Solomon Turns Away and the Kingdom Divides

Context

Israel was still one kingdom under the royal house of David. Solomon was David’s son, and Jerusalem was the city God had chosen. The Lord had appeared to Solomon twice and had expressly commanded him not to follow other gods. The king’s loyalty therefore mattered for the future of the whole kingdom. As the crown passed to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the royal house faced another test: would it listen to God and serve the people, or use power only to protect itself?

Story

Solomon did not remain faithful to the Lord. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, many of whom worshiped other gods. God had warned that such relationships could turn his heart away, but Solomon held tightly to them. As he grew old, their influence turned his heart, and he chose to follow their gods instead of remaining wholly devoted to the Lord.

Solomon followed Ashtoreth and Milcom. He built places of worship near Jerusalem for Chemosh and Molech, and he also provided places where his wives offered incense and sacrifices to their gods. His loyalty was divided, and he did evil in the Lord’s sight.

The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had turned away despite God’s appearances and clear command. God declared that the kingdom would be torn from Solomon’s house and given to one of his servants. Yet this would not happen during Solomon’s lifetime, for David’s sake. The kingdom would be taken from Solomon’s son instead. Even then, God would preserve a portion for David’s sake and for Jerusalem, the city he had chosen.

After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem, where the people of Israel had gathered to make him king. They summoned Jeroboam, who had fled from Solomon and was living in Egypt. Jeroboam came with the assembly to present their request.

They told Rehoboam that Solomon had placed a heavy burden on them. If the new king would lighten their hard service, they promised to serve him. Rehoboam asked them to return in three days while he considered his answer.

First, he consulted the older men who had served his father. They advised him to become a servant to the people that day, answer them kindly, and meet their request. If he did, they said, the people would serve him faithfully.

Rehoboam rejected their counsel. Instead, he consulted the younger men who had grown up with him. They urged him to prove that he was stronger than his father. Rather than easing the people’s yoke, they said, he should make it heavier and threaten them with even harsher punishment.

When Jeroboam and the people returned on the third day, Rehoboam answered roughly. He announced that he would increase their burdens and deal with them more severely than Solomon had. He refused to listen to the people. Through that refusal, the Lord’s judgment against Solomon’s house moved toward fulfillment.

When the Israelites saw that the king would not hear them, they rejected the rule of David’s house and returned to their homes. Rehoboam remained king over those living in Judah. When he sent the official responsible for the royal labor levy, the Israelites stoned the man to death. Rehoboam hurried into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.

The tribes that broke away made Jeroboam their king. Rehoboam then gathered a vast army from Judah and Benjamin, intending to recover the kingdom by force. Israel now stood on the edge of civil war.

But God’s word came to Shemaiah, a man of God. The Lord commanded Rehoboam and his army not to fight against their fellow Israelites. Each man was to return home, because the division had come under God’s judgment.

Rehoboam had refused to listen at Shechem, but this time he and his army listened to the Lord. They turned back and went home as God had commanded.

What We Learned

• Solomon’s divided worship was a knowing breach of God’s command. Influence from those close to him did not remove his responsibility for what he chose to worship.
• God’s judgment included restraint: the kingdom would be divided only after Solomon’s death, and a portion would remain for David’s sake and for Jerusalem.
• The older advisers understood that wise leadership serves people and listens to their burdens. Rehoboam mistook greater harshness for greater strength.
• The kingdom’s division followed a chain of covenant unfaithfulness, heavy burdens, rejected counsel, and revolt. God fulfilled his word without erasing the reality of human choices.
• When God stopped Rehoboam from fighting his fellow Israelites, obedience prevented the conflict from becoming a larger civil war.