2 Chronicles 10:1-19--The Revolt Against Rehoboam

2 Chronicles 10
English Standard Version

The Revolt Against Rehoboam
10 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.” 5 He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” 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 good to this people and please them and speak good words to 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 the 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 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.

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We see Solomon's concern for his son in the book of Ecclesiastes, and like David's concerns for Solomon, Solomon's concerns for Rehoboam are well-founded.  Rehoboam refuses to listen to the wise council of his father's advisors and instead listens to the voices of his peers who tell him that now is the time for him to strike fear in the hearts not only of his enemies, but of all the people of Israel so that, in their minds, everyone would be afraid to rebel against him.  Rehoboam's harsh answer to the northern tribes led them into the hands of Jeroboam (just as the LORD had intended and prophesied), for it was the LORD's will that the kingdom be divided as a punishment for all the Solomon did--He just did not do this during Solomon's lifetime for the sake of King David.

Jeroboam would lead a civil, cultural, and spiritual rebellion that would have long-lasting consequences that we can read about in 2 Kings with all the bad kings of Israel.  However, our focus in this book is the southern kingdom of Judah and more specifically, the tribe of Judah and the household of David.  It's not that Jeroboam isn't important, as many of the kings of Judah will go to war with kings in Israel and others will mistakenly become allies with the kings of Israel and even intermarry with their families, but we'll see that God does not give up on the covenant that he made with David even when there are foolish kings like Rehoboam on the throne.  One day, the kingdom will be united once again under King Jesus, and it won't just be the 12 Tribes of Israel that are united by Him, but people from every tribe, tongue, and nation that are now one with Him and the Father through adoption as sons of God by His finished work of salvation for those who belong to Him and are called by His Name.