seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 10:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fledfrom King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all 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, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.
For some time I have been hacking at Solomon. I have been asking why he had 700 wives and 300 concubines and only three sons and a daughter. Yesterday I realized how easy it is to track the family from David of Bethlehem to Jesus of Nazareth since there are only 3 sons. Since there can be multiple people named John or Sam... it might be a little difficult if Solomon had 100's of children.... but with only three boys and a girl.... it'll be easier to draw a line from the cross back to the throne.I went to the easy English site again this morning.
Rehoboam was already king over Judah (9:31). But he went to the city called Shechem for all Israel to accept him as king. He expected them to agree to his rule because he was from David’s family. But they had come to discuss an agreement with him before they would accept him as king.
Shechem was about 30 miles (48 kilometres) north of Jerusalem. It was in the territory of Ephraim and on the border with Manasseh. Shechem was a centre for the northern tribes of Israel. After this event, it became their chief city. There is a modern town now where Shechem was. It is called Nablus.
Jeroboam had been an official of King Solomon’s. One day as he went from Jerusalem the prophet Ahijah met him. Ahijah had a new coat. He took his new coat and he tore it into 12 pieces. Then he told Jeroboam to take for himself 10 pieces. Then Ahijah told him that the LORD would divide Solomon’s kingdom. The LORD would give 10 of the 12 tribes of that kingdom to Jeroboam. But the *LORD told him that he must obey God’s laws. Then Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam ran away to Egypt (1 Kings 11:26-40). He stayed there until Solomon had died.
Jeroboam came back from Egypt and the Israelites sent for him. They made him their leader in the discussions with Rehoboam.
Solomon had forced 30 000 Israelites to be workers. They helped to build the temple. These Israelites worked for one month in every three months. So, there were 10 000 of them at work each month (1 Kings 5:13-14). They complained that the work was too hard. They asked Rehoboam to reduce the hard tasks that Solomon had put on them. If he did not force them to work so hard then they would serve him. They would accept him as their king.
Rehoboam did not answer their demands at once. At this time, he was fair and wise. He needed time to decide what his answer should be. He told them to return after three days. The people agreed to this and they went away.
This is from the blueletterbible.org site.Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king: This was a logical continuation of the Davidic dynasty. David was succeeded by his son Solomon, and now Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was assumed to be the next king.
Rehoboam was the only son of Solomon that we know by name. Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines, yet we read of one son he had to bear up his name, and he was a fool. This demonstrates that sin is a bad way of building up a family.
"It is difficult to believe that he had no other sons; yet it is a fact that Rehoboam is the only one mentioned (1 Chronicles 3:10)." (Knapp)
Shechem was a city with a rich history. Abraham worshipped there (Genesis 12:6). Jacob built an altar and purchased land there (Genesis 33:18-20). Joseph was buried there (Joshua 24:32). It was also the geographical center of the northern tribes. All in all, it showed that Rehoboam was in a position of weakness, having to meet the ten northern tribes on their territory, instead of demanding that representatives come to Jerusalem.
When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it: Jeroboam was mentioned previously in 1 Kings 11:26-40. God told him through a prophet that he would rule over a portion of a divided Israel. Naturally, Jeroboam was interested in Solomon's successor. He was specifically part of the group of elders that addressed Rehoboam.
Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father: Solomon was a great king, but he took a lot from the people. The people of Israel wanted relief from the heavy taxation and forced service of Solomon's reign, and they offered allegiance to Rehoboam if he agreed to this.
God warned Israel about this in 1 Samuel 8:10-19, when through Samuel He spoke of what a king would take from Israel. After the warning the people still wanted a king, and now they knew what it was like to be ruled by a taking king.
Sadly, the elders of Israel made no spiritual demand or request on Rehoboam. Seemingly, the gross idolatry and apostasy of Solomon didn't bother them at all.
I need to remind myself here.... Israel is a Theocracy. God runs the show. Humans muck it up.
- David was a good king but it turned out he had a wicked side and it came out as soon as he got bored.
- Solomon started out good and then he turned and he built temples for little fake gods and idols....
- Solomon only had four children, so when he passed, the pickin's were slim.
- Rehoboam was the pick of the litter but the litter was seriously stunted by the little fake gods and idols.
- Jeroboam had been in hiding after trying to steal the throne.... but when Solomon passed, Jeroboam went right back to work, splitting Israel.
