The Sin of Rehoboam

I. Introduction
A. We looked at David. Then we looked at David’s son, Solomon. Now, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.
B. 1Kings 11:42–12:17 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. 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 still 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 the assembly of 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.” 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away. 6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ ” 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 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.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD 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 do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.
II. History
A. Of all the tribes of Israel, Judah was given the power of the throne, to rule over the other tribes.
B. And when David was king, God promised that his descendants would be the ones to rule as kings.
C. But we saw last week that, in response to Solomon’s idolatry, God promised that 10 of the 12 tribes would be taken away from the power of Judah after Solomon was gone. That happened under Rehoboam.
D. Before this, Israel was united as one nation, one kingdom under Saul, then under David, and then under Solomon. But then, as a judgment, God allowed it to split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
E. And in 1Kings 12, we have just read the story of how it happened.
F. For many of us, we’re familiar with the stories of David and Solomon. But then it goes foggy.
G. So, let’s review the story.
1. After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king.
2. But a coalition of the 10 northern tribes – spearheaded by Jeroboam – had formed to confront the new king with a complaint about high taxes. “Your father Solomon made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.”
3. Rehoboam asks for three days to think about their demand.
4. During those three days, Rehoboam sought counsel about what he should do, first from his father’s old counselors, who told him, “If you give them what they ask, and tell them what they want to hear, they will serve you forever.”
5. But when he asked his buddies what he should do, they told him to use intimidation and fear to get them in line: “My little finger is thicker than my father’s thigh. I will increase the heaviness of the yoke my father laid on you. My father beat you with whips; I will beat you with scorpions.”
6. And when Jeroboam and the others came back three days later , that’s exactly what he sent to them. And because of that, the 10 northern tribes walked out and Jeroboam became their king.
H. Rehoboam began to marshal his troops to fight for the union, but God told him to back off and accept the secession, because it was of the Lord (1Kings 12:21-24).
III. We’re going to focus on two components of Rehoboam’s sin this morning.
A. He took the advice of his young friends instead of listening to the old wise counselors.
B. He ruled God’s people as a tyrant.
IV. Looking to the young for guidance
A. This is not the main emphasis of the story, but the point is definitely made.
B. Rehoboam listened to the counsel of his young friends instead of following the counsel of his fathers old advisors. And, in doing so, he made a real mess of things.
C. The text could have said, he went to one group of advisors, and then to another group of advisors. But it specifically says young and old. God is trying to make a point.
D. The word presbyterian comes from the Greek word for elder, PRESBUTEROS, meaning older person. You see, when the Bible refers to the leaders of the church as elders, it presumes that the leaders will be the older men in the congregation. Why? Because it presumes that they will be the wiser ones, it presumes that all their experience of life will have taught them important lessons, and that they will be better leaders than they would have been when they were young.
E. Now the Bible doesn’t say a man has to be old to serve as a church leader. It’s not included in the list of qualifications (1Tim.3, Titus1). Paul even tells Timothy to let no one despise his youth (1Tm.4:12).
F. But, if you’re paying attention, life teaches you things. You make mistakes and learn your lesson. And you get wiser.
G. Here’s a good way to demonstrate this. Do you think you’re wiser now than you once were? of course! It’s hard to imagine anyone saying no to that question. Well, if you are wiser now than you used to be, don’t you think it’s probable that you’ll be wiser in the future than you are now?
1. It’s a question of whether you trust your present self more than your future self.
H. Is it possible for an old person to be less wise than he once was? Of course! Some people are hardened by life and become more jaded instead of more humble. It’s hard to teach a know-it-all, who has been so proud and so hard and so defiant that he refuses to listen and learn.
1. Sometimes life angers people instead of humbling them.
I. Are there times when the counsel of the young is wise and that of the old wrong? Sure.
1. Elihu, the youngest of Job’s friends, also gave Job the wisest counsel (Job 32)!
J. But the general pattern is that you get wiser as you get older. And therefore, maybe someone who is ahead of you in life is going to have insights and perspectives that are wiser than yours.
1. Maybe you can learn from someone else’s mistakes instead of making your own.
K. Strangely, for some there is actually a prejudice against an older person’s opinion. Some feel that older people are inevitably prejudiced or compromised.
1. And sometimes old people ARE prejudiced or compromised.
2. But to ASSUME that one is – is itself to be prejudiced, isn’t it?
L. If you are a young person, this is going to be a big issue in your life. You are growing up in the midst of a generation which has largely rejected the idea of learning from older people.
1. And if you don’t go along with that, you are going to be punished. You’re going to have to be willing to go against the grain and suffer for it.
2. It isn’t just this generation. Every generation – at least in America – struggles with this.
a. The saying of our generation was, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.”
b. Of course, we changed that when we turned 30.
V. Tyranny
A. Rehoboam was tyrannical in his response to the people of Israel."My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 1Kings 12:10-11
B. I think we are meant to notice the connection between Rehoboam's sin and Solomon's sin.
C. Really all Rehoboam did was carry on and intensify what his father Solomon had done.
D. Like father, like son: "My father kept them in check through intimidation, and I shall too."
E. Here is another reason to avoid sin: because it so easily gets passed on to our children.
F. Although idolatry was Solomon’s greatest sin (1Kings 11:1-13), he had other sins as well. And one of those other sins is the high taxes he levied on the people, taxes which were clearly higher than they needed to be – for Solomon’s household was exceedingly rich, taxes which eventually led to Israel's rebellion against His son Rehoboam.
G. And Rehoboam followed his example. In fact, the sins of the father were carried on to an even higher degree by the son. Rehoboam saw how it worked for his father and he thought, "If a little bit of tyranny worked a little bit for my father, then a lot of tyranny will work a lot for me."
H. Some people think that force is the answer to everything, they bully their way through life, getting what they want by intimidation and roughness. Everything is a power play. The sword or the gun or the fist or the curse or the profanity or the threat is the only way they know how to deal with things.
1. And it’s often a very effective way of controlling people. That’s why it’s so tempting.
2. But it doesn’t change people. It doesn’t make them more willing, or more self-disciplined, or help them have a better attitude.
I. Now there is definitely a time for tough love. And people who can’t use tough love are missing an enormously important tool out of their tool box.
1. Think about the Lord. Does the Lord discipline us? Yes. Does He rebuke us? Yes. Does He confront us? Yes. Is that all the Lord does? No.
2. He gives gifts. He forgives. He initiates grace. He lavishes us with precious words of love.
3. And we also need to use affection and affirmation and rewards. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
J. But Rehoboam had his sights set upon earthly goals and ambitions, instead of heavenly ones.
1. And I think this is the reason why we sometimes fall into this trap as well. When we are overly severe with our kids or with others, it’s because we have the wrong goal in mind. Our goal is to get the job done or get this place cleaned up. But it’s not the kind of goal God wants us to have.
K. Those who misuse authority fail to recognize a higher authority: Paul says to slave masters: "Remember that you too have a Master in heaven." (Col.4:1)
1. The fact that we are under authority is far more preeminent in our identity than the fact that we are in authority.
2. We all need to remember that another day is coming: a day of judgment, when those who put themselves at ease at the expense of others will receive their due.
L. But there are earthly consequences as well, as we see in our story.
1. Rehoboam loses the kingdom! His tyranny incites rebellion.
2. If we lord it over those under our authority, we can expect rebellion. A harsh word stirs up anger.
3. This is what Paul’s talking about when he says to not exasperate our children or provoke them to anger (Col.3:21; Eph.6:4).
4. People will generally treat you the way you treat them. You reap what you sow with people.
5. What is going to be the natural human reaction of those under our authority when they perceive we’re using them to our own advantage, and our interest in them is really an interest in ourselves?
6. Rehoboam grabbed for power and the very act of grabbing for power took his power away. People generally don't want to follow a power-hungry leader. And God will not bless the authority of a power-hungry person either.
M. This works POSITIVELY as well. There is a natural human reaction to goodness.
1. What the older counselors said was true. If you work with people, if you listen to their complaints and grant them relief, they’ll generally love you and serve you well.
2. But these things generally don't come free. They come through service. They come through love.
3. If you are a person in a position of authority, it’s always better for the folks under you to love you than to fear you.
4. God says, "You humble yourself & serve, I'll take care of your position and your prosperity. You worry about being faithful in the little things, and I'll worry about getting you the bigger things."
N. Let’s think about Rehoboam in terms of the Sabbath law for a moment.
1. The 4th commandment is not just about taking one day for rest. There’s a lot more to it than that.
2. God has given us not only the Sabbath but what I call “the principle of the Sabbath” to live by.
3. What’s “the principle of the Sabbath”?
a. First of all, that we must work. Work should take up the bulk of our time. (Proverbs 24:30-34)
b. Second, that we need breaks from work, breaks which must be scheduled.
c. Third, those in authority have a responsibility to make sure their subordinates also get breaks.
(1) Take careful note of this: those in positions of authority aren’t just responsible to TAKE rests, they are responsible to GIVE rests – to those under them. You would think the big boss would say, “Serve me so I can rest.” But a good boss sometimes says, “Take a break. Take a day off!”
(2) It’s about giving vacation time and sick time and personal time and maternity leave and telling people to go home when they’re working too hard.
(3) An example that comes to my mind is in A Christmas Carol by Dickens: when Scrooge’s old boss Fezziwig throws a big Christmas party to thank his employees and give them some joy.
4. This is the part that is relevant to the story of Rehoboam’s sin.
a. You know that it can be very difficult for the average citizen to just get by on his income. And when the government wants to charge high taxes as well, it can become oppressive.
b. Obviously, Solomon had not done a good job of granting relief to the tax-paying citizens of Israel.
c. And now Rehoboam had an opportunity to give the people a rest, to grant them tax relief.
d. And his father’s counselors urged him to do so.
e. But Rehoboam refused to do so. He thought the way to motivate the people was to lean on them and threaten them. He followed a path more similar to Ebenezer Scrooge.
5. The Sabbath principle is actually all about humility and trust.
a. Do you think you’re the one who makes things happen, or do you think God does?
b. If you think you’re the one who determines your success, then you will use whatever tool seems most likely to work from your perspective.
c. If you believe God is the One who makes you succeed or fail, then you will use whatever tool you believe He wants you to use. And then you trust Him to bless it.
d. You see, people like Rehoboam just use people, but our Father in heaven actually loves people, and He wants us to love them as well.
O. It is so easy to rely on fear instead of love.
1. We can be very concerned about our kids learning to work, not being sluggards and learning to be responsible. And those are good things to be worried about.
2. But in worrying about those things, we can fail to worry enough about potentially driving them away by anger instead of winning their hearts with acts of love and kindness and generosity.
3. I think there is a tendency, especially among some young parents, to OVERUSE the tools of discipline and UNDERUSE the tools of generosity and kindness. And then when you’re older, you see things differently and you regret it.
P. There is a time for anger. “Be angry and do not sin.” Eph.4:26
1. There is a time for exercising authority. There is a time for pulling rank.
2. Jesus got angry. Jesus exercised authority. Jesus pulled rank.
3. If you never do these things, there’s probably a problem.
Q. But there’s also a problem with overdoing these things. There’s also problem with relying too heavily on these things. And it’s so easy to use them unrighteously. And, “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)
R. Many of you are parents, bosses, leaders, husbands, older siblings, serving in positions of authority.
1. The Bible gives us a lot of warnings about the misuse of authority. We’ve seen it already several times in this series.
S. I’ve been a father, a husband, and in ministry – all for over 40 years. It’s hard to be a good leader!
1. There are pitfalls all over the place. How do you make sure you’re strong enough without being too strong?
2. How do you hold accountable without being over-critical? How do you encourage without being too permissive?
3. How do you get the wisdom, the self-control, the humility and the love you need to lead well?
4. Only from God, only from God. "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD." Zechariah 4:6
5. The great enemies of good leadership are self-assurance, self-sufficiency and self-justification.
6. One of the books I’ve dreamed about writing someday would be entitled, Prayers I Wish I’d Prayed. Some of the prayers I wish I’d prayed were every time I entered into a new position of authority, including the birth or reception of each of my children. I wish I had cried out to the Lord for His help and His wisdom and His love. But I was too self-assured and too self-sufficient.
7. I felt like I knew what I was doing, like I had this. Please don’t follow in my footsteps.
VI. Rehoboam shows us the way the world operates naturally.
A. But Rehoboam also makes us think about Jesus – because of the contrast.
B. Rehoboam squeezed people; Jesus served people.
C. Rehoboam used people for this own glory; Jesus set aside His estate for the sake of the people.
D. Rehoboam made others poor in order to make himself rich. Jesus made Himself poor in order to make others rich. (2Cor.8:9)
E. Jesus knew that His kingdom was not of this world, but Rehoboam thought his was of this world.
1. What happened as a result? Rehoboam's earthly kingdom crumbled and never regained its power.
2. But Christ's kingdom remains and grows even now. And "The Head That Once Was Crowned With Thorns is crowned with glory now. A royal diadem adorns the mighty Victor's brow. The highest place that heaven affords is His, is His by right. The King of kings and Lord of lords. and heaven's eternal Light."
F. Beloved, your Savior is not a tyrant who milks His subjects in selfishness.
G. You have a good shepherd who cares for His sheep and carries them when they can’t walk on their own. For He truly loves you, even to the point that He laid down His life for His sheep.
H. And He calls us to love others in the way He loves us.
1. In our marriages, to love instead of just worrying about being love.
2. In the work-place, to strive to bless people and not just use people.
3. In our parenting, to love our kids for their sake and not for our own.
I. And He makes a promise that if we will give ourselves, He will give back...
1. “Give, and it will be given to you – good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over – will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38