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Texts -- 1 Kings 12:1-21 (NET)

Context
Rehoboam Loses His Kingdom
12:1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem , for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam king . 12:2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt , where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. 12:3 They sent for him, and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam , saying , 12:4 “Your father made us work too hard . Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” 12:5 He said to them, “Go away for three days , then return to me.” So the people went away . 12:6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive . He asked them, “How do you advise me to answer these people ?” 12:7 They said to him, “Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request , they will be your servants from this time forward .” 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up . 12:9 He asked them, “How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” 12:10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you , ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden .’ Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father ! 12:11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier . My father punished you with ordinary whips ; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh .’” 12:12 Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day , just as the king had ordered when he said , “Return to me on the third day .” 12:13 The king responded to the people harshly . He rejected the advice of the older men 12:14 and followed the advice of the younger ones . He said , “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier . My father punished you with ordinary whips ; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh .” 12:15 The king refused to listen to the people , because the Lord was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat . 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king , “We have no portion in David , no share in the son of Jesse ! Return to your homes , O Israel ! Now , look after your own dynasty , O David !” So Israel returned to their homes . 12:17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah .) 12:18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram , the supervisor of the work crews , out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death . King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem . 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day . 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned , they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel . No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty . 12:21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem , he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
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  • "The much later crisis of I Kings 12 suggests that the Davidic hold on the north is never deeply established. In our chapter we are given two episodes of David's attentiveness to the north. One (vv. 4b-7) is a peaceable act o...
  • "The account of Sheba's rebellion against David serves as a counterpoise to the story of Absalom's conspiracy (15:1-12) in chapters 15-20, which constitute the major part of the narrative that comprises chapters 13-20 (more p...
  • "With Joab's return to the king in Jerusalem, the grand symphony known as the Court History of David reaches its conclusion for all practical purposes (at least as far as the books of Samuel are concerned . . .). The last fou...
  • The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national ...
  • I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:121. David's declining health 1:1-42. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-533. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-94. David's death 2:10-12B. ...
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  • Solomon's forced laborers were non-Israelites (1 Chron. 8:7-8). Israelites also served, but they were not slaves (9:22). Solomon's method of providing workers for state projects became very distasteful to the people eventuall...
  • Solomon put the defeated native Canaanites to work on government projects (cf. Gen. 9:25-26). Nevertheless this plan proved to be a source of major dissatisfaction in Israel (cf. 12:4).There was a distinction in Solomon's day...
  • God blessed Solomon with an effective navy that brought added wealth from the South and the East. Ophir (v. 28) evidently was in southwest Arabia (10:11; Job 22:24; 28:16).The writer documented in this section further evidenc...
  • Jeroboam, who would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was from Ephraim, the most prominent tribe in the North (v. 26).Part of Benjamin affiliated voluntarily with Judah eventually (v. 32; cf. 12:21; 2 C...
  • The second major part of the Book of Kings records the histories of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.123During this era of 209 years (931-722 B.C.) the two kingdoms experienced differing relati...
  • Rehoboam's choice was whether he would regard himself as the people's servant under Yahweh's authority, as David and Solomon had done, or as the supreme authority in Israel, as Saul had done. His pride led to his downfall.The...
  • The dissatisfaction with the rule of David's house that had been brewing for years (cf. 2 Sam. 20:1) finally boiled over.Perhaps Rehoboam sent Adoram to pacify the angry mob (v. 18). Whatever his reason, this proved to be "th...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Building Activities of David and Solomon."Israel Exploration Journal24:1(1974):13-16.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonahl. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.,...
  • Second Kings begins with Ahaziah's reign that fell during the 33-year period of Israel and Judah's alliance (874-841 B.C.; -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29). This period in turn fits within the larger context of the divided kingdo...
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  • This account is very similar to the one in 1 Kings 12. Solomon's son Rehoboam did not act wisely, and consequently he lost his kingdom. The Chronicler added that a prophet had foretold this situation (v. 15; cf. 11:1-4). The ...
  • 13:9 By turning against the Lord who only desired to help them (cf. v. 4), the Israelites had done something that would result in their own destruction. How ironic it was that Israel's helper would become her destroyer!13:10 ...
  • This verse summarizes the message that Amos received from the Lord. Amos reported that Yahweh roared from Zion, as a lion roars before it devours its prey or as thunder precedes a severe storm (cf. 3:4, 8; Jer. 25:30; Hos. 5:...
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