Rehoboam

[Read 1 Kings 12:6-8]

And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? (KJV)

In this passage, Rehoboam has taken the throne of Israel as their new king. The people come to him stating that his father, Solomon, had made the yoke grievous, but if he were to lighten it, they would serve him.

Rehoboam, following the advice Solomon wrote in Proverbs, seeks counsel. The older men advise to lighten the load and to be a servant to the people. The younger men gave completely opposite advice. The sequence of the passages seems to indicate that Rehoboam rejected that of the older before he even heard that of the younger. Often those who seek counsel, as wisdom teaches us to do, seek that which they want to hear, not necessarily that which is the best. Sadly, by doing so, he brings on a split in the kingdom, and the nation stays divided for hundreds of years.

Rehoboam is in the lineage of Christ. Amazingly, in Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is called the Counsellor. It would behoove us even today to recognize the valve of seeking and FOLLOWING His counsel as taught in the Bible. Also, of great value, was a discussion in Mark 10 where two of the disciples asked for elevation to the unrest of the others. In verses 42-45, Jesus teaches that the world would exercise lordship and authority over others; but they were to be servants. The Son of Man, as example, came to minister and to give His life a ransom.

Pastor Mark Englebert
Door Bible Baptist – Sturgeon Bay



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