A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

upset those who had brought their concern to him. He announced he would respond to their
proposal in three days and arranged for the people to meet with him again at that time. In the
interim, King Rehoboam consulted with a number of political advisors.
But the counsel of his advisors was by no means uniform. When he consulted with the
older men who had advised his father, they suggested the proposal of the people be considered
and adopted as policy. “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and
answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever,” they
advised (1 Kings 12:7). But Rehoboam was not sure he liked that advice and sought the opinion
of his peers. They suggested the young king needed to demonstrate his strength as king and let
the people know who was governing whom. They proposed the king respond to the request by
increasing the tax burden and teaching them a lesson. This course of action would bring
increased revenue into the royal court and would not require the new king to sacrifice any of the
luxuries he had grown accustomed to as the son of Solomon.
When the representatives met with the king at their appointed time, the king spoke
harshly to them and made it clear he would not consider their proposal. The leaders left the
meeting disillusioned. The ten northern tribes of Israel felt alienated and abused by the southern
rulers. This time they had had enough. They announced their intention to reject the leadership of
King Rehoboam and returned to their homes in the north.
Apparently, Rehoboam did not take the announcement of the northern leaders seriously.
Perhaps he felt they were simply hot under the collar and, given time, would cool off and fall
back into line. Some time later, King Rehoboam had a project he wanted accomplished and
needed workers. He sent Adoram, his officer in charge of forced labor, into a northern city to get
recruits, but the people stoned the man to death. Though Rehoboam was safely away from the
skirmish, he saw enough to realize the people were steadfast in their decision to reject his
leadership. If they would stone such a prominent officer of his court as Adoram, the king
rationalized his life was also in danger. Quickly, he sped back to Jerusalem in his chariot to
avoid a conflict for which he was not prepared.
When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he began to assemble his army to attack the
north and bring the rebels into line. Though only Judah was loyal to its king and strong enough
to contribute to the army, King Rehoboam was still able to gather 180,000 experienced soldiers.
Word of the mobilization of an army in Judah must have leaked out to the northern tribes. Any
exuberance the rebels may have enjoyed over the stoning of Adoram and their symbolic victory
over the court of Rehoboam must have faded as they realized the consequence of their action. To
this point in the rebellion, the northern tribes had been content not to have a king, probably
relying on the elders of each city to administer social justice. But the threat of invasion changed
the situation. Again, the name Jeroboam came to mind as the people sought a king under whom
they could rally. Jeroboam was offered the throne and became the first king of the new alliance
of the ten northern tribes. Israel became the name for the north, and Judah the south, after the
tribe by that name. Later the tribe of Benjamin joined with Judah. Jeroboam of the north reigned
about twenty-two years from 931 to 910 B. C.
All that had taken place appeared from a human perspective to be the result of a bad
decision on the part of Rehoboam. If Rehoboam could break the rebellious spirit of the northern
tribes through a military conquest, he felt sure he could regain control and unite the kingdom.
But what he had failed to realize was that these events were consistent with God’s prophecy of
some years earlier. God had allowed men to play out their natural roles to accomplish what He
had years earlier said would happen. Rehoboam’s military invasion of the north may have had a