Friday, May 1, 2015

66. The Kingdom Splits in Two

King Rehoboam


Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. 2 Chron. 9:31.

The truce between Israel and Judah was, at best, tenuous.  It seems that at any given time either of the two was looking for an excuse to start a war with the other.

While Solomon was still alive, Jeroboam (his name means, he pleads the people's cause) fled to Egypt to escape death at the hands of Solomon. 1 Kings 11:40.  When Jeroboam heard that Solomon had passed away he returned to Israel.  When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come again (back from Egypt), they sent and called him to the company, and made him king over all Israel. 1 Ki 12:20.

Then he and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy. And now lighten the heavy service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you. 1 Chron.10:3-4.   The common people presented to the king what was sort of a "Magna Carta".

Rehoboam asked for a few days to think over the proposal.  He brought the request to the senior members of his "cabinet", those who had been Solomon's advisers, and they said, by all means, relax the restrictions, lower the taxes and you will save the kingdom.  

Rehoboam also sought the advice of his peers.  He would have been wise not to follow the advice of the young people.  Young people may have "book smarts" but most do not have the necessary experience to advise well.  Rehoboam followed the young men's advice and said to the Israelites, My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 10:14.  The word "scorpions" refers to scourges armed with sharp iron pointsFausset"s Bible dictionary.


King Jeroboam


The people (Israelites, the Northern tribes) answered the king saying, What part do we have in David? And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now, David, see to your own house. And all Israel went to their tents10:16.

At that point in time the nation of Israel divided into the Northern and Southern kingdoms; at no time, in the history of the Bible did they ever join to become one nation again.  However, there were times when the kingdoms joined in battle against a common enemy.

After the secession, when Rehoboam, king of the south, sent the tax collector, Hadoram, to Israel to gather the levy, the Israelites were so incensed that Rehoboam thought he could still gather taxes from them, that they stoned Hadoram to death.

Later the priests and the Levites in all Israel presented themselves to him (Rehoboam) out of all their borders. For the Levites left their open lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chron. 11:13-14.

Jeroboam was afraid that many more of his subjects, when they made their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship, would be so enamoured with the surroundings and atmosphere in Jerusalem that they would revolt against the Northern kingdom and support the kingdom of Rehoboam; this would, of course, seal Jeroboam's death warrant.

To keep that from happening he followed the path that Aaron had taken during the wilderness journey.  Jeroboam made two calves (the Egyptian god, Apis) of gold and said to the Israelites, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.  Why would you bother going to Jerusalem every year when your gods are right here. Behold your gods, O, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!  And he set the one (calf) in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan. 1 Ki 12:29. 

Based on this action it seems that when Jeroboam was in Egypt he completely forgot about Jehovah and was taken on with the national religion of Egypt.

He made a house of high places, (raised altars) and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not the sons of Levi. 1 Ki 12:31.  Jeroboam wanted a semblance of the religion which Moses had instituted, but he was setting it up by his own rules.

The churches of today do that too.  The preachers still use the Bible to preach from but they do not use the portions which they know will offend some in the congregation.

Here are a few examples:
  • Preachers used to preach against divorce, but now that so many Christians are divorced, that sermon is never preached any more for fear that some toes might be stepped on!
  • Not that long ago preachers told us that cohabiting before marriage was a sin, now, so many, including Christians, are doing it, that, somehow, much of the church no longer condemns it. 
  • There is the problem of "gays and lesbians".  Without a doubt, this practice is condemned by the Bible but totally supported by many denominations. 
The waywardness of the populace at large is not to define what is preached from the pulpits!

Not only did Jeroboam choose the riffraff to be priests, but he, himself, acted as a priest, he offered on the altar, and burned incense. 12:33.   As we read earlier, according to the law of Moses, only the sons of Levi were allowed to be priests.

In spite of all the negatives that one can honestly level against Jeroboam and the Northern kingdom, it must be remembered that the school of the prophets was founded in Bethel, in the Northern kingdom, and that both, Elijah and Elisha were prophets from that school.   The prophetical activity of the time… is to be found in the kingdom, not of Judah, but of Israel. The Pulpit Commentary. 

Perhaps, even at that time, there was still some hope for Israel; if only the king and his people would repent of their sinful physical practices and their idolatry.

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