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2 Chronicles Chapter 10 (ESV)
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 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.” …
13 And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, 14 King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
REFLECTION:
- Listening to bad advice will lead to disaster. Rehoboam lost the opportunity to unite the kingdom because he abandoned the counsel of the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was alive, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him. He had two mistakes in seeking for advice: 1. He did not seriously consider the advice from those who knew the situation better; 2. He did not ask God for wisdom to discern which advice is better. We tend to follow the suggestion from those who have similar background and age with us because they feel the same way as us. Reflect what criteria you used in deciding which advice from those around you to follow.
- Rehoboam tried to rule the kingdom with an iron fist and almost lost everything he had. The kingdom was divided because his motive was out of greed and power. He did not have to further control his people because he was already the king. His demand was not based on spiritual discernment but rather selfishness. We can see people who want to gain everything will lose miserably and end up gaining nothing. Reflect if you have greed in your life and how you can learn from the lesson of Rehoboam to let go.
PRAYER:
Come before God humbly and meditate on His unmeasurable wisdom and give Him your praises. Ask God to place wise and godly people in your life who will give your positive influence. Ask God to remove the greed in your heart, teach you to rely on Him and not to seek self-benefit.
HYMN:
“Change My Heart oh God” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwudqCO7mSQ
