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1 Kings 12

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Rehoboam Goes to Shechem 1–5

1
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. ​
2
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, ​
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and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
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Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. ​
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And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

Rehoboam Seeks Counsel 6–12

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And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? ​
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And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. ​
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But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.
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And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?
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And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. ​
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And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ​
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So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day.

Rehoboam Rejects the Elders' Advice 13–15

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And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,
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and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
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So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of Jehovah, that he might establish his word, which Jehovah spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ​

Israel Secedes and Crowns Jeroboam 16–20

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And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. ​
17
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ​
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Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork; and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. ​
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So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
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And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. ​

God Forbids Civil War 21–24

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And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
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But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ​
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Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
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Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of Jehovah, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Jehovah. ​

Jeroboam Establishes New Capitals 25–27

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Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. ​
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And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now will the kingdom return to the house of David: ​
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if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.

Jeroboam Institutes Idolatry 28–33

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Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. ​
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And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. ​
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And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. ​
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And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi. ​
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And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made. ​
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And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 12

Verse 1

Shechem — Joshua had gathered 'all the tribes of Israel to Shechem' and made a covenant there (Josh 24:1, 25), and Abimelech was made king there (Judg 9:6). David was anointed over all Israel at Hebron (2 Sam 5:1–3). Here the tribes come to Shechem to make Rehoboam king, and he goes to them.

Verse 2

Jeroboam the son of Nebat — An Ephrathite and Solomon's servant (11:26) to whom Ahijah the Shilonite had said, 'I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee' (11:31). He had fled to Egypt (11:40). Israel 'sent and called him' (v.3; 2 Chr 10:3).

Verse 4

our yoke grievous — Ol is the yoke laid on the neck, and qasheh means hard or severe. The weight had been Solomon's levy of thirty thousand men sent to Lebanon in courses (5:13–14) and the twelve officers who provisioned the king (4:7). Samuel had foretold 'the manner of the king', who would take their sons (1 Sam 8:11).

Verse 6

the old men, that stood before Solomon — The elders (zaqen) were the king's attendants, and 'advise' is yaats, to counsel. Job 12:12 says 'With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.' Prov 15:22 says 'Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.'

Verse 7

a servant unto this people — Ebed, servant, is the word the elders choose, and the result they promise is that 'they will be thy servants for ever'. 'Speak good words' fits Prov 15:1, 'A soft answer turneth away wrath.' Christ states the same order: 'whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all' (Mark 10:44).

Verse 10

the young men that were grown up with him — They are set against the old men who had stood before Solomon (v.6). Their advice is given as a figure of speech, 'My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins', and v.13 records the result: 'the king answered the people roughly'. Prov 13:10 says 'with the well advised is wisdom.'

Verse 11

scorpions — Aqrab is the animal, and here a scourge, a knotted or barbed whip. 'Lade' is amas, to load a burden, and 'chastise' is yasar, the verb of a father's correction (Deut 8:5). Asked for a lighter yoke, Rehoboam promises a heavier one: 'I will add to your yoke'.

Verse 15

the cause was from the LORD — Sibbah, a turn of events, is found only here. The turn fulfils what the LORD 'spake by Ahijah the Shilonite' (11:29–31). Rehoboam's reply is given as his own, forsaking the old men's counsel (v.13), yet the outcome is the LORD's, as with Sihon in Deut 2:30 and the Philistines in Judg 14:4.

Verse 16

What portion have we in David? — The cry is that of Sheba son of Bichri: 'We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel' (2 Sam 20:1). Jeremiah promises a righteous Branch for David, 'In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely' (Jer 23:5–6).

Verse 17

the cities of Judah — The Israelites living there stayed under Rehoboam. Ahijah had said the house of David would keep one tribe, 'that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem' (11:36). The priests and Levites throughout Israel also 'resorted to him out of all their coasts' (2 Chr 11:13).

Verse 18

Adoram, who was over the tribute — The name is short for Adoniram, who was 'over the tribute' in 4:6 and 'over the levy' of thirty thousand in 5:14, and 'Adoram' under David (2 Sam 20:24). Mas is forced labor. The people stone the officer of the burden they had asked to be lightened.

Verse 20

the tribe of Judah only — The assembly (edah) made Jeroboam king, as Ahijah had said (11:31, 37). 'Judah only' names the tribe that followed the house of David; v.21 adds Benjamin. Ps 78:67–68 says the LORD 'chose not the tribe of Ephraim' but 'chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved'.

Verse 22

Shemaiah the man of God — 'Man of God' is the title of Moses (Deut 33:1) and of the unnamed prophet from Judah in ch.13 (13:1). Shemaiah later explains the invasion of Shishak to Rehoboam (2 Chr 12:5). Here it is 'the word of God', where Chronicles has 'the word of the LORD' (2 Chr 11:2).

Verse 24

for this thing is from me — It is the same declaration as 'the cause was from the LORD' (v.15). The people 'hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD' and went home. 'Brethren' (ach) is the word used of the northern tribes, yet 14:30 records that 'there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.'

Verse 25

Shechem in mount Ephraim — Shechem was a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim (Josh 20:7). Penuel is the place Jacob named Peniel, 'for I have seen God face to face' (Gen 32:30), where Gideon later 'beat down the tower' (Judg 8:17). Jeroboam built Shechem and dwelt there, and went out from it to build Penuel.

Verse 26

said in his heart — The fear is stated in v.27: if the people go up to Jerusalem to sacrifice, 'the heart of this people turn again unto their lord… and they shall kill me'. The LORD had promised him, on obedience, 'a sure house, as I built for David' (11:38).

Verse 28

two calves of gold — The words 'behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt' are what the people said at Sinai over the molten calf: 'These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt' (Ex 32:4). 'Took counsel' is yaats, as of Rehoboam's advisers. 2 Kings 17:16 names the 'two calves' among Israel's sins.

Verse 29

Bethel… Dan — Bethel ('house of God') was named by Jacob after his dream (Gen 28:19) and lay at the southern edge of Jeroboam's land. Dan, at the north, is where the tribe had set up Micah's graven image 'all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh' (Judg 18:31).

Verse 30

this thing became a sin — Chattah, sin. The phrase returns in 13:34, where it 'became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off'. 2 Kings 17:21–22 recalls that Jeroboam 'drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin', and that Israel 'walked in all the sins of Jeroboam'.

Verse 31

priests of the lowest of the people — The priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons (Num 3:10). Abijah later charges, 'Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites?' (2 Chr 13:9), and the Levites left their suburbs for Judah (2 Chr 11:13–14). The 'high places' are bamah.

Verse 32

the eighth month, on the fifteenth day — The feast in Judah fell on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Lev 23:34; Num 29:12), so Jeroboam kept the same day a month later. Verse 33 says he did so 'in the month which he had devised of his own heart', and that he himself 'offered upon the altar, and burnt incense'.