THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM: REHOBOAM AND JEROBOAM

Solomon allowed himself to be guided by flesh desires and married many foreign women (1 Kings 11.2). We all like to satisfy our ego, and Solomon’s mistake was to fall into this trap and give in. We all “like projection; it does us good, massages our ego and gives us an aura of success. There is something inside us that seeks success, and we quickly run to the center of the stage to be in the spotlight,” (LOPES, 2008, p. 32), and this is what culminated in the tragic biography of the king, because not only did he accept the idolatry of his women but practiced it with them. Solomon died and his son, Rehoboam, took his place and the throne was no longer the same as the one Solomon received from his father. What legacy are we leaving for future generations?

A DIVIDED KINGDOM WILL NOT STAND (1 Kings 12)

Solomon, at the end of his life, turned away from the Lord and because of his women he became an idolater (1 Kings 11.1-13). His error not only did affect his life, “although the error was against Yahweh, it also affected and harmed the people, mainly because their sacred traditions were undermined by paganism” (OLIVEIRA, 2020, p. 95), the place that was sacred is no longer the center of religion, “the central sanctuary as a symbol of a sacred place measures forces with the multiple sanctuaries and temples […]” (MERRILL, 2009, p. 438)  and “false beliefs are mental prisons that can dominate us throughout our lives” (CURY, 2017, p. 38).

The people suffered the consequences of Solomon’s serious error and we reached the end of his reign with his death. His kingdom was divided into “the North” and “the South” which, in the biblical narratives, are called Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12). We must understand that our sins can affect others, destroy our family, shock the brothers in our congregation and create family instability.

A BAD EXAMPLE AFFECTS AN ENTIRE GENERATION (1 Kings 12.25 – 14.20; 2Chr 10-11)

Obviously, the causes for the division of Solomon’s kingdom are numerous, but the fight for political supremacy was one of the main ones. Unlike David, who prepared him to take his place, Solomon did not leave anyone unanimous, and this creates political instability among the people. As the nation had lost the reference of the temple, idolatry became part of the people’s lives. Jeroboam, who was Solomon’s servant and the first king of Israel, after the division, began to worship golden calves in Bethel (1 Kings 12.25-33).

Jeroboam made wrong decisions, and a terrible one was the political-religious decision that irresponsibly transferred the center of worship from Jerusalem to Israel, in the North (1 Kings 12.27). Schultz argues: “naturally, he did not want his people to attend the sacred festivals in Jerusalem, so that they would not become loyal to Rehoboam” (SCHULTZ, 2009, p. 20). Jeroboam was overcome by pride and preferred to create a new way of worshiping God because he neither wanted the people to worship in Jerusalem nor have his power weakened.

Jeroboam was concerned about himself and the power he held. “Jeroboam, recognizing the connection between the political and religious loyalties of his new subjects, started off cultural reforms whose purpose was to eliminate the possibility of any reduction or loss of power” (PROVA; ILONGMAN, 2016, p.393). We cannot think, at any single moment, that the kingdom has to do with us, it is not about us or our achievements, it has to do with the Lord and what he did and has been doing through each one of us.

Today, many people want to hear what pleases their ears, they want to soften the Lord`s harsh exhortations against sin. We live in difficult times of complete rebellion against the Lord, and we cannot be led by this crowd that has decided to create gods after its own image. When the church preaches a convenient message, we lead people to think that God is convenient, because we are and live what we believe. The Bible is not a newspaper text that needs to be updated; it continues to be the same yesterday, today, and forever, and our responsibility is to preach and live exactly as it is.

As if it were not enough to encourage idolatry, Jeroboam borders on chaos with his lies, thinking he could deceive God. He was even rebuked by a prophet and did not accept it; instead, he extended his fury against him and God punished him by drying his hand, which later was back to normal.

In chapter 14, we see that Jeroboam’s son becomes ill, and the king asks his wife to speak to the prophet Ahijah in Shiloh, and she should not be identified as his wife. It would be very naive to think that we can hide a sin from God. That will never be possible, at a certain time He will reveal everything, just as He did through the prophet in the life of Jeroboam, who did not ease up and sent word that his son would die as soon as the king`s wife arrived in the city, that is, the wrath of God entering the house of Jeroboam. Every sin has consequences. When we do not repent, the wrath of God falls upon our head, however, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1.9).

FOOLISHNESS IS A STEP TOWARDS ARROGANCE (1 Kings 12.1-15; 14.21-31; 2Chr 12)

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, did nothing different; he passively accepted high idolatrous rules (1 Kings 14:21-31). He wanted to be the only king of all Israel by force; he wanted to impose his reign; he was haughty (proud) and extremely arrogant; as king of Judah, he thought he had the right to do whatever he wanted; in addition, he was selfish; we must flee from this sin; otherwise, we will always feel threatened and seek to outshine others, “and so we will attack anyone who threatens our tiny kingdom of ego” (HARRIS, 2013, p. 46). Rehoboam was full of himself; he wanted to rule by force above all, but the Lord stopped him even by raising an army to fight against the ten tribes of Israel (2 Chronicles 11). We urgently need to learn a lesson: we may have the best methods, the best tools, but it is the Lord who guarantees success. Do not be fooled, we are not capable of fighting without God’s help, so the best thing is to wait for His command to win in life.

If Jeroboam’s idolatry in the kingdom of Israel was not enough, Rehoboam intensified idolatry even further in Judah and even allowed prostitution in the land, living according to the people whom the Lord had expelled from among them (1 Kings 14.24). Every time we forget what God has done for us, we are overcome by lethargy and spiritual sleepwalking. No matter how attractive the world may be, God took us out of it to live a “holy life” that pleases Him.

We cannot accept the old practices, nor agree with the new cultural trends. We are holy people, separated to serve the Lord. He saved us from eternal death and made us free. We cannot flirt with the place from which the Lord rescued us.

The people cried out for a reduction of the heavy yoke imposed by Solomon. Rehoboam could simply comply with the request. But, instead, he laid his hand on them even more, causing 10 of the 12 tribes to turn against him, following the charismatic Jeroboam. Leaders are not raised up by God to impose themselves on those they lead; they are called to serve. Those who do not serve with joy cannot lead
with honor.

CONCLUSION

Jeroboam ruled for 22 years and Rehoboam for 17 years. Our longevity is tied to our obedience. It is not possible to believe that we can live as we please and that it will not affect our lives in any way. We deceive ourselves if we think that way. We are raised by God to do everything according to His will and to serve our brothers. There are no leaders without followers, and leading is serving. When we forget this premise, there is no reason to remain in the role of leader. It will be time to raise another. Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam should learn a lesson that would make all the difference in their lives: to reign is to work for the good of others, because many “Christians treat as enemies those they should call brothers and humiliate those they should serve in love” (ABDALLA, 2023, p. 41)

Referências Bibliográficas

PROVA, Iain; LONG, V. Phillips; ILONGMAN, Temper: Uma história bíblica de Israel. Tradução de Márcio Loureiro Redondo. São Paulo: vida Nova, 2016.

HARRIS, Joshua; STANFORD, Eric. Ortodoxia Humilde: defendendo as verdades bíblicas sem ferir as
pessoas. Tradução de Caio Peres. São Paulo: Vida Nova, 2013.

ABDALLA, Tiago. A espiritualidade de Jesus: reflexões no evangelho de Marcos. 1 ed. São Paulo: Mundo
Cristão, 2023.

LOPES, Hernandes Dias. A grandeza da humildade. São Paulo: Editora Candeia, 2008.

OLIVEIRA, Ananias. A monarquia unida de Israel: da origem ao colapso. São Paulo: Fonte Editorial, 2020.

MERRILL, Eugene H. Teologia do Antigo Testamento. Tradução de Helena Aranha e Regina Aranha. São Paulo: Shedd Publicações, 2009

CURY, Augusto. Sucesso: quem vence sem riscos triunfa sem glória. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante, 2017.

OBS: Este texto é uma tradução e adaptação para o inglês da lição 5 da Revista Compromisso da Editora
Convicção Ano CXIX, no. 473, para fins de uso didático em sala de Escola Bíblica Dominical.

Tradução de Ester Rangel Peregrina e Paula Adriana Azevedo Baião Cordeiro.