Rehoboam's Folly

1 Kings 12

1 i Rehoboam went to j Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as k Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for l he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from 1 Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 m "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, n "Go away for three days, then come again to me." 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 a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer 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 this 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 m 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, o "Come to me again the third day." 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, m "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions." 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for p it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which q the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

  1. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:1 - 19
    Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
    2 Chronicles 10:1 - 19
    Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
  2. Cross References
    Judges 9:6
    And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
  3. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:26
    Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.
  4. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:40
    Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
  5. Cross References
    1 Kings 4:7
    Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
    1 Kings 4:22
    Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal.
    1 Kings 9:15
    And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer
    1 Samuel 8:11 - 18
    He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
  6. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:12
    So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day.
  7. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:4
    "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."
  8. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:5
    He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.
  9. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:4
    "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."
  10. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:24
    Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
  11. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:11
    Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.
    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 am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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