Rehoboam's Folly
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And a Rehoboam went to b Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
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So it happened, when c Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in d Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),
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that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
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"Your father made our e yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."
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So he said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me." And the people departed.
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Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, "How do you advise me to answer these people?"
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And they spoke to him, saying, f "If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."
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But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
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And he said to them, "What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"
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Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us' - thus you shall say to them: 'My little finger shall be thicker than my father's waist!
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'And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!' "
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So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, "Come back to me the third day."
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Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him;
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and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!"
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So the king did not listen to the people; for g the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had h spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 10:1
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
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Cross References
Judges 9:6
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem.
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Cross References
1 Kings 11:26
Then Solomon's servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.
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Cross References
1 Kings 11:40
Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 8:11 - 18
And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
1 Kings 4:7
And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.
1 Kings 5:13 - 15
Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 10:7
And they spoke to him, saying, "If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.
Judges 14:4
But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD - that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
1 Kings 12:24
Thus says the LORD: "You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me." ' " Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 10:15
So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from God, that the LORD might fulfill His word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
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Cross References
1 Kings 11:11
Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
1 Kings 11:29
Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field.
1 Kings 11:31
And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.