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As it says in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” The rebellion Yeroboam (Jeroboam) started that split ancient Israel in northern and southern parts is still with us today, because the “hearts” of people haven’t changed.
There were four requirements that God placed on kings of Israel, and Solomon broke three of them. As a judgement, God gave most of the kingdom of Israel to Yeroboam. This didn’t happen until after Solomon died.
When Rehoboam became king, God’s reckoning came to pass.
Why did Rehoboam go to Shechem for his coronation when both Solomon and David had their coronation in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)? In Josh. 8:30-35 and Deuteronomy 27–28, we discover why the people gathered in Shechem. The city is between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerazim. This is the place where Joshua read the Law and the blessings and curses to all the people. Shechem was one of the cities of refuge and owned by the Levites. The city was known as a place to choose between right and wrong.
The people pleaded with Rehoboam to cut their tax and labor burden. Rehoboam asked them to give him three days to give them an answer. When we see a life-or-death situation and three days together in the same passage, we should look for Messianic symbolism.
Rehoboam takes this time to consult with two groups of people: the first were elders who counseled Solomon, the second group were young men, who lived in the luxury of Yerushalayim their entire lives. The young men were accustomed to a very high standard of living that the elders understood was not normal and knew that the affluence was more expensive than the youngsters realized.
It would be self-evident that Rehoboam would want God to bless Him. He knows that what would bless the people would “curse” him and what would bless him would curse his people. Rehoboam had a hard choice to make.
The Messiah said that His yoke was light but people complain three times that Solomon’s yoke on them was heavy and asked Rehoboam for relief.
After three days, Rehoboam replied that he would put them under a worse slavery than Solomon’s, and the people of Israel rebelled against him. The Lord designed their rebellion:
“So the king did not listen to the people; for it was a turn of events from the Lord, that He might establish His word, which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” (1st Kings 12:15)
This was a win-win for Israel. If Rehoboam had reduced the taxes, the people would have less of a burden. Since Rehoboam refused to lift the burden, the people rebelled against him and threw off Rehoboam’s yoke.
Which 10 tribes went north, which two stayed with Rehoboam? Yehudah (Judah) and ben-Yamin (Benjamin) stayed south, and the rest stayed in the north. But a majority of Levi, who were instructed to live dispersed among the tribes, moved to the south.
How did the rebellion evolve and end? A rebellion that started as a tax revolt ended as a rebellion against God Himself. The northern tribes, under Yeroboam, created their own temples, idols, high places and set up their own feast days. He even replaced the Levites with priests who were of the other tribes. Yeroboam even set himself up as high priest. The northern tribes brought the curses of Deuteronomy 27-28 upon themselves.
Speaker: Daniel Agee.