1 Kings 12: 1-20

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 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 labour 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. 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 favourable answer, they will always be your servants.” 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, “Tell these people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’--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.’” 12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfil the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. 16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. 18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labour, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.. (1 Kings 12:1-20, NIV).

We all have defining moments in our lives. We face real issues for the first time and we wonder what to do. As a pastor, I had to lead my first business meeting. Talk about walking through untested waters. No training had prepared me for that. I don’t even remember it, so it must have gone ok. But the memory of the inner apprehension remains.

Or your first day together as a married couple. That was a new situation for you. You had waited until marriage to live together. Now you were together for the first time. Roles had to be worked out. Issues had to be faced. Who would sleep on the left hand side of the bed? Who would put the dog out?

Or your first day on the job as a supervisor. You may have had the luxury of having time to learn the position. Or someone may have dropped a crisis in your lap on day one.

Some of you will face it soon on the first day of school. You may be face with unexpected choices and these choices will make a difference in your whole educational experience, whether at High School or in college.

Many would not frame them this way, but the way you handled these transitions, these first set of problems, these difficult decisions speaks loudly as to your Christian understanding and character. God is working in our lives to make us like Jesus. His major command deals with relationships: We are to love God and love one another. God gives wisdom and uses our weaknesses to show his strength. Christian virtues like humility, courage, wise judgment all come into play during these times.

Someone once said that it only takes one time to make a bad impression. And how we react to life shows more of what is really inside us than anything else. As stress shows the strength of the structure of a building, how we react when we are in tough situations reveals the inner strength of the Lord within us… or the lack thereof!

This morning we will look at the life of Rehoboam. His father, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived other than Jesus Christ, had led Israel for years. He has died and his son Rehoboam takes over. Rehoboam’s half-brother, Jeroboam, returns from an exile in Egypt and brings people from the northern ten tribes down to Rehoboam with an offer that he couldn’t refuse.

Here is the offer. “Solomon put a harsh yoke on us. He taxed us, worked us, and we got little in return. Lighten our burden and we will get behind you and serve you as our king.”

Rehoboam gave a wise response. He asked for time to make this decision. His half-brother, who wanted his throne, was in the group. If he gave in, his revenues would go down. If he didn’t, he could lose their support. This was a huge decision for him to make. So he asks for three days.

I would encourage you to give yourself time when you have the time to make major decisions. Your impulse might lead you down the wrong road. Don’t be afraid to ask advice. People who don’t want any input are often afraid that their ideas would be shown to be defective and don’t want that to happen. They would rather make a bad decision than be exposed as being wrong. Humility helps. When a person is open to at least listening to others, God can use that time to help gain perspective. Talk is cheap and you are not obligated to do what others tell you. So don’t be afraid to ask, understanding that you are the one who makes the ultimate decision, not the people you ask.

In spite of Rehoboam’s three day waiting period, he still made a bad decision. Why? He listened to the wrong people. He listened to the wrong people because his heart was not in the right place.

As Christian people, our first question we ask is not, “What’s best for me?” Our question is not, “What’s best for my family?” Our question is not, “What’s the best thing to do?” For the Christian, the first question is, “What does God want?” Rehoboam did not ask about God’s will and was not interested in his heart from finding out what that might be. So he made some major mistakes. I will frame his mistakes as positive statements.

• If he had listened to the older people rather than the younger people, he would not have made such a poor decision. Older people are not always right, but older people are always worth listening to.
• The Bible tells us to honor our father and mother. You don’t always need to take their advice, but these people who love you, who have lived life, who often see what you do not, are well worth listening to. By definition, parents are always older people.
• Respect for the elderly is a Biblical value. In a culture in which youth is glamorized, the Bible values the experience years bring.
• What is your attitude towards those older or more experienced than you? Be careful who you chose as your advisor.
• Age alone does not guarantee wisdom. Many older people have made poor choices and given bad advice. So a second issue arises.
• If he had been compassionate rather than controlling, he would not have made such a poor decision. The issue in the text was one of servanthood.
• 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 favourable answer, they will always be your servants.”
• The younger people said, “Use your position to put people in their place.” They did not realize the consequences of their actions.
• Wisdom includes the ability to see long-term results.
• Controlling people build resentment.
• Compassionate people build friendship.
• The deeper issue is:

• If he had been worshipping the God of the Bible rather than the gods of the world, he would not have made such a poor decision.
• All religions are not equal. The steps we have taken: 1. Protect religious freedom equally. 2. Call all religions equal.
• 26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labour force of the house of Joseph. 29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did. 34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not for ever.’” 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death. (1 Kings 11:26-40, NIV).
• This whole issue came up as a result of Solomon’s departure from God.
• It’s unpopular today, but I will make this statement: Any worship other than the worship of the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, any worship other than the worship of the triune God, any worship other than the worship of the God of the Bible is not only false worship, but will lead you into trouble in your life.
• All religions have something good to offer, but all they offer is not good. It’s a mixture.
• Jesus is THE way, THE truth, THE life. No man comes to the Father but by him.

Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and took the advice of the younger. He sought to control rather than to serve. He worshipped the wrong God. When these came together, he ended up with a real problem on his hands. The nation divides. Brother turns against brother, civil war almost breaks out, he loses what he wanted most, to be the leader of the people.

This morning may be your wakeup call. You are listening to the wrong people, out to keep control rather than to help others, and not following God’s way.

Three steps I want you to think about.

• Trust Jesus.
• Admit you are wrong
• Change direction