Rehoboam's decision 12:6-15

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 "scorpion"(v. 11) was a particularly cruel kind of whip that contained sharp pieces of metal (1 Macc. 6:51).

"Rehoboam chooses slogans over wisdom, machismo over servanthood."¹²⁸

Rehoboam's decision resulted in what God had predicted to Solomon (11:11-13), Ahijah, and Jeroboam (11:31-39).