a moment in my life that I am ever
without wise and God fearing counsel. When others around me
seek to give advice that is contrary to your wisdom
(00:46):
and your ways. Place people like Jeroboam in my life
to remind me to honor what You've entrusted me with
and to deal kindly with every one I come in
contact with. From this truth, I know your hand will
stay upon me and guide me as you continue to
expand and enlarge the tent pegs of my life and ministry.
(01:11):
In Jesus name, Amen, thank you for praying with us
to day. Continue your time with God by listening to
to day's Bible story brought to you by Bible in
a Year dot com. The Kingdom of Israel splits. In
(01:39):
our last story, we beheld the vast wisdom of the
philosopher King Solomon. Kings and queens of old would seek
him out and travel long distances to glean from his wisdom.
Solomon led with great kindness and pursued peace with other nations. However,
Solomon had a weakness for women. He amassed ahead aram
(02:00):
of hundreds of wives and concubines from other nations. He
immersed himself and lude cultures and sexual deviance. Eventually, he
began to worship foreign gods. Therefore, his kingdom was promised
by God to be split. Solomon died and left his
kingdom to his son Rihaboam. Now we peer more into
(02:20):
the inner workings of rebellion during Solomon's reign and witnessed
the heart of Rihabohem. His pride and unwillingness to heed
the advice of his elders may end up being his downfall.
Inspired by the Book of First Kings. Hello, I'm Jack
Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a Year.
(02:42):
In yesterday's episode, we heard about Solomon's fall from God.
Though he was wise and wealthy, his heart sought his
own desires. He disobeyed God and married foreign women, hundreds
of them, and with each new wife he would give
a bit of his heart to a false God. His life,
though phil with such promise, ended up in strife and sorrow.
(03:04):
But God's grace was with him, and in the end
he turned back to the Lord and praised the God
of his father, the one true God. Today we'll hear
how dissension was already brewing before Solomon's death, and how
his son Rahaboem, his successor, would face the consequences of
Solomon's sins and his own prideful spirit. Let's listen now
(03:27):
to today's scripture. The trees shifted slightly from the breeze.
Crickets chirped, and the subtle sound of babbling brooks could
be heard among the forest. In the darkness, a faint
chanting could be heard from the distance. Deep among the trees,
Solomon stood in the mount of Olives, where his father
would once go to pray and sing before the Lord.
(03:49):
His face was illuminated by candles and incense. There in
the coolness of evening, Solomon worshiped the moabide God Shimosh.
Shimash was known as the Destroyer. He was said to
be a god that craved blood. The Mobites would often
make human sacrifices to Shimash to appease him. There, bowing
(04:10):
before a massive black stone altar, Solomon worshiped the Destroyer.
His kind heart was being tainted by the evil that
lurked behind the altar. He sat among a darkness that
would not relent in its desire to destroy Solomon's soul.
Solomon's idolatry was well known by his officials. They watched
as he left in the middle of the night. They
(04:32):
witnessed his lust for foreign women. They saw his insatiable
hunger for exotic sex and idol worship. Jeroboam, son of Nibat,
watched as Solomon came to and fro from the black
stone altar. His bones shook at the thought of Israel's
king worshiping a god that required human blood. Jeroboam was
(04:53):
the son of a widow and knew the hardships some
had experienced in Israel. It pained him to watch the
king shirk his faithfulness for the sake of simple pleasures
and dark hearts. One day, Solomon was overseeing a rebuilding
project of Israel's walls. He took many of his men
to aid in the repairs. Together in the hot sun,
(05:14):
Solomon and his men began to reinforce the walls, building
better beams and support systems to keep it upright. Solomon
saw Rheoboem work. He was a capable young man, strong
and a good leader among the rest of his men.
Solomon decided to put him in charge of the labor
force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Jeroboam accepted
(05:35):
the task reluctantly, Still leery of the king, Jeroboem departed
from Jerusalem to begin his work. He passed some of
the farmlands on the outskirts of the city. The fields
were lush and ripe for harvesting, and the air smelled
of wheat and barley. Along the way, the prophet of
Hija stopped him in the middle of the field. Ahija
(05:56):
was wearing a brand new cloak that waved gracefully in
the breeze. Jereboam watched as a Hija removed his new
cloak and tore it into ten pieces. He watched curiously
as the prophet ripped the robe he handed the ten
pieces to Jereboam and said, take these pieces of my cloak,
for the Lord is about to tear the kingdom apart.
(06:16):
Because of Solomon's idolatry, ten tribes of Israel will be
given to you, Jereboam. However, he will leave one tribe
to Solomon and his descendants because of his loyalty to
King David. You shall rule over all that your heart desires.
Listen to the ways of the Lord, and your dynasty
will be established. Jereboam held the torn pieces in his hands,
(06:41):
and from that day forward he began the secret workings
of a rebellion. When Solomon caught wind of Jeroboam's favor,
he sent men to kill him. However, Jeroboam fled to
King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there for a long while.
The days of Solomon came to a close and it
was time for his son Rhaboem to take the throne.
(07:03):
All of Israel gathered to make him king. He was
ushered in with parades and dancing. The news of Solomon's
passing spread across the land, for Solomon was beloved among
every surrounding nation. The news came to Jeroboam who had
found refuge in the land of Egypt for a few years.
He had amassed wealth and influence in Egypt, yet left
(07:25):
it to return to his people. He walked the city streets.
While many kings would have seen a thriving and flourishing culture,
Jeroboam saw laborers who were worked hard and taxed too much.
His days living in Jerusalem with his widowed mother had
made him compassionate towards the suffering and poor in Israel.
Together with a few of the elders in Israel, Jereboam
(07:47):
approached the new king. He stood before him and said,
your father was a hard master at times. If you
lightened the load of labor and decreased taxes, the people
will love you and thank you. They will be your
loyal servants. Riybalm stroked his young beard. A certain air
of arrogance came off of him. It vexed Jerebohm. Riybalm
(08:11):
deepened his voice and waved his hand like a child,
pretending to be king. He held out his hands and said,
give me three days to think this over and come
back for my answer. So Jerobom and the elders left.
Riebalm gathered his father's advisers and asked for their advice.
How shall I respond to their requests? He asked the
(08:32):
eldest counselor of the group. Looked among the men. They
all seemed to be in agreement that Riebalm should lighten
the load for the people. He bowed before the king
and said, if you would become a servant to these people,
they will serve you with loyalty and honor. Rieubalm did
not like this answer. He had waited his whole life
to become king. He enjoyed the lavish lifestyle of his
(08:55):
father's riches. He enjoyed the fine wines, the gardens, women,
and the expensive robes. The last thing Rioboam wanted was
to serve anybody. Instead of heeding their advice, Riobam gathered
his young friends together. They drank reveled and pretended to
speak of the kingdom's greatest needs. What is your advice,
(09:17):
he asked them. How shall I answer these elders and servants.
The young men were filled with the same self importance
as their king. They responded, just as expected. Here is
how you handle the complainers of Israel. Say this to them,
I have more power in my finger than my father
did in his whole body. He lash you with whips,
(09:37):
but I shall lash you with scorpions. Riobaum laughed. The
cackles of his friends filled the halls. Three days later,
Jeroboam entered into the palace halls with the elders behind him.
Jeroboam was tall, strong, and held his posture in a
commanding demeanor. King Rioboam took notice of this and was
(09:58):
slightly threatened. Riob Com shifted upright on his throne to
seem taller. He raised his staff in the air and said,
I have my answer. The whole crowd was silent. My
father gave you heavy burdens, but I will make them
even heavier. Jeroboem's fists clenched at the sound of his words.
(10:20):
The king smiled and said, my father last you with whips,
but I shall lash you with scorpions. His friends laughed
behind him, Yet the elders and Jeroboam were unamused, saying nothing.
They left the halls. So the king was brutal to
his people. His cruelty and taxation increased, and his heavy
(10:41):
hands stirred up the people of Israel. An uproar began
to ignite among the people. They shouted in the city
streets down with the legacy of David. They refused to
work any longer and returned to their homes in protest.
Rubam was livid at their disobedience. He sent his ser
arnium to restore order in the city streets. However, he
(11:05):
was stoned to death as a message to the king.
When Riyabalm heard of this, he hopped on his chariot
and hid in the palace of Jerusalem. From that day forward,
the northern tribes of Israel refused to be ruled by
the descendants of David. The ten northern tribes of Israel
gathered together in rejection of their king. They talked among
(11:26):
themselves and decided that Jeroboam should be their new king.
Jeroboam accepted their offer and ruled over every tribe except
for Judah. When Riybalm heard of this, he amassed a
great army of one hundred eighty thousand troops. He was
ready to destroy all of Israel and vengeance. However, the
Lord spoke to him sternly, saying, do not attack your brothers,
(11:50):
for this is my doing. So Riyabalm cowered in his
palace and ruled over the vast nation of Judah. Once again,
Israel was a split kingdom. There are no perfect kings.
The entirety of Israel pointed to the faithfulness of God
to work in imperfect people. Solomon, for all his wisdom
in tact as a king, fell prey to the grips
(12:11):
of sin. His sins trickled down into the heart of
his son. God would not excuse this, nor would he
abandon Israel altogether. Instead, God would weave Israel's goodness and
evil into one tapestry, ultimately pointing to his grace. Today
(12:32):
we begin with Solomon, who is still alive. He has
given himself over to his foreign wives and their false gods,
and his wisdom and kindness seems a distant memory to many.
In the Kingdom of Israel, we also meet a young
Israelite leader by the name of Jeroboam. He was a
dedicated and hard worker, but even as he served the king,
(12:53):
Jeroboam witnessed the conflict in Israel and Solomon's harshness with
Jewish workers. Almon was impressed by Jereboam and tasked him
with overseeing laborers from the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manassa.
Little did Solomon know that this began to set the
stage for a divided kingdom. One day, as he was working,
(13:16):
Jereboam encountered the prophet Ahijah, who delivered a dramatic message
to Jereboam. He tore his robe into twelve pieces to
symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, and told Jereboam that
God was going to take ten of the tribes away
from Solomon's successor and give them to Jereboam. With this
(13:36):
promise came a warning he was being given charge over
a vast number of God's people, so he must follow
the Lord and listen always to his counsel. I can
only imagine the weight of all this news on Jereboam.
Surely he was both excited and fearful at the same time.
Shortly after he received the news, however, Solomon got wind
(13:59):
of this threat to his kingdom and tried to kill Jereboam,
who had no choice but to flee to Egypt and hide.
After Solomon's death, when Rayo Bohm was king, Jeroboam felt
it was safe to return, and for the sake of
his people, that's what he did. His first order of
business was to approach the new king and appeal to
him for the people. They were being worked too hard
(14:23):
and taxed too much, so Jereboam asked the king to
ease their burden. Rayoboam's initial response seems reasonable. He doesn't
immediately deny the request or concede. He asked for time
to consider it. Then he seeks counsel from the elders,
and their response was a wise one. If he will
(14:44):
serve the people, then they will reward him with service
and loyalty of their own. It's the kind of response
Solomon himself would have given in his younger years when
he walked with the lord. Tragically, Rahabohm wasn't seeking wise counsel.
What he wanted was an answer he light, one that
stroked his ego. So in First King's twelve verse eight,
(15:05):
we read this, but he abandoned the counsel that the
old men gave him and took counsel with the young
men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
So he asked his friends, his yes men, and they
gave him the response he wanted. Show your power and
don't back down. They said, in fact, turn the heat up.
(15:26):
It's a response reminiscent of Pharaoh's answer to Moses. Not
of a gentle king who loves his people. But that's
the answer he gave Jereboam and the people when they returned.
Rather than lighten their load, he would pile on more.
His plan to gain power and respect by force backfired immediately.
(15:46):
When the people saw that he didn't care for them,
they dropped their tools and abandoned their work. Rayeboam, rather
than acknowledge his mistake, tried once again to force the
people to submit. He sent an enforcer to put the
people back to work, but the Israelites stoned him to
death in the streets. At the end of the day,
Rayeboem was left with only two tribes to rule, while
(16:09):
the ten tribes of the north made Jereboam king. And so,
just as God had told Solomon it would happen, the
kingdom of Israel was split in two. Jereboam would now
have to remember Ahijah the Prophet's warning to follow God's
commandments and to seek him. How would he fare We'll
(16:29):
find out in tomorrow's reading. Dear God, we thank you
always for your word, for it is light and life
to us. Thank you for the lesson that we learned
today that it is always right and best to seek
wise counsel rather than foolish counsel. Help us always to
listen to those who give us godly counsel, wise men
(16:51):
and women who seek You and your ways. For we
pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening
to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey dot com app and
make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.
If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love,
(17:14):
share it with a friend, pass it on because this
podcast can make a huge difference in people's lives. I'm
hearing wonderful stories of the impact of God's Word as
a result of listening to Bible in a Year. And
if you want more biblical resources resources from God's Word
that will enable you and assist you in your walk
(17:34):
with God, then be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org.
That's Jack Graham dot org. God bless you. This episode
is sponsored by Mediciae, an innovative healthcare solution for Christians
to save money without sacrificing quality.
Host
Jack Graham
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