Wednesday Bible Study: All the kings, men part 12

 

 

 

Mal 1:2  "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob
Mal 1:3  but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert."

I think the first thing we are going to learn from the kings after Solomon is that God was still in charge- and He made choices.  So the divide starts when Rehoboam, son of Solomon, claims the throne- but Jeroboam, returned from hiding in Egypt, challenged him:

1Ki 12:3  And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam,
1Ki 12:4  "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you."
1Ki 12:5  He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.

So Rehoboam canvassed his father's wise advisers, who advised him to lessen the load.  Despite being 41 years old, though, Rehoboam was very much a young man listening to the 'friends' he hung with- ne'er-do-wells who egged him on.  So his answer was:

1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him,
1Ki 12:14  he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

So many leaders with no skill at leading feel they have to show their manhood off to lead.  It doesn't work in a factory, and it doesn't work here.  The people rebel, and start to leave with Jeroboam.  So Reho decides to sic' his main tax collector on them.  But...

1Ki 12:18  Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
1Ki 12:19  So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

And there you have it.  A powerful kingdom, divided into a still-powerful kingdom and a much lesser kingdom.  But you also have 2 fearful kings- fearful of losing their power to the other.  Reho, whose name meant "Broaden the People", conquered his fear doing just that:

2Ch 11:18  Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse,
2Ch 11:19  and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
2Ch 11:20  After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

And each of these sons he put in charge of one of 15 fortified cities he had built.  Also, he paid at least lip service to the Lord:

2Ch 11:16  And those who had set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
2Ch 11:17  They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

So now, Jereboam had the additional problem of losing the faithful to the worship in Jerusalem.  So he, whose name means "The People will contend", set up an opposing system:

1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David.
1Ki 12:27  If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."
1Ki 12:28  So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
1Ki 12:29  And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1Ki 12:30  Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.

Let's flesh this out.  Just like when Aaron made the Golden Calf, these images were supposed to REPRESENT God- His provision and His strength.  But of course, this kind of 'representation' soon led to idolatry- and Jeroboam quickly added to the problem by appointing his OWN priests- priests that weren't the Levites God demanded (because they all went to Rehoboam!)  And with this, God makes his choice.  Observe that God TALKED to Rehoboam...

2Ch 11:1  When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2Ch 11:2  But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God:
2Ch 11:3  "Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,
2Ch 11:4  'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the LORD and returned and did not go against Jeroboam. 

 

But for Jeroboam, nothing but curses...

1Ki 14:7  Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel
1Ki 14:8  and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes,
1Ki 14:9  but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,
1Ki 14:10  therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone.
1Ki 14:11  Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it."'

This prophecy came as Jeroboam's first son and heir, named Abijah, fell ill, and he finally decided it might be advantageous to talk to the Lord and find out his plans.  The child died even as Jeroboam's wife (whom he had sent to the prophet) returned with the message.

To say that Reho was more 'right' was relative... once he had those three years of security, he got cocky, and God sent Shishak of Egypt ( Pharaoh Shoshenq I), who took step one of making the kingdom less powerful...

1Ki 14:25  In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
1Ki 14:26  He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made,
1Ki 14:27  and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 

But we see in the Chronicler's account, that God had a mercy even in this...

2Ch 12:5  Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the LORD, 'You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.'"
2Ch 12:6  Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous."
2Ch 12:7  When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
2Ch 12:8  Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."

They HUMBLED themselves- an obedience which gave them God's favor.  That favor continued to Reho's son, ironically called also (in some sources) Abijah.  For Jeroboam finally got to a point where he found himself strong enough to make war on him.  But Abijah had a message for them...

2Ch 13:4  Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!
2Ch 13:5  Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?
2Ch 13:6  Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord,
2Ch 13:7  and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.
2Ch 13:8  "And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.
2Ch 13:9  Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are no gods.
2Ch 13:10  But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the LORD who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service.
2Ch 13:11  They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken him.
2Ch 13:12  Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed." 

Jeroboam ignored this, choosing to have faith in a carefully laid ambush.  That would have worked, except...

2Ch 13:14  And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets.
2Ch 13:15  Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
2Ch 13:16  The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand.
2Ch 13:17  Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men.
2Ch 13:18  Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
2Ch 13:19  And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages.
2Ch 13:20  Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down, and he died.
2Ch 13:21  But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

And not only did Jeroboam lose his power, and his life, but the curse was fulfilled.  His son and successor Nadab- the same name as the son of Aaron's who died for offering 'strange' incense to the Lord- got considerably shorter shrift.  While besieging a place of the now-resurgent Philistines, Nadab was assassinated by a bold soldier named Baasha (which basically means "stinky"); and Baasha as king swiftly fulfilled the curse...

1Ki 15:29  And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

But he wasn't any better, and soon he was told by the prophet Jehu that his evil had brought the curse on him and his as well.  He also tried to conquer Judah, but by this time Judah was ruled by Abijah's son Asa- a king fully committed to God.  God, however, still had some adjusting to do with Judah; and thus...

1Ki 15:17  Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1Ki 15:18  Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
1Ki 15:19  "Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."
1Ki 15:20  And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
1Ki 15:21  And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah.
1Ki 15:22  Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. 

Thus, Baasha was humiliated and went home.  He died, and his son Elah, who apparently was fond of getting drunk, came into power.  Just like Nadab, though, after 2 years he also was assassinated by a warrior- a commander of chariots named Zimri.  The kingdom of Israel would follow this pattern until its destruction.

Judah, though, lost yet more of its once prodigious wealth, lost yet more of its political standing- this time to Syria- but Asa now had the time to bring his kingdom into submission to God.  They were humbled; but would they remain obedient?